The Metaverse is gaining attention — are you ready?
What is the Metaverse and what will technology enable us to do?
In the past, we used to play around the streets, socialize and spend time with each other in person. However, we did not have the means to feel together when distant. Today “the reality” has changed, and thanks to technology we can do things that we weren’t able to do before, such as video calls, feeling each other through haptics vibrations with Sentero, play video games together, send instant messages and more. Children nowadays are growing up with technology like smartphones, tablets and computers and this trend is not going to stop. Why? Because these devices are all connected to the Internet, which allows us to do the things that we love from the comfort of our homes.
The problem of the Internet
The main problem with the Internet is that it is a 2D space. As humans always strive for more, we want more even from the Internet. We don’t want a screen, we want to enter inside and to be able to socialize with people in a digital way but still on a one-to-one basis, with an avatar or digital character. Here is where the Metaverse will help, especially during times where our social interactions are restricted, such as pandemics.
What the h**l is the Metaverse?
Remember first hearing about “the Internet”? Now we should say: Get ready for “the Metaverse!!”. The term was coined by the writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel, “Snow Crash,” then the concept of the Metaverse took its form as the Oasis in the Ernest Cline novel “Ready Player One”. Have you watched it?
The Metaverse refers to a fully-realized digital and virtual world that exists beyond the “real” one in which we live.
It is a place where people will be able to enter (eventually with a VR Headset), create a personal Avatar, socialize with friends and family, get to know more people, play games with them in a fully immersive and enhanced way, and work from anywhere in the world. We will be able to marry people, buy virtual lands, goods, assets and trade them. Basically, a 3D Augmented Internet, the next phase of social media, games, the economy and more.
Imagine working in the UK and your children live in the USA. Instead of just seeing each other through video calls, you will be able to spend time with them in the Metaverse. Or maybe you want to study in the USA, but for different motivations, you can’t. The Metaverse will help you by allowing you to study remotely, from your house, bed and VR Headset. The possibilities are endless!
Who is building the Metaverse?
This is a new sector and it is growing every day. It’s still unclear what the metaverse will look like, but according to research firm Strategy Analytics, the global metaverse could be worth $280 billion by 2025 and likely grow further. This is a growth of more than sixfold compared to the $46 billion in 2020.
Companies are already working on it and from our point of view, these are the main candidates.
- Facebook. Facebook should be known as a “metaverse company,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. Facebook is investing money and time to build the Metaverse, they think that it is the next step of social media. Examples of efforts towards the Metaverse is buying the VR Headset company “Oculus” back in 2014 for $2 billion. Another example is Facebook Horizon, an ever-expanding VR world to explore, play and create (currently in an invite-only beta phase).
- Epic Games (Fortnite). Fortnite is probably of the best examples of playing into the Metaverse with people, socializing and making new friends, buying avatars and more. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen artists such as Marshmello and Travis Scott holding live virtual concerts in Fortnite, and people really liked them. In April Epic Games announced a $1 Billion Funding Round to support their long-term vision for the Metaverse.
- Roblox. Roblox bills itself as the future of the internet is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation. It is a collection of more than 50m games all created by its community of players. As of the second quarter of 2021, gaming company Roblox Corporation had over 43.2 million daily active users of Roblox games worldwide. CEO David Baszucki said, “Some people refer to what we’re building as the Metaverse”.
- Minecraft? Nobody talks about it, but the company already has recognition and a great customer base. Will they miss the Metaverse opportunity?
- Decentraland. Decentraland is a Decentralised 3D virtual reality platform that uses the Ethereum Blockchain. It is the first-ever virtual world owned by its users. Here people can create, explore, socialize, work, buy virtual lands and NFTs through the Currency MANA or other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.
- The SandBox. The Sandbox is a virtual world where players can socialize, build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain using the platform’s utility token SAND. Players can create digital assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), upload them to the marketplace, and integrate them into games with Game Maker.
How will CyborgNest help shape the Metaverse?
VR and AR are amazing new technologies that create awesome experiences, but wearers tend to get disorientated which disrupts the experience. The answer to this is using our product Sentero to have a new sense of orientation. Connecting the real world with the digital through Sentero will allow people to navigate virtual spaces while staying grounded.
Sense targets or important locations in the game so you can navigate to them more easily, and connect to other players or virtual characters using haptic emojis which add to your experience of the storyline. Need to find an asteroid in Decentraland? Or a legendary gun in Fortnite? sense it!
This is an interesting place to watch, will be interesting to see who will win the race towards the leading Metaverse platform (if there will ever be one). But one thing is sure - the digital and virtual future in which we will all live is inevitable and is our responsibility to research it and take opportunities.
Follow CyborgNests weekly blog on Medium to get more information and interesting facts about our senses, technology and perception.
Discover more: cyborgnest.net
