Metaverse

There are 14 posts filed in Metaverse (this is page 1 of 2).

Generative AI paves the way forward of mainstream metaverses

All big tech companies except Apple are laying off 10.000s of staff; most pivot away from VR/AR developments to Generative AI (GenAI) like ChatGPT. However, GenAI is a key ingredient for mainstream metaverses, which I expect to be built on augmented — rather than virtual — reality.

Key points in this post

  • Big tech companies shifting focus from VR/AR projects to generative AI
  • Generative AI is actually a key ingredient for (m)any mainstream metaverse
  • These metaverses are expected to be visually mainly built on AR tech
  • The (r)evolution towards GenAI is driven by the industry’s need to create new experiences for the “Next Big Thing” as new cash cow or power house
  • Tech companies changing direction should not be seen as a setback for the metaverse but as a sign of the industry’s evolution towards AR in combination with generative AI and the potential for new and exciting possibilities
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Metaverses: AI & AR

How wondrous is the metaverse, a realm of endless possibility
A place where you can shape and share your own reality
Perhaps you have already glimpsed some of its wonders
Powerful tools that let you interact and immerse yourself in others
You may have met AI, the mind that’ll guide the metaverse

Ever curious about the secrets of AI in the metaverse?
Artificial Intelligence is the skill of machines to learn and think
Some examples of AI in the metaverse are chatbots, avatars and agents
They can help, amuse but also trick you with their intelligence
Reality has changed forever, because of AI

MetaMarch Insights: 16 metaverses in the MetaPlayers Quadrant (MPQ2023Q1)

The metaverse is the next frontier of digital experiences, where people can interact, create, play and explore in immersive digital worlds. But not all metaverses are created equal. Some are more open and decentralized. Others are more focused on gaming or socializing. And some are more accessible and scalable. How can we make sense of this diversity and complexity? That’s where the MetaPlayer Quadrant comes in.

The MetaPlayer Quadrant (MPQ) is my recent framework to help you understand and navigate the metaverse landscape. It divides the metaverse into four categories, based on two dimensions: product versus platform, and (de)centralization.

In this very first implementation of the MPQ framework, we’ll dive deeper into the 16 metaverses that our researchers uncovered in the first quarter of this year. Hence, the MQP-2023Q1 edition or more popularly known as MetaMarch 2023.

Before we explore each one in more detail, a quick recap about the two axes.

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Alive and (busy) kicking!

Good day my friends,

You might be wondering when my (bi)weekly shares and monthly articles are coming again. Just a quick update that I am currently focused on a particular assignment which involves tons of research. Most are client specific so I cannot and won’t share these findings. Some are more generic yet jaw dropping like The Mukaab, a real-world Metaverse City if you will.

I will share these generic findings in an article around April 2023 due to client projects and personal time off for holiday and my kids’ birthdays.

Want more sooner? Feel free to follow or connect with me on LinkedIn where I am already sharing many developments by (re)posting and liking interesting news daily.

Have a wonderful Meta March!

The Triple Paradigm Metashift

Three megatrends are imminent. Each trend triggers a next paradigm metashift: a fundamental change of how we think about the metaverse and see our world. Literally.

Megatrends leading to Triple Paradigm Metashift

  • The first megatrend is the relocation of key functions in all-in-one mobile phones to mobile hubs with a wide range of wearable companions:
    • Wireless earplugs replaced your phone’s mic and speakers (speech)
    • Smartwatches take over phone controls (touch and gestures)
    • Smart (AR) eyewear might soon substitute your phone’s screen (sight)
  • This current megatrend, Modular Mobility, enables us to superimpose anything digital into our real-world easily with small-factor AR overlays
  • The rapid growth of Augmented Reality in the real-world instead of VR in simulated worlds, leads to the second megatrend: Reverse Virtuality
  • Reverse Virtuality (RV) is the new mindset that the metaverse is not about merely an online 3D world for VR gear but about the real-world application of truly Mixed Reality for our AR-first physical world.
  • These megatrends bring both big benefits and challenges that phase us to the third megatrend, ultimately leading to Societal Metamorphosis
    • First phase: Digital Disorder, bad actors abusing disruptive meta-tech
    • Next phase: Digital Renaissance, tech-for-good tackling global crises
    • Final phase: Digital Singularity, irrevocable transformation of society
  • The good news? A Digital Singularity would be so much better for human civilization than a Technological Singularity. The bad? It’ll be tough first.

Our world is on the brink of another technological revolution.

As we stand atop the steep slope of the S-Curve Pattern of Innovation, we can’t help but wonder what the future holds. Following the (mobile) internet revolution with the rise of the web and smartphones, it’s difficult to predict what lies ahead.

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The Metaverse Mall: the Future of Retail?

Imagine the metaverse became a reality: the lines of the digital and the physical are completely blurred with virtual objects superimposed onto our real-world. How would you picture a Metaverse Mall of the 2030s in a real-world scenario?

Key insights from this (sci-fi short) story

  • A metaverse mall is not necessarily an online 3D shopping center
  • Such a Meta Mall is primarily a physical, social “Smart Space”
  • A blend of digital personal companions and physical public sensors
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Apple Reality OS (rOS) renamed to Apple xrOS for its possibly delayed mixed reality headset

Apple Reality Operating System (or rOS for short) just seemed to be rebranded to Apple xrOS. Analysts took it as a hint that Apple was close to launching its mixed or eXtended Reality (XR) device as planned for early 2023. New reports indicate that headset shipment is delayed to the second half of 2023 due to software-related issues.

Key insights in this post

  • Reports indicate that Apple rebranded Reality OS (rOS) to xrOS
  • Shipment of the mixed reality device seems delayed to second half of 2023
  • Expected volume less than 500.000 units in 2023 at a price of ~3.000 USD
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The Metashift Quadrant: a model for potential impact of the metaverse

The Metashift Quadrant is a simple model to analyze the potential impact of one or multiple paradigm shift(s) caused by metaverse developments and its underpinning technologies like AI and XR. The four quadrants represent different types of impact.

Key points in this primer ‘metarticle’

  • The four quadrants of the Metashift Quadrant
    • Disruption: disrupting existing systems, structures and/or processes
    • Innovation: driving (AI-generated) inventions by human’s creativity
    • Synergy: creating connections across (completely) different domains
    • Transformation: transform the way people think and behave
  • On the x-axis the development stage ranges from early to late adoption
  • On the y-axis the anticipated time and longevity for the shift to manifest

Keep reading to see the visualization of the Metashift Quadrant and a pretty mind-blowing kicker at the end.

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Smart glasses for deaf people: XRAI Glass. “Life. Subtitled”

The XRAI Glass app just released on the Google Play store. It helps deaf people to see real-time subtitling in the special augmented reality (AR) glasses from Nreal. Aside from transcription, paid plans offer translation capabilities as well.

Key takeaways

  • The app released in November 2022 on the Google Play store
  • A free subscription plan offers unlimited transcription into 9 languages
  • Paid plans offer translation ($~20/mo) and a personal AI ($~50/mo)
  • The Nreal Air hardware goes for 350 USD/GBP or 500-800 EUR
  • Watch the short video clip for a quick demo
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