The Metaverse is one of the greatest technological developments of the 21st century and is the next step in the evolution of Virtual and Augmented reality, but like most new technological advancements, it might initially be difficult for some people to understand exactly what it is and what it means for the future of technology, more specifically the technology we use to communicate and interact with one another.
The Metaverse is a large variety of interconnected virtual reality games and applications that form one single massive virtual world. Within this world, one can play games, go to parties and concerts, connect with friends or even attend business meetings, all without leaving the comfort of your home. Originally an idea created by American author Neal
Stephenson in the 1992 Science Fiction novel Snow Crash, the Metaverse proposes a whole new method of communication and socialization with an infinite number of possibilities. In
this new world, being yourself is entirely optional because you can choose to be represented by a digital avatar of your choice.
It is quite apparent that the line between reality and fantasy is becoming increasingly blurred with every new development in the Metaverse and in the field of Virtual Reality Technology. In its fully developed state, the Metaverse promises to offer a hyper-realistic sensory experience. With the use of full-spectrum VR headsets and tactile-responsive haptic gloves, users will one day be able to experience a variety of sights, sounds and smells.
However, the Metaverse is far from realising its full potential and still has a long way to go before it becomes the science fictional utopia it promises to be.
Meta, parent company of Facebook and the most prominent contributor to the Metaverse, is constantly doing advanced research regarding technology that users will utilize in order to access the Metaverse. Some of this technology includes Project Aria, Project Nazare and Project Cambria. During Meta’s YouTube video titled The Metaverse and How We’ll Build It Together—Connect 2021, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, has elaborately explained these projects, as well as the purpose they are meant to serve when they are finally accessible to the public in its fully realised, fully functioning final state.
According to Zuckerberg, the goal of Project Aria is to progressively integrate our devices into everyday life, enhancing the world around us and dramatically changing the way in which we interact with it. Project Aria itself is a research device that is worn like regular glasses. It is capable of capturing and recording what the wearer sees and hears, as well as tracking the wearer’s eye movements. It stores and uses this recorded information in order to help researchers understand how Augmented Reality can work within the real world. This information will also help build software that would eventually be able to create live 3D maps of the user’s environment.
Project Nazare is a more technologically advanced piece of research. It can be defined as a set of Augmented Reality glasses that would give the wearer the ability to see holographic images and communicate with others via Meta’s various networks. It would allow the user to view others as virtual 3D Avatars and interact with them in real-time with the assistance of 3D digital tools, props and assets.
Project Cambria is perhaps the most advanced of Meta’s upcoming projects. A Virtual Reality headset, separate from Meta’s Occulus Quest series, Project Cambria will have a series of advanced features that its predecessors were not equipped with. Project Cambria will be capable of High-Resolution Colour Passthrough, allowing it’s 4 head-mounted cameras to create a fully coloured, high-definition image of the real world around it. Much like the Quest 2, it will also be able to use the cameras to track the position of the user’s head and controllers, as well as map out the environment around the user to create virtual safety barriers that prevent the user from bumping into their surroundings.
Project Cambria will also be capable of the tracking the user’s eye movements, which is a significant step forward in Virtual Reality Technology. This will allow for more realistic eye movements for the user’s avatar within the Metaverse. In order to achieve their goals and further progress the technology that will enhance one’s experience in the Metaverse, Meta is aggressively recruiting more staff members and researchers from a large number of sources, including the team who helped develop the Microsoft HoloLens, a ground-breaking achievement in the world of Augmented Reality.
It is clear that the Metaverse still has quite a way to go before it becomes anything the vast virtual utopia Neal Stephenson’s novel makes it out to be, but it is also clear that Mark Zuckerberg and the researchers at Meta are constantly working and improving the hardware and software that will make the Metaverse more accessible to everyday users. In fact, with this steady pace of development and improvement, it is only a matter of time before the Metaverse becomes a part of our everyday lives.
Metaverse South Africa
Here at Metaverse South Africa we are one of the pioneering companies in the Metaverse, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality industry. We can assist you to develop custom virtual reality, custom augmented reality and custom metaverse software solutions, 3d Modeling and world creation. If you are looking for a company to assist you with Metaverse developments we can help you!
You can contact Gerald Ferreira on 072 234 7513 or email him on zaluckyb@gmail.com