Question – What is Metaverse? How does it open doors to new opportunities in the Internet system? Comment. – 9 March 2022
Answer – Metaverse, combination of the prefix “meta” (implying transcending) with the word “universe”, describes a hypothetical synthetic environment linked to the physical world. It scene projects the duality of the real world and a copy of digital environments. In the metaverse, all individual users own their respective avatars, in analogy to the user’s physical self, to experience an alternate life in a virtuality that is a metaphor of the user’s real worlds. The Metaverse, in fact, is a combination of several technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and video.
The metaverse can be understood as a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world with ever-evolving aspects, a virtual world consisting of real-time events and online infrastructure. The term was coined by Neil Stephenson (‘science fiction’ author) in 1992, and the concept is common among video game companies.
6 Pillars of the Metaverse Ecosystem
- Avatar
- Content Creation
- Virtual Economy
- Social Acceptability
- Security and Privacy
- Trust and Accountability
Opportunities by the Metaverse:
- Ability to address remote work challenges
- Availability of new opportunities for businesses and marketers
- Facilitates seamless ‘cross-platform interactions’
- Better e-learning and play world
- Better Learning Resources With 3D Visualization
Technology giants like Apple and Google have ambitious plans to put the metaverse into action. With the convergence of emerging technologies and the progressive development and refinement of the ecosystem, our virtual world (or digital twin) will look radically different in the coming years. Now, due to the existence of powerful computing devices and intelligent wearable devices, our digital future is going to be more interactive, more vibrant, more embodied and more multimedia. However, there are still many challenges to face before the metaverse can be integrated into the physical world and our everyday lives.
Associated Challenges:
- Psychologists and social scientists globally are concerned with the psychological effects of dual reality.
- This will require a new approach to issues such as privacy, as well as managing who deals with whom.
- With the transition to the virtual world, there is a risk of loss of emotional quotient (EQ), loss of personality, and weakening of our senses.
Many tech giants have already started making efforts to progress in this process, with tech companies such as Facebook and Epic leading the way. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says that India is going to be a big share of the Metaverse, as India’s online gaming sector (which is one of the important components of the Metaverse) has seen a lot of growth over the years.
The creation of the Metaverse requires a holistic approach, as the Metaverse will occur as another colossal entity parallel to our physical reality. By surveying the most recent actions in different technologies and ecosystems, we anticipate a broader discussion within the metaverse ecosystem.
