As this text has stated before, the metaverse is still very
young and while strides are being made towards it becoming a
reality, there are a lot of future advancements that need to
happen in the technology sector in order to make the metaverse
a real possibility. Additionally, the metaverse is going to change
every single aspect of the lives of the people who end up using
it, so they have that to look forward to as the future grows even
closer.
Emerging Technology
As we’ve stated many times throughout this book, the
technology for the metaverse is still many years away, but that
doesn’t mean that the technology isn’t coming faster than we
think. The technology that will make the metaverse possible is
already making some massive strides, and this chapter is going
to look at some of the trends and advances in our technology
that will lead to the foundation of the metaverse.
Extended reality technologies
The definition of extended reality technology is a term that
encompasses several aspects of the tech industry. Specifically,
it’s the technology that melds the virtual worlds and the physical
world. So, you might be able to buy a house without ever leaving
your couch, while virtually going inside the house and examining everything.
Of course, extended reality technology encompasses
augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed realities. Let’s take
a look at each of these technologies in greater detail.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is the overlaying of the real world with virtual
images to enhance the real world. For example, your phone is a
way to augment your reality, such as the popular video game
Pokémon Go, which takes real world locations and then
populates them with Pokémon that you can catch and interact
with. Filters and other items that put digital objects on you are
also, the same.
In augmented reality, you can see all the real world and aren’t
isolated from the people around you. You can look away from
the screen, close the application, close the filter, and then get
back into the real world and the people around you.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is the typical headset where you are fully
immersed in a digital environment, and you can get a 360
degree view of the world around you. This is typically done for
gaming, and it is one of the core components of the Metaverse.
The entire purpose of a VR system is to fool the user’s brain
into thinking that they are someplace else, and the metaverse is
going to do the same thing.
Virtual Reality is being adopted into all sorts of industries to help
train people in different jobs before letting them go into the real
world. VR is relatively new, but there's no doubt that the world is
going to grow around it and the technology is going to improve.
Mixed Realities
Finally, another core component of what the metaverse will be is
Mixed Reality. In Mixed Realities, digital and real-world items
and objects will be able to interact with one another and form a
hybrid reality. Mixed realities work with headsets, and they allow
you to place objects from the digital world in the physical world
and then have the ability to interact with it.
Mixed reality is a younger technology, but it is used in various
technologies and businesses. For example, some furniture
outlets let you use your phone to place objects inside of your
home. Some clothing companies will allow you to virtually try on
clothes or glasses before making the purchase, and you can do
all this from the comfort of your home!
Artificial Intelligence
Bridging the gap between our world and the virtual world is
going to take a lot of brainpowers, but for everything human
inventors and programmers need to do to make the metaverse
real, the load will also need to be shouldered by the Artificial
intelligence that makes up the metaverse as well.
One of the first issues that will be solved by artificial intelligence
is the facial recognition software. In order to make sure that
your avatars are like you, and that any other non-human avatars
that you meet are as realistic as possible, you need technology.
Facial and voice recognition software are going to need to be
used to ensure that your avatar is what you need.
If other digital humans (those not controlled by a human… Think
of them like NPC’s) exist in the world, then they will be built
entirely by AI and will need artificial intelligence to make
themselves dynamic in the metaverse.
Additionally, AI will be able to scan different two dimensional
and three-dimensional items from the real world and then place
them inside the metaverse. It will also be able to turn the
English language into machine code, which is then turned back
into English once the AI has a response. So, with high level
artificial intelligence, you will be able to have ‘realistic
conversations in the metaverse.
The field of Artificial Intelligence is growing even more as many
companies and businesses take advantage of the benefits of AI,
and the metaverse will have artificial intelligence running
everything… both in front of the users and behind the scenes.
Brain-computer interfaces
Finally, one of the largest pieces of technology that will come
into the metaverse is the ‘Brain-Computer’ interface. Which is
where the electrical data from your brain is attached to a
computer and allows you to analyze what should be happening
in the game. This is the closest that we are getting to the
Metaverse, because the ideas of screens and such are going to
be removed with brain computer interfaces.
Some of these are technologies that interlink your brain and
body with the virtual world, but others require surgery to implant
devices directly into your brain. The technology of brain
computer interfaces are something that will be integral to the
metaverse, and given the growing field of connecting the digital
to our brains, the technology will certainly advance.