Metaverse – you may or may not have heard of it. But the talks are everywhere, from technology journals to giant tech firms. The term may sound confusing, but the concept is easy to grasp.
Metaverse is the virtual world where people can interact with each other. It could be for both business and social purposes. The concept uses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and even videos that allow people to develop their ‘virtual avatars.’ Motion-tracking will enable people to take their virtual profiles anywhere, anytime.
AR, VR - The virtual worlds
Augmented reality is a blend of physical and digital technologies or worlds, whereas virtual reality doesn’t necessarily have to be physical. Typically, we associate heavy VR and AR devices with virtual worlds. But accessibility to these platforms doesn’t have to be limited via electronic devices only.
And these ‘virtual’ worlds won’t cease to exist if we don’t use them. Think of it as our social media pages; even when we’re not online, our profiles are still up there.
All the devices from which we can access the metaverse will be known as ‘metaverse.’ These may expand beyond VR and AR devices. For instance, the Pokémon Go game is a minor example of AR in action. With advanced metaverse development in the next decade, we may access virtual worlds with our smartphones.
What will the metaverse allow us to do?
So the metaverse will help us connect, but how? Would it only be limited to us talking to each other, or would it be more than that? No, the entire purpose of the metaverse is to go beyond social media texts, audio calls, video calls, and other modes of technological exchange.
Giant tech firms have claimed that the metaverse will allow us to do the following:
- Enable sellers to put forward their products and buyers to engage in buying.
- Allow people to carry around a particular ‘persona’ from one place to another. These spaces would be virtual reality platforms.
- Purchasing of tangible products such as clothes from one space to another (an idealized aspect that may take some time to develop)
- To enable hosting multiple people at once in a single server, at first hundreds, and then expand the capacity to millions.
- Joining friends to attend virtual concerts
- Participating in virtual conferences and seminars
- Going on virtual adventures all over the world
Simply put, we’re already using social media for many of the above purposes, from business and economy to creating our online image. And when we think of these functions in the metaverse, the only different components are virtual reality, augmented reality, and video.
Major tech companies taking a step toward the Metaverse in 2022
Many leading companies have put forth the vision of metaverse. The top two are Microsoft and Meta (previously known as Facebook).
Microsoft plans to extend its workplace software, ‘Microsoft Teams’. It was announced in November 2021 that the company’s metaverse ‘Mesh’ will be launched this year, in 2022. Previously. Microsoft had incorporated environments in the software, which allowed many people in the meeting to share the same visual space. Now taking it one step ahead, the software giant will use VR for users to host and attend virtual meetings.
As for Facebook, the company rebranded itself as ‘Meta’. We can also consider the move as a reaction to the accusations against the company. In the presentation at the end of 2021, the idea of holographic women was presented to the audience, although the technology of holograms hasn’t been fully developed yet. But the people at Meta have planned to beta-test its metaverse and the multiple professional services in 2022. And since the company owns the biggest social media apps, from Facebook and WhatsApp to Instagram, it plans on taking the social perspective.
It clearly indicates that the metaverse is being taken seriously by big company owners all over the world.
So are we ready for the metaverse in 2022? Let’s have a look.
What can we expect from the metaverse in 2022?
Although we can expect to create avatars in metaverses offered by tech giants in 2022, there is still a long way to go. First, we need to understand how these virtual spaces will work. Will there be tangible portals and gateways? What devices do we need initially?
Although the sales of VR devices have not yet gained momentum, they are bound to increase in 2022. As a result, the number of VR users may increase roughly by 4.4 million. The only hindrance is the cost; if the prices drop in the coming years, we can expect VR and the metaverse to become more common.
Although Meta has put forth the concept of holographic women, it is far beyond reach at the moment. We still don’t have a 3D person or avatar floating in mid-air. The only step we can expect regarding metaverses is building upon digital avatars. They could be made more intelligent by incorporating motion-tracking features.
Again, as far as holograms are concerned, we have 3D, 4D, and even 7D demonstrations going on in multiple places around the globe. However, these images are controlled under certain circumstances, within tangible spaces. It is also unclear whether these virtual holographic images in a metaverse will work with or without VR glasses.
Conclusion
All in all, the metaverse is about transforming the way we connect. It will allow people to carry their avatars into various virtual worlds powered by VR, AR and even videos. Once we have adapted an excellent motion-tracking technology, users can enjoy a seamless metaverse experience. At the moment, the metaverse concept is still dependent on VR devices, the sales of which we can expect to increase by this year and the next. So the next 5 to 10 years are crucial for metaverse development.