You’ve probably heard how the metaverse will usher in a new era of digital connectivity, virtual reality (VR) experiences, and e-commerce. And technology companies are betting on it: the huge $68.7 billion acquisition of game development giant Activision Blizzard it reflected the company’s desire to strengthen its position in the interactive entertainment space.
Prior to this, Facebook’s parent company renamed itself Meta, a key pillar of founder Mark Zuckerberg’s grand ambitions to reinvent the social media platform as “a metaverse company, building the future of social connection.” But other non-tech corporations are clamoring to get in on the ground floor, from Nike Introduces New Brands To Sell Virtual Air Jordans to Walmart getting ready for offer virtual merchandise in online stores using your own cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
As a journalism professor who has researched the future of immersive media, I agree that the metaverse opens up transformative opportunities. But I also see inherent challenges on its path to mainstream adoption. So what exactly is the metaverse and why is it touted as a revolutionary innovation?
The metaverse is “an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds,” according to a study of ACM Computer Surveys. These worlds are accessed through a virtual reality headset — users navigate the metaverse using their eye movements, feedback controllers, or voice commands. The headset immerses the user, stimulating what is known as presence, which is created by generating the physical sensation of actually being there. To see the metaverse in action, we can look at popular massively multiplayer VR games like Recreation room either worlds horizonwhere participants use avatars to interact with each other and manipulate their environment.
But the broader applications beyond gaming are amazing. Musicians and record labels are experimenting with organize concerts in the metaverse. He the sports industry follows suitwith the best franchises like manchester city build virtual stadiums so fans can watch games and, presumably, buy virtual merchandise.
Perhaps the most far-reaching opportunities for the metaverse will be in learn online Y government services. This is the popular conception of the metaverse: a virtual reality-based world independent of our physical one where people can socialize and engage in a seemingly limitless variety of virtual experiences. all supported by its own digital economy.
More than virtual reality
But there are challenges to overcome before the metaverse can achieve widespread global adoption. And a key challenge is the “virtual” part of this universe. While VR is seen as a key ingredient in the metaverse recipe, entry into the metaverse isn’t (and shouldn’t) be limited to having a VR headset. In a sense, anyone with a computer or smartphone can access a metaverse experience, such as the second life digital world. Offering broad accessibility is key to making the metaverse work based on VR’s continuing uphill battle to gain traction with consumers.
The virtual reality market has seen remarkable innovations in a short period of time. A few years ago, people interested in virtual reality at home had to choose between expensive computer systems that connected the user or Inexpensive but extremely limited smartphone-based headsets.
We have now seen the arrival of very high quality and affordable portable wireless headphones like Meta’s Quest Line, which has quickly become the market leader in virtual reality for the home. The graphics are stunning, the content library is stronger than ever, and the device costs less than most video game consoles. So why are so few people using virtual reality?
On the one hand, the global sales of VR headsets they have been growing2021 being an exceptional year for headphone manufacturers, who had their best sales since the flurry of big-brand VR headset launches in 2016. But they still only sold about 11 million devices worldwide. Getting people to even use their devices can be challenging, as estimated only 28 percent of people who own VR headsets use them on a daily basis. so numerous Tech critics have pointed outthe major VR revolution that has been promised for years has largely did not come to fruition.
Virtual movement, physical discomfort
There are countless factors, from missed marketing opportunities a manufacturing hurdles, as to why VR hasn’t caught on in a bigger way. But it is possible that the use of virtual reality is inherently unappealing to a significant number of people, particularly for frequent use. Despite impressive advances in display technology, VR developers are still trying to tackle what’s called cyber disease – a feeling of nausea similar to motion sickness – its devices cause in many users.
Studies have found that physical discomfort in the neck it can present another barrier, which could continue to be a problem as long as VR requires the use of large headsets. There is also research suggesting that women experience much higher levels of discomfort because the fit of the headphones is optimized for men. And beyond the physical challenges of using VR is its isolating nature: “Once you put the headset on, you cut yourself off from the world around you,” Ramona Pringle, professor and researcher of digital technology, wrote in a CBC opinion piece.
Certainly some are drawn to virtual reality to experience greater escapism or to interact virtually with others. But this disconnection from the physical world and the uncomfortable feeling of separation from people can be a major obstacle to people willingly wearing a headset for hours at a time.
Augmented reality (AR) experiences may hold the key to the metaverse reaching its true potential. With AR, users use their smartphone (or other device) to digitally enhance what they perceive in the physical world in real timeallowing them to access a virtual world without ceasing to feel present in it.
An augmented reality-focused metaverse wouldn’t be a whole new digital world, it would intersect with our real world. It is this version of the metaverse that might actually have the ability to change the way we live, argues computer scientist and technology writer Louis Rosenberg in another report of The conversation:
“I think the vision portrayed by many Metaverse companies of a world filled with cartoonish avatars is misleading. Yes, virtual worlds for socializing will become quite popular, but [they] they will not be the means through which immersive media transform society. The true Metaverse, the one that becomes the central platform of our lives, will be an augmented world. If we do it right, it will be magical and it will be everywhere.”
This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article by Assistant Professor of Journalism Adrian Maof Toronto Metropolitan University.
