What Is the Metaverse, and Where Did It Originate?
The cyberpunk novel ‘Snow Crash’ is credited with coining the term metaverse. Within the novel, the metaverse is a 3D virtual reality realm that can be accessed using personal terminals and virtual reality goggles similar to the Oculus Quest and other VR headsets.
Does the Metaverse Already Exist?
If the metaverse is expected to become an embodied internet. To do this, it must have certain properties that separate it from isolated virtual reality experiences like Second Life.
These are the properties of the metaverse for better clarity:
- Massively scaled
- Real-time rendered
- 3D virtual worlds
- Synchronous
- Persistent
- Unlimited number of users
- Continuity of data
Metaverse: A Futuristic Retail Example
In practice, the metaverse will exist when a person may enter a massive virtual retail mall that can accommodate as many people as the virtual space allows. They can buy a unique digital item, and then sell it a few weeks later in a different virtual world—or possibly on Twitter, eBay, or OpenSea.
What Will Power the Metaverse?
Cloud infrastructure, software tools, platforms, applications, user-generated content, and hardware will all be driving forces in the metaverse. The metaverse will contain a variety of user experiences, including but not limited to entertainment, gaming, commerce, social interactions, education, and research, in addition to the technical requirements.
When will we be able to see it?
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of the newly renamed Meta (previously Facebook), forecasts that the metaverse’s primary capabilities will take five to ten years to become omnipresent. However, some features of the metaverse are currently visible. For example, ultra-fast broadband rates, virtual reality headgear, and always-on online worlds are already available.
What are some examples of it?
The former Facebook has made considerable investments in virtual reality, including the acquisition of Oculus in 2014. Meta envisions a virtual world in which digital avatars interact via virtual reality headsets for business, travel, or leisure. Zuckerberg is a believer in the metaverse, stating that it has the potential to replace the internet as we know it.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a company that makes software. With its Microsoft Mesh platform, the software giant is building mixed and extended reality (XR) applications that integrate the real world with augmented reality and virtual reality. Microsoft presented its intentions to add mixed-reality, including holograms and virtual avatars, to Microsoft Teams in 2022 earlier this month. Additionally, explorable 3D virtual areas for retail and workplaces are predicted to be available in the near future.
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