You definitely must have heard the big news. One of the most influential companies and its CEO came out with a big announcement. That’s right, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that the parent company will now be known as “Meta.” What does it mean for normal users like you and me, and what does the future hold for Facebook and its products? In this article know about Metaverse Technology.
The recent announcement meant that the company would now no longer be a social media site. Instead, Facebook is now becoming a metaverse that will blend real and virtual worlds to bring new and exciting experiences to users.
The word Metaverse is not a new technological term. The term in this context means that the real-life worlds we live in will integrate with our virtual worlds, creating a whole virtual universe. This universe will allow users to interact with a number of things virtually as well as in real life.
For quite some time now, humans have been developing and using various technologies for communication. But Metaverse will help us in integrating and derive interactive communication and entertainment by tricking our senses. These are technologies that we see daily, ranging from TV sets to the Internet of Things and things such as:
- Interactive video games
- Virtual Reality (VR) and,
- Augmented reality (AR)
Served their purpose in the development of metaverse technology.
Table of Contents
What will Metaverse technology do?
The metaverse technology is a step toward the foreseeable future. This future accordingly looks technologically advanced and much more interesting. This metaverse technology is going to be powered by blockchain technology.
Metaverse Technology, through its platforms, will allow people to do the following:
- Create Decentralised assets
- Have ownership of Decentralised Digital Assets
- Trade Decentralised Digital Assets
- Own NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens)
Basically, Metaverse is going to help bridge the gap between reality and our virtual worlds through advanced technology and advanced integration.
The metaverse concept is aimed toward bringing people together via the virtual medium. Using various products and applications, Metaverse would be able to change our society and bring out about the great change. This new development could also new political and cultural shifts.
Virtual Reality Integration
Think about it, different virtual worlds meeting at one single point. It will open up a host of new possibilities. People will be able to use AR and VR to interact and learn from other people. Learning would become interesting. This is would also raise the standard skillset of people.
In its early stage (That is now), Metaverse is more of an experiment on a global scale. This experiment will tell the company many details. Much of it will revolve around the use of various technologies such as 5G, VR, and other technologies to help businesses.
Benefits of Metaverse Technology
Metaverse technology is set to grow and develop even further in the coming years. The metaverse technology is set to change the way a lot of other tech giants operate. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and even Facebook themselves will be adopting this technology. Apart from changing the geopolitical landscape of our world, metaverse technology will also help in the following:
- This metaverse technology will help in bringing out interesting and special opportunities.
- The metaverse technology will help in establishing and growing New markets that will open up as new and
- Its metaverse technology will help in the development of exciting Technology
- The metaverse technology will help us by altering the way we as consumers use technologies.
It has been predicted that soon the AR and the VR industry are going to witness a huge rise in their value. This has been supported by companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to PwC, AR and VR will contribute almost 1.5 trillion dollars to the economy by 2030.
Type of Metaverse Technology
One of the biggest misconceptions around Metaverse has been that Metaverse is simply an AR and/or VR technology. This is far from the truth. There are various other media through which you can witness this metaverse technology.
Think of Metaverse as a whole parallel universe. Something like what they showcase in Marvel movies and Stranger things. It is a place just like our own. Now in order to access this whole virtual world, you need a door, right? Well, metaverse technology is that gateway.
One of the first pieces of hardware you would require is your phone or desktop. They will act as your gate to the metaverse technology. However, it would be best if you still opened the door. Internet is your key to opening that door. And just like that, you now have access to the Metaverse.
Virtual Reality
Another type of metaverse technology is VR. It stands for Virtual Reality. It has been used and developed extensively in the past decade. VR has become one of the most promising and impressive technology. If you saw Ready player one, you would understand the importance of VR in metaverse technology.
VR is quickly becoming one of the most popular important access points or doors to the Metaverse. Facebook is quickly aiming to become a metaverse company. With their company oculus, they will probably be able to achieve their ambition as well.
Photo by Uriel Soberanes on Unsplash
Alternate Reality
AR is another type of metaverse technology that is going to rise and dominate the industry. AR, too has been in development for quite some time. Pokemon GO is one of the most famous uses of AR technology. AR will allow people to bring virtual worlds into their lives easily. There are many other types of Metaverse technologies that will get developed as we speak.
Artificial Intelligence & Automation
AI and automation are other types of Metaverse technology that will help in bridging the gap between virtual worlds and the real world. Not only will we see people adopt AI, but various businesses will integrate this technology to become more efficient.
Automation will reduce the risk of human error and facilitate a newer and faster business model. This will create a huge market for the development of AI and change how companies utilize large amounts of data.
Internet of Things
Internet of things is another impressive metaverse technology that has been developed quite a lot. Traditionally, the internet of things or IOT will allow you to sync and connect your devices to a common network or the internet. This will allow you to use various devices on this network simultaneously or separately as and when you want.
In a metaverse, this can be a useful technology in order to synchronize and connect various physical devices. These devices would be connected together to ultimately become an access point for Metaverse.
Features of Metaverse Technology
Metaverse technology has a set of features and characteristics; let us look at some of these features:
Metaverse will be Interactive
The main feature of metaverse technology would be to create an interactive virtual world. This interactive world would, in turn, interact with our real world. This would allow people staying thousands of miles away to interact in a remote virtual place. This will increase instructiveness, enable learning, and help in development.
An interactive world would allow people to connect like never before. There would help in the development of other such interactive technologies all around the globe. There could be a skill exchange taking place much more easily due to Metaverse.
Metaverse would Persist
Metaverse will not have a traditional on and off switch. It would not shut down or close like traditional applications. It is a virtual world, after all. Metaverse technology would thus be persistent as well.
Metaverse technology being a persistent one, will not let virtual worlds shut down. This will ensure that virtual worlds remain active and integrated with our real worlds. As long as the gateway for these technologies exists, the Metaverse is not going away. There are a limited number of doors for us to enter a metaverse. If those access points or doors are taken away, we will not be able to access Metaverse.
Identical settings
One of the best interesting characteristics of a metaverse is going to be the presence of creativity. This creativity will allow us to replicate real-world and much more. We would be able to create virtual worlds unlike anything else and live in them virtually.
One of the most famous uses of this Technology is the Virtual reality escape rooms. Since the pandemic began, a lot of escape rooms have been closed. But through VR escape rooms, people can enjoy a real physical escape room virtually.
This experience allows the creation of a real-life world and things beyond that. We would be able to create things that ordinarily we won’t be able to.
Recent Metaverse Technology uses
Metaverse technology has allowed various industries, including the automobile, to experiment. BMW has utilized metaverse technology and its capabilities. They did so by partnering with Nvidia. This partnership will allow BMW to create a virtual factory. This will allow BMW to create and digitize a lot of physical and assets and processes. The Technology that will help BMW to do so will be “Omniverse,” Nvidia’s Metaverse technology.
BMW is a luxury automobile producer from Germany. They are quite famous for making some beautiful and luxurious cars. Developing these cars requires huge production lines, workers, and a factory. BMW created all this virtually through the omniverse.
Another example of a company using metaverse technology is Microsoft. They have been utilizing their metaverse technology to create virtual experiences. They are using a cloud platform to create this experience.
Role of Blockchain Technology in Metaverse
Blockchain technology in itself has been one of the most standout technology in the past decade. It has completely revamped the whole B2B and B2C models of entire industries. It should not come as a surprise then that most metaverse technologies will be using Blockchain Technology.
In blockchain technology, companies create a decentralized database that can be shared on a network. Furthermore, blockchain will help in increasing system security in a lot of cases. With various cryptocurrencies circulating online, Blockchain has proven its credibility.
Chances are you must have heard of Non-fungible tokens or NFTs. These are virtual assets such as GIFs, images, and videos that can only be owned by people registered on the blockchain. These digital assets are allowing people to trade them, making them a modern instrument in the finance industry.
Blockchain allowed safe and secure transactions to take place while Metaverse provided a boost as well. These two technologies together caused a huge surge in the valuations of NFT as well the acceptance of NFT’s globally.
Things like this allow us to gauge the importance of Blockchain technology. This helps us in understanding the role blockchain is touted to play alongside metaverse technology. Blockchain will help in creating a safer, secure, and more transparent environment digitally for everyone.
What are some dangers of metaverse technology?
Metaverse is still going to have an intense battle with issues of cybersecurity and privacy. Unless and until there are ways to create a secure environment and reduce the unpredictability, it will be risky business.
One of the most concerning facts is that metaverse technology is powerful. If a company doesn’t like the way metaverse works, they can simply change it. This would mean that a lot of these changes will have a major impact on our lives. One of the most important ones would be the issue of privacy.
Unless and until cybersecurity is developed further and rules and regulations prevent companies from violating privacy exist, we need to be wary of the metaverse technology. There will be constant monitoring of all cyber activity while data will be protected. Till these measures are taken, there’s a good chance of misuse.
Top Companies That Use Metaverse Technology
Metaverse is a technology for the future. But this hasn’t stopped some of the tech giants from using it. In fact, some companies have already integrated metaverse technology into their business models. Let us look at some companies that are using Metaverse Technology:
Microsoft
One of the biggest names in the tech industry, it is no surprise Microsoft uses metaverse technology. This USA-based tech giant has been working around the clock since 1975 and developing some impressive technology. Recently, they have stated their interest and ambition to make Microsoft an ‘enterprise metaverse.’ This would mean that their business model would utilize this Technology extensively.
Microsoft likes mentioned before, is already trying to implement cloud-based technology as part of its initiative. This cloud-based Technology will integrate with metaverse technology and allow people to be present in a virtual world despite being thousands of miles away.
Facebook (now known as “meta”)
One of the most recent and popular names on this list, Facebook, has recently adopted Metaverse. The company has recently made a huge decision to rename the company as ‘meta.’ This is obviously in reference to their metaverse project.
Facebook, since its launch in 2004, has largely been a social media company. But they aim to change their course now. With this shift towards a metaverse, Facebook is leading the race towards a metaverse future.
Facebook has acquired Oculus and plans to utilize its VR capabilities to the maximum. This would certainly help the company to build a virtual world around the notion of a metaverse. As one of the largest companies in the industry, it is sure to bring a lot of new and exciting developments.
Amazon
Amazon has recently become one of the most influential and widely used e-commerce businesses. It is a hugely successful business that has 1994 grown a lot. It currently competes with a lot of other tech giants as it increases its range of operations. Like we discussed earlier, such companies will benefit from Metaverse in a very specific way.
Amazon is going to utilize Metaverse because of its integration of blockchain technology. Not only are both technologies one of the most influential ones, but they are also quite important for maintaining their business model.
Amazon would be able to achieve higher customer satisfaction and provide a secure virtual environment. This virtual world would be a great boost for the company, its popularity, and its assets.
Walt Disney
How does Disney come into Metaverse? Well, one of the various types of Metaverse is AI technology. While Disney is certainly not a tech giant, they are a big company that has multiple theme parks. These places use a lot of robotics and AI to run rides and keep the place functioning.
Slowly and steadily, Walt Disney is adapting Metaverse technology to create a much better experience for their customers. Disney is an old company. Running since the 1920’s Disney’s longevity can be attributed to their success in integrating technology in their work.
Disney would be able to develop its projects while integrating metaverse technology. AI, VR, the internet of things, and much more will enable them to create a memorable experience.
Nvidia
Nvidia is one of the leading tech companies known for its GPUs. It has been in the business since 1999 and has grown a lot in that time. Adopting Metaverse is one step towards the future they have taken.
As mentioned above, Nvidia has managed to create its own metaverse technology. It is known as Nvidia Omniverse. Nvidia Omniverse allows them to combine different virtual worlds together. They also have the ability to create the said virtual worlds.
These virtual worlds can be created to look and act exactly like real-life objects. One of the prime examples of this is the BMW example that was discussed earlier. BMW used this Technology to create virtual factories and physical assets in a digital form.
What is the Future of Metaverse technology?
Metaverse technology is a combination of our real world and a virtual world. This virtual world does not exist out of the bounds of our normal and real world. This virtual world exists on a device that connects us to this virtual world.
These two separate worlds will create different patterns of consumer behavior. We will witness completely different behavior in a virtual world. In the coming years and decades, businesses will become virtual. With less and less chance of human error and interaction, companies would have virtual assistants instead of real employees.
These changes can affect a lot of consumers as well as businesses. Those businesses that fail to adapt might be left behind. This is because there will be new models of business coming up. If you do not follow these methods, you will not succeed in the era of the Metaverse.
Photo by imgix on Unsplash
Conclusion
As technology and society progress, we will see a lot more AI in businesses. It is predicted that a lot of business models will revolve completely around AI. It is important to thus create a world that will be accommodating of these changes.
The metaverse technology will bring certain complications with itself. Some of these complications could only be solved by making some minor or major changes within a company. Metaverse, like discussed above, will create whole new consumer behavior. This will require new systems and technology to be developed and studied by companies.
It is still not clear to what extent metaverse technology can leave an impression in the future whether the integration of virtual worlds with the real world creates an unprecedented period of joy. It is unknown and untested as of yet what Metaverse might do on a large scale. A lot of metaverse technology is new, and some are still in the testing and development stage.
It is difficult to predict the outcome in such a situation. But one thing is certain, should Metaverse exist in the future, we will need a much stronger cybersecurity system. The conundrum of going beyond our real world to a virtual world and facing issues that only a virtual world still exists. And unless we can find a way to combat that, metaverse technology still needs to be studied.