By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
With the vast development of technology, digitization and the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), many new technologies have come up to change the world and make things better and easier.
Imagine a world different from this current one, a world powered by technology and artificial intelligence, a universe that exists on the internet, like an online universe that is only accessible online. It is a virtual world where billions of people live, work, shop, learn and interact with each other, all from the comfort of their homes in the material world.
Well, this is no longer something to be imagined because the advancement of technology has made it a possible reality today with the creation of the Metaverse. The term Metaverse is gotten from the fusion of two Greek words ‘meta’ which means beyond and ‘verse’ which means universe. So, in simple terms, the word Metaverse together, can be viewed as a universe that is beyond reality, one that will be capable of replacing or replicating every activity in the physical universe.
In 1992, the term Metaverse was first brought up by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel titled ‘Snow Crash’. In the novel Stephenson introduced the world to the concept of a metaverse where he fantasized an online universe that looked closely like the real world. A world where people could use avatars, a digital representation or handle of a person, to explore and escape from the unending problems of the actual world. Decades after the first mention of the Metaverse, technology companies have succeeded in creating an online environment that is also referred to as the metaverse. And this came to be, after several years of billion-dollar investments.
The Metaverse is a place of fast technological advancement. It is presently constructing a new era of the internet, encouraging the public to prepare to benefit from the next iteration of the internet.
Some of the technologies that provide access to this virtual world, such as virtual reality (VR) headsets and augmented reality (AR) glasses, are developing very fast. Other vital parts of the metaverse, include adequate bandwidth or interoperability standards.
The Metaverse is primarily a post-reality universe that combines both physical reality and digital virtual worlds in a multiuser environment that is continuous and lasting. It is based on the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology, which allows for multimodal interactions with digital products, virtual settings, and people. To this effect, the Metaverse is a networked web of immersive and sociable multiuser permanent platforms.
Meta and Microsoft are only two of the businesses working on technologies for interacting with virtual environments. Many other major companies are building the infrastructures needed to develop better virtual and more realistic worlds.
In trying to explain how Metaverse Technology works, author, game developer, and entrepreneur, Jon Radoff, said that the Metaverse is divided into seven separate levels and each of these levels influences one element of the user experience. They are like a conceptual framework that characterizes the value chain of the Metaverse economy and they include experience, discovery, creator economies, spatial computing, decentralization, human interference, and infrastructure.
The Metaverse has some features that have risen in popularity lately, and this has pushed Metaverse’s brand worth in the global tech industry. The features include Digital Avatars, which are like making replicas of oneself digitally in order to transmit one’s feelings and thoughts in distinctive ways, Developing Decentralization, where Metaverse users can develop and trade virtual experiences and items with monetary value without the need for a central authority, Security, and Making remote working quite effective.
Metaverse requires both hardware and software technologies to enable users access and explore the virtual world. For hardware, smartphones, laptops, desktops, Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are required, for software, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things among others are required.
The Metaverse technology presents the world with a lot of great, desirable opportunities and advantages some of which are, enabling remote studies and better collaboration, providing improved training and learning experiences, providing immersive entertainment, among others. For advantages, Metaverse could advance scientific research, It could transform all aspects of human life, develop Virtual Economies, support the Capability of Blockchain, and also improve Social Media applications, among others.
Meta verse technology platforms include Roblox, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Fortnite, Second Life, Minecraft, Meta Horizon and Soanium Space.
The Metaverse which is basically a concept by the people within the computer sector who believe it’s the next version of the internet, is a shared, permanent, single, and three-dimensional (3D) virtual location where humans can possibly experience life in different ways they are not able to in the physical world. The meta world is one that holds many interesting promises for the future.