We are all accustomed to the concept of the universe because we live there. Maybe you have only heard about the Multiverse in some Sci-Fi movies, I hope am right?
Did you ever wonder why Facebook rebranded to “Meta” and employed 10,000 persons to develop it? Oh! I guess you didn’t give much of a thought.
If you ever played a 3D game with a VR headset, you will understand this concept quicker than someone who hasn’t. That is fine, we will be exploring the Metaverse, a world beyond the known.
Though Metaverse is still an evolving idea, it envisions a world of 3D that is encapsulated in Virtual Reality(VR) Mixed Reality(MR), Augmented Reality(AR), gaming, cryptocurrency, social media and a lot more. Metaverse tends to open up a new realm of socialization, work, entertainment, learning, earning etc. What I am trying to say in a nutshell is that the Metaverse is about to change the way we think, see and use the internet. By transforming the Internet from 2D to 3D, web content instead of displaying in 2D on regular smartphones and PC screens will be transformed into 3D. By Metaverse, browsing and interacting, and other activities on the internet will be transformed into a three-dimensional experience. For example, instead of playing the games on a 2D webpage; in Metaverse the webpage will be modified into a 3D space where gamers will have the ability to interact with other users and play the games as in-game avatars. With the integration of virtual reality headsets, users can have an immersive experience visually and physically.
To have a better understanding of the Metaverse, it is cool if we shade lights on the technologies that will power the Metaverse.
Virtual Reality: VR is a computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings. This environment is perceived through a device known as a Virtual Reality headset or helmet.
Mixed Reality: the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time.
Augmented Reality: can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects.
3D Construction: The ability to create realistic and natural-looking spaces. Through special 3D cameras, we can take our world online by rendering accurate 3D photorealistic models of buildings, physical locations, and objects.
Internet Of Things(IOT): IoT is a system that takes everything in our physical world and connects them to the Internet through sensors and devices. After connecting to the Internet, these devices will have a unique identifier and the ability to send or receive information automatically.
Cryptocurrency: In Metaverse cryptocurrency will be used to make purchases of any products or services. With a built-in privacy and security the digital currency will be made private, safe, and untraceable.Just like cash, you can use your cryptocurrency anywhere to make transactions in Metaverse.
With the integration of AR, VR, MR, gaming, social media and cryptocurrency, IOT and 3D construction, the Metaverse will open up a realm of possibilities, immersed social interactions, in-depth communication and a foundation that will encourage the emergence of Web3.
Implications Of The Metaverse.
some implications of the Metaverse will be:
1. Decrease in the rate of travel. People will have less need to travel for business and pleasure, which will decrease pollution. However, analyst predicts an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Just as Facebook recruited 10,000 staff to develop Metaverse, in the same vein, metaverse has the potentials to create myriad opportunities in tech.
3. Virtual reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented reality technologies and data centres use AI and cloud services, which require large amounts of energy and will pose a threat to the environment via pollution.
4. Metaverse will encourage more people to acquire new technologies that support VR, MR and AR; that means an influx in e-waste — which will pollute our soil, groundwater, and landfills.
5. The cost implications in acquiring technologies that propagate Metaverse by Smaller companies could monopolize the innovation.
6. Cloud gaming, which is necessary for VR, could also raise carbon emissions by 2030. This will increase the necessity for hi-res images, creating the need for more energy thereby encouraging global warming.
How Will The Metaverse Encourage Web3?
It is very profitable to have an open-source democratic internet space that will ensure that these different virtual worlds interlink and share resources interdependently.
Metaverse is all about the merging of virtual and physical worlds, with the ability to improve user internet experience and expectations as it transits from the mainstream 2D to a complex and more engaging 3D space of VR, MR, AR and cryptocurrency. While Web 3.0 with the exponential growth of NFTs, P2E games and DAOs under a decentralised internet powered by blockchain technology will divulge control of the internet space from the big tech companies to small businesses and individuals. Web3.0 and the Metaverse will merge and integrate into our lives the abilities to interact seamlessly, communicate beyond the physical dimensions, own digital properties and have control over what happens in an around the digital world.
