Facebook Horizon, an invitation-only immersive environment that users may visit by putting on an Oculus headset, was launched in 2019 as the company’s first venture into creating a VR world. Horizon Workrooms, a tool that allows coworkers using VR headsets to attend meetings in a virtual space where they all appear as cartoonish 3D representations of themselves, was released in August.

However, the Metaverse is expected to become a far more developed space in the future. According to venture capitalist Matthew Ball, the Metaverse will be “a fully functional economy… where people and corporations will be able to develop, own, invest, and sell” things. There are already monetizable gaming tokens, and a new class of assets known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that exist solely digitally has arisen.

Additionally, Ball believes that the Metaverse will “be an experience that transcends both the digital and physical worlds” and will provide “unprecedented interoperability of data, digital items/assets, and content.”

In an interview with The Verge, Zuckerberg stated that “the metaverse isn’t simply virtual reality” and that it will be available across a variety of computing platforms such as virtual and augmented reality, as well as personal computers, mobile devices, and game consoles.

According to Zuckerberg, the Metaverse will be “a permanent, synchronous environment where we can be together, which I think will resemble some hybrid between the social networks that we see now, but an environment where you’re embodied in it.”

How is it being built?

In a blog post published in September, Andrew Bosworth, VP of Facebook Reality Labs, and Nick Clegg, VP of Global Affairs, stated that “the metaverse isn’t a single product one firm can produce alone,” and that it will exist “whether Facebook is there or not.” The essay also stated that such a metaverse will not be “created overnight.” “It would most likely take another 10-15 years for this to become a reality.

In another blog post announcing the proposed hire in Europe to drive the company’s metaverse plans, the company stated that “no single company will own and operate the metaverse.” “and that “its key feature will be its openness and interoperability,” implying “collaboration and cooperation among companies, developers, creators, and policymakers.”

Online games such as Fortnite and gaming platforms such as Roblox have experimented with immersive virtual environments. Fortnite hosts a virtual reality concert with pop star Ariana Grande. According to reports, Nvidia is developing an “Omniverse.” “which is described as a platform for linking 3D virtual worlds.

The Facebook metaverse, on the other hand, will “demand sustained investment in product and tech expertise, as well as expansion throughout the business,” according to the firm “.. It has already declared a $50 million commitment to work with industrial partners, human rights organisations, governments, charities, and academic institutions “to understand how to create these technologies properly.” And it has now revealed its aim to employ 10,000 highly trained individuals in Europe to accelerate the building of the Metaverse.

What about Data Privacy?

The timing of Facebook’s European employment announcement is impeccable, coming on the heels of outages and whistleblower revelations that have resulted in terrible exposure for the social media giant.

Following the release of internal documents by former Facebook employee Frances Haugens indicating that the company was aware that its products could harm children and that it may have backed down on its crackdown on hate speech, The Washington Post, a publication owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, stated last month that Facebook’s metaverse push is “part of a broader push to rehabilitate the company’s reputation with policymakers and reposition Facebook to shape the regulation.”

While the company has not shared many details about data privacy and use in the Metaverse, previous controversies surrounding Facebook’s handling of user data have raised concerns about approaching the qualitatively different and likely more personal data that users will generate in the Metaverse.

“You’ll be able to spend time with friends, work, play, study, shop, create, and do other things.” “It’s not about spending more time online — it’s about making the time you do spend online more meaningful,” the business stated in a September blog post, making the standard pitch about time spent on its platforms.

Centring its metaverse development on Europe, where the European Union has enacted some of the World’s tightest data privacy and processing requirements as part of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), might be part of a strategy to stay ahead of regulators while developing new technology.

“The EU also has an essential role to play in creating the new internet laws.” “In the context of its ambitions to extend its metaverse push in Europe, European politicians are leading the way in helping to cement European principles like free expression, privacy, transparency, and individual rights into the day-to-day workings of the internet,” the business stated.

Real World uses of Metaverse.

One of the more prevalent use cases is training. Entertainment was among the first businesses to provide customers with virtual reality experiences, while manufacturing and healthcare were the first to adopt mixed reality and augmented reality experiences for employees.

Here are a few instances of how businesses are leveraging the Metaverse’s building blocks to conduct remote training and develop new goods and services now.

Sports and Entertainment

Peter Moore is the head of sports and live entertainment for the gaming business Unity, and he just established Unity Metacast. This platform will broadcast professional sports in real-time in 3D.

Athletes are photographed on the field, and the data is utilised to construct digital twins. The first 3D broadcast was an MMA battle between two fighters shot in a tiny venue using 106 cameras. Moore told the Financial Times that he expects the technology to be expanded to include fewer cameras and larger playing areas. Capturing real-life activity and instantly digitising it might make it easier to construct NFTs from memorable moments in games. The NBA’s approach to NFTs–Top Shots cards–might be extended to other sports.

Healthcare

Doctors were among the first to adopt augmented reality to collaborate. Microsoft’s mixed reality headsets also allow medical specialists from all around the World to virtually interact during treatments for a more modern approach to surgical procedures. Surgeons may use hand gestures and vocal commands to pull up 3D pictures from scans, retrieve patient data, and communicate with other experts using Microsoft’s HoloLens. For doctors and other healthcare professionals, this hands-free control is a significant benefit of the hardware.

Training

NASA utilises augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) aboard the space station to control robots remotely or to accomplish maintenance activities with the help of an AR assistant. In one experiment, astronaut Scott Kelly utilised a Microsoft HoloLens headgear to undertake ISS training and future mission planning. During these tests, a member of mission control on Earth streamed Kelly’s field of view through the headset and drew 3D pictures on the astronaut’s HoloLens display.

In short, Metaverse is a technology hybrid that combines virtual reality, augmented reality, and video to allow users to “live” within a digital realm. Supporters of the Metaverse envisage its users working, playing, and remaining connected with friends through activities ranging from concerts and conferences to virtual globe travel. I hope this blew your mind, because mine surely did! 

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