The concept of the Metaverse has been around for some time, and with rapidly advancing technology, we are closer to feeling its reality than ever before.
If you don’t know what it is, the Metaverse is the future of the internet, where you can virtually immerse yourself in a 3D realm to interact, live, work, shop and learn – all from the comfort of your home.
All you need is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset and an avatar, which can be a pre-built generic avatar that slightly resembles you (or not), or a custom-built representation of your exact features and measurements using advanced software, like MetaHuman, that builds incredibly multi-layered and detailed life-like avatars in minutes.
So, what will you use the Metaverse for?
Many already use VR in the gaming world, and while being superimposed into a game like Roblox or Fortnight is a familiar and compelling concept, there is so much more the Metaverse can offer.
Imagine virtually walking into your favourite clothing store and trying on clothes. If your avatar is built to your exact measurements, it will make online shopping not only realistic, but exact. Or imagine walking through your new home, that hasn’t been built yet. If you were concerned about flow, the size, or where to place furniture, you could virtually experience it first-hand.
Virtual offices in the Metaverse could create opportunities for collaboration and creativity, where employees could work together in virtual conference rooms, brainstorm ideas on virtual whiteboards, and even attend virtual conferences and trade shows.
VR also offers many benefits for education, where training programs and courses could be attended virtually, and attendees could interact with experts from around the world, providing access to high-quality training and education at a global scale, and a much lower price point.
You could say the world got a taste of the Metaverse when we were forced to adapt to a work-from-home and online model during Covid, completely revolutionising the way we interacted online and enabling us to hold meetings, watch live sports games, attend concerts and events without actually being there.
The difference with the Metaverse is that you will feel like you are actually there, interacting with others and having realistic experiences rather than just viewing it on a screen. The potential for connections and opportunities are varied and immense, not to mention the advertising and business possibilities this world will create. What an exciting time to be alive.
Are you ready for the metaverse? I’m certainly ready.
Shereen Cherrett