"The metaverse is here, and it's not only changing the way we see the world, but the way we participate in it, from the factory floor to the boardroom."
Satya Nadella, Microsoft
Today, such concepts as the metauniverse or cyberspace are increasingly integrated into various spheres of life in countries. Due to its unique offer and a fairly wide range of possible uses, the metauniverse can become a powerful driver for interesting and useful changes. But what is this very metauniverse?
Metaverse: concept and idea
In a general sense, the metauniverse is a special virtual (very often collective) world that is outside the real physical space. It combines aspects of physical and virtual reality.
One of the main characteristic features of the metauniverse is the use of immersiveness, i.e. technologies that create the impression of complete or partial immersion in the virtual world. Also known as augmented reality technologies. These include virtual/augmented reality and 360° video. It is these immersive technologies that provide the effect of full or partial presence in an alternative space of the metauniverse and thereby change the user experience in completely different areas.
In many ways, the idea of using a metaverse is still at a fairly early stage of justification. It still has issues that need to be addressed, such as security, privacy, regulation, and accessibility. However, thanks to the advantages that the metauniverse can provide in the future, more and more countries are focusing on the development of their activities in the field of cyberspace and virtual reality.
They support the metaverse
With regard to active support, the following countries should immediately be singled out:
- USA:
The idea of Metaverse originated in the USA. Today, there are many companies developing parallel technologies such as AR and VR. In addition, metauniverses in the USA are widely used in various fields: from a gaming cluster to distance and interactive learning or virtual tours.
- South Korea:
For a long time, South Korean society has been planning to move completely to the format of a digital society. This year alone, cyberspace funding will amount to more than $170 million. This will facilitate the transfer of social aspects to the virtual world, as well as encourage the growth of jobs and businesses related to the Metaverse. In addition, the South Korean government hopes that this may interest young professionals to continue their education in such a specialized direction. The ultimate goal of Seoul (the capital of South Korea) is to have a virtual ecosystem for all services, including culture, economy, education and tourism, by 2026.
- Japan:
In addition to actively using the metaverse for programming and video game development, Japan also follows major trends in cyberspace and is constantly looking for new applications. Since last year, the country's government has accelerated investments in irreplaceable tokens and the metauniverse, and is actively promoting Web 3.0. All these points became the basis for Japan's digital transformation.
- China:
In China, the idea of a metaverse has been actively raised on the Internet and the media in general. There are already several major companies operating here, which base their activities precisely on the idea of using the metauniverse. And in addition to the educational and scientific sphere, we can see the application of virtual worlds in architectural planning, engineering and other spheres of social life.
Popular and useful ways of using the metaverse
Due to its special concept of definition, methods of operation and main idea in general, the metauniverse can be used in completely different areas of our life. The main condition is correct integration.
You can already see the interesting application of the metauniverse in the following areas of life:
- Teaching;
The educational and training potential of Metaverse is as promising as its other program areas. VR in combination with Metaverse effects brought the learning process to a qualitatively new level. Students can now watch live experiments with more intensive and high-quality knowledge resources.
- Providing services to clients;
It is only worth mentioning how the largest Japanese bank MUFG plans to provide financial services through the metaverse in 2023. Inside the metauniverse, the company will offer customers an almost complete list of its financial services.
Another example is Japanese administrator Mako Tanaka, whose "office" is in the Japanese branch of a multi-regional virtual world created by an American company. Tanaka's main task is to communicate with customers through an avatar. Such a city is a full-fledged urban center with office buildings, shopping centers and a park. Shops and restaurants are owned by real companies, and visitors buy goods through shopping websites.
- Travels;
Virtual tourism is another promising use case for the Metaverse. Here, the technology allows traveling in a virtual environment, which is an advantage for users who cannot (or do not want to) travel long distances. Experts say the creation of Metaverse's immersive digital experience with augmented and virtual reality is the biggest breakthrough in the travel industry.
Thanks to the 360° virtual tour, you can not only observe the described place, but also be present in the desired digital form. A very popular example is the virtual reality launch of Thomas Cook "Try before you Fly" (or "Try before you fly"), which helps potential tourists to virtually visit desired places.
- Medicine;
Ever since the global pandemic, scientists and doctors have turned their attention to such a concept as "Telemedicine". Its main concept is that patients and doctors can interact in virtual 3D clinics. For example, is already available case to learn about new possibilities for diagnosis and planning of surgical operations.
The metaverse can also be helpful for psychological problems, stress, and anxiety. After all, therapy is another possibility of the Metaverse, where patients can transfer themselves to a calm digital environment in case of panic and anxiety.
- Leisure;
The gaming industry is said to be one of the main users and investors of Metaverse technology. After all, it allows players to interact with other participants in a single compatible environment.
Such popular games as The Sandbox, Sorare and Axie Infinity, are some of the successful examples of Meraverse operating in the online gaming sector.
In addition, Metaverse games have special attributes that make the player experience special. Some of them include a full social environment where every user stays in touch. This is what set Metaverse games apart from other VR games.
Metauniverse + education and science
One of the promising methods of using the metauniverse concept will be education itself. According to its structure, Metaverse can become a powerful tool for the educational process, because it will allow creating innovative and interactive learning experiences that students cannot get in reality. Here are some potential applications:
- Minimum - game-based learning. This is an education based on the use of computer games to acquire knowledge and skills. Such games may include elements of the metaverse, which increase the immersiveness of the game (involvement) and create a more realistic experience.
- Virtual classrooms and collaborative learning. A good method for continuous use on a remote basis. In such environments, the metauniverse will use a virtual space in which teachers and students can learn and interact with each other.
- Virtual tours. Museums and galleries have also actively begun to offer such an opportunity to all interested parties since the pandemic. The metauniverse becomes the basis for creating virtual halls for tours with all presented exhibits. It allows students to explore different places and cultures of countries from their computer or virtual reality. An interesting project in this direction is Mused, where you can virtually walk through the pyramid Giza. You can also walk through the exhibition halls The Louvre, to visit British National Gallery, Dali Theater-Museum, National Museum of Natural History in Washington and many other options.
- Simulations. A promising method for teaching diverse professions and specialties. Metauniverses can be used to create simulations that allow students to experiment with different scenarios and situations without real consequences. An example can be a case MARINET and VR simulators for training sailors as well as the military (training apparatus for shooting training with MANPADS "Igla" from the "Return alive" fund).
- Regarding the use of simulation for training professionals in various fields, Ukraine also has its own interesting stories. Among which is a more familiar example of how DTEK uses VR technologies for innovative employee training. In addition, a few years ago, the Ukrainian energy company DTEK, together with Teslasuit and the domestic startup Sensorama, developed a virtual simulator of a thermal power plant (TES). It allows you to accelerate staff training in a safer environment using tactile technology.
- Virtual laboratories. Such research areas will allow students to carry out practical tasks and research without the need to be physically present in a real laboratory.
- Communication with experts. The metauniverse can offer a good opportunity for a virtual meeting with experts from various spheres of life. Such meetings will bring together beginning students and practicing professionals from all over the world, giving them access to real-world experience and new knowledge.
In the conclusion
With the development and continuous improvement of VR/AR technologies and expanded 360° video, the meta-universe is attracting more and more attention from countries and companies that want to follow trends and respond to societal challenges. Additional excitement also creates the possibility of wide application of the metauniverse in various areas of our lives - from gaming leisure to treatment, from designing a house to virtual shopping in real VR shopping centers, from education to daily work in a virtual office through a special avatar. Therefore, it is worth continuing to follow the development trends of the metauniverse, which continues to attract more and more interest due to its technological and ideological advantages, especially for the fields of education and research.
Borovyk Lyubov, journalist
Department of Communications ISTU
