The Metaverse is Facebook’s vision to create a new platform for humans and bots to interact with each other by socializing, dating, playing games, shopping, and conducting one’s business.
According to Mark Zuckerberg’s statement at Connect 2021, the Metaverse will work as the successor to the mobile internet, and it will possess extensive groups of interrelated spaces which will allow human beings to do things that were otherwise impossible in the physical world.
Metaverse’s vision further includes being characterized by its social presence, which will make the users feel physically present with the person they speak to on the internet, no matter where they might be located in the world!
In addition to that, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new name for Facebook, which will now be known as Meta. There are still many milestones left to accomplish till the Metaverse is completed in its entirety. However, some of its sections are already produced and more of them are on the horizon ready to take over the world like a storm.
During the Connect 2021 keynote, Facebook shared a small look into what they’re building to improve the virtual and augmented reality we know today and they also shared the different steps they’d take to help the audience realize the full potential of the Metaverse.
An article by the Washington Post states, “The Metaverse as a concept is steeped in science fiction history, so it’s no surprise to see the company lean into the lingo. When you’re ready to move from one space to the next, you’ll “teleport into it” by performing the Metaverse’s equivalent of clicking a link.”
Some of the changes users can expect in the Metaverse are as follows:
- Next-Level Gaming
- Virtual Reality Messenger Calls
- Broadening Educational Horizons
- Virtual Fitness Routine
- Remote Working at its Peak
- Presence Platform
- Project Cambria
- Improved Augmented Reality Features
1. Next-Level Gaming
Online gaming is one of the most widely used activities by individuals of all age groups globally and is certain to be prevalent in the newly established Metaverse. During the Connect 2021 keynote, Facebook shared the gross lifetime of Beat Saber, which surpassed USD 100 million solely on the Quest Platform.
During the Connect 2021 keynote, Facebook also announced the development of Quest 2 for the Grant Theft Auto: San Andreas, allowing its users to experience one of the most trivial and exciting open worlds. Quest 2 has been in the making for the past few years and is finally ready to see the light of day. Numerous other updates and games were announced by Facebook which will be included in the Metaverse.
2. Virtual Reality Messenger Calls
By the end of 2021, Facebook aspires to launch virtual reality messenger audio calls. Through this initiative, users can jump into an audio call with their family members, friends, and loved ones from any platform that has access to the messenger and eventually travel, or spend quality time with them through virtual reality destinations.
3. Broadening Educational Horizons
Not just in social, fitness, and entertainment phases, but the Metaverse is also expected to change the way human beings learn. In the past few years, we have already seen an extensive rise in online learning, and the Metaverse will only add upon the already implemented educational trend!
Facebook announced a new initiative of $150 million. This investment will be used for coaching and educating the next generation of creative individuals in building enticing content. Facebook is also working with the Unity game engine developer to assist users in attaining the skills required for the creation of immersive virtual reality and augmented reality content.
Facebook has also partnered with multiple academic institutions to put forth an impeccable learning experience: Byius FutureSchool and VictoryXR, including various historically black universities and colleges, and nonprofits such as the Urban Arts Partnership, the Generation, and the Peace Literacy Institute.
4. Virtual Fitness Routine
Even before the introduction of Metaverse, many individuals resorted to virtual exercise helping them maintain a healthy fitness routine. Facebook aspires to launch a new set of gym accessories by next year, which will be known as “the Active Pack for Quest 2.” Quest 2 in Metaverse includes some of the best equipment to hone your gym routine.
According to Facebook, this gym accessory will “include new grips for the Touch controllers that will help you stay in control while you sweat, and an exercise-optimized facial interface will make it easier to wipe everything down afterward, so you can keep hitting your Oculus Move goals for years to come.”
Various other features included in the VR fitness routine would be a new FitXR fitness studio, a recently-implemented boxing mode for supernatural, hand-tracked bodyweight exercises in Player 22 by Rezzil, and so much more!
5. Remote Working at Its Peak
The Metaverse encompasses all aspects of our personal and professional life, including entertainment, work, dating, and education. Metaverse aims to test an initiative soon known as the Quest for Business, which is a new website that is specifically functioning to operate various businesses and will operate on the headset Quest 2 which is available to be purchased on the market.
Each user can log into their Quest for Business accounts using the Quest 2 headset through their work accounts. The Quest for Business accounts will conveniently allow its users to collaborate with their employees and access numerous apps such as the Gravity Sketch and Horizon Workrooms, without requiring the use of their personal Facebook account.
Some of those functions will be third-party mobile device management, account management, IDP and SSO integration, and more. Quest for Business’s further details are expected to release shortly. However, a limited beta version of this initiative is expected to release this year, further leading to more beta participants in 2022 with a full launch for businesses globally in 2023.
It was further announced that online services such as Instagram, Slack, Dropbox, and Facebook will work in virtual reality in Horizon Home as 2D panel apps. That means the aforementioned apps could be easily downloaded from the Quest Store. This latest update will allow its users to chat with their employees, update their social feeds, and access their files through their headsets.
6. Presence Platform
Facebook recently announced an initiative called the ‘Presence Platform’, which is a suite of machine perceptions with artificial intelligence capabilities including Spatial Anchors, Passthrough, and Scene Understanding. Developers can blend both the physical and the virtual world through the presence platform. Click here to learn more.
7. Project Cambria
Project Cambria is an all-in-one virtual reality hardware that is expected to launch next year. Project Cambria will be a high-end gadget packed with some of the best technological developments, such as pancake optics, improved social presence, color Passthrough, and more. More details on Project Cambria are expected to release soon!
8. Improved Augmented Reality Features
Augmented reality is one of the most growing features of the Metaverse and is only expected to improve in the upcoming months. According to MarketsAndMarkets, the AR market is expected to be worth $88.4 billion by 2026 and Technavio estimates that the AR market is expected to grow to $ 76.99 Billion between 2020-2024.
Facebook is currently working on the latest tools that the creators of Spark AR can implement to use digital objects in the real world, allowing people to realistically interact with those tools physically.
To help its users learn and hone their AR skills, Facebook is expanding its professional curriculum by introducing AR certifications through edX and Coursera for broader access.
What Does the Metaverse Mean for Us?
We live in a fast-paced world where technology is taking over almost every aspect of our lives. From online learning to remote working, it is almost impossible now to sustain one’s life without the use of the internet and technology.
With the introduction of the Metaverse, we are only expected to have more convenient access to educational material, online fitness training material, improved system of gaming, AR, and VR. We can only hope that the Metaverse brings a positive change in the different aspects of our lives and changes the way we live, interact, work, study, and play for the better.
