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The oenpay Hitchhikersguide to the Metaverse
07.09.2023
In the scope of ‘oenpay’s Hitchhikers guide to the Metaverse’, we will share with you our insights and learnings which we have gathered on our journey to the virtual world. We invite you to join us on this journey.
The term “metaverse” was first used in Neal Stephenson’s novel ‘Snow Crash’, published in 1992, and became better known through ‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline. It refers to a digital universe of interconnected virtual worlds in which people can interact in a variety of ways.
To date, there is not a single, all-encompassing metaverse, but many fragmented versions, often driven by different technology companies.
Current technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have built the foundation; however, the concept is still in its infancy. While it promises great potential in areas like education and the arts, there are also privacy and security concerns.
The Metaverse is driven by a variety of technological developments and concepts. Aside from the XR technologies, here are some other key technologies and concepts that will likely be critical to the development and implementation of the Metaverse:
XR combines real and virtual elements with human-machine-interaction whereas AR includes virtual information in the real world, such as shown in Pokémon GO. VR fully emerges it users in a digital environment and is mostly used for entertainment purposes, but is also applicable to other industries, such as medicine.
To create realistic virtual worlds, one requires technologies to scan real-life objects and environments and transfer them into digital models. This allows for the creation of hyper-realistic virtual worlds.
To ensure a fully immersive experience, users not only need to see and hear, but be able to feel things around them. Haptic technologies, such as VR gloves or suits offer physical feedback which allows users to feel connected to their environment.
These technologies enable secure and transparent transactions in the metaverse. Crypto tokens could serve as a monetary unit for the purchase of digital goods and services, in addition, blockchain technology can be used to securely store property, identity and other data.
AI systems could be used in the metaverse to control NPCs (non-player characters), provide personalised experiences, or analyse user interactions to dynamically adjust environments.
As the metaverse requires huge amounts of data and computation, cloud and edge computing technologies will be necessary to perform data processing efficiently and close to the end user.
We anticipate that there will be many different metaverse platforms in the future. Therefore, the ability to share data, avatars, objects and experiences between them is crucial. This requires standards and protocols that enable the smooth exchange of data.
Overall, the Metaverse will require many technologies to interact with each other to create a seamless and immersive experience for the user. It is a multidisciplinary endeavour where software, hardware and design are closely intertwined.
But where exactly is the Metaverse, how do you get there and what do you need? If you want to take a trip to the metaverse, you have to make some preparations. This ranges from choosing and purchasing the appropriate technical equipment (e.g., VR goggles), selecting a suitable virtual world and its applications to designing your own virtual environments.
But everything step by step – follow us step by step on the journey into the metaverse. Stay tuned!
Contact
OeNPAY Financial Innovation HUB GmbH
Seegasse 3/1
1090 Wien
office@oenpay.at
