Metaverse is the future of the internet. What once was a niche concept of technologists, is now an idea of a concentrated computerized world similar to the real world. A perfect example of this can be the decision of Facebook to rebrand itself as Meta.
A Video Game or the Worst Version of Zoom?
It seems quite difficult to exactly say if Metaverse is a video game or the worst version of Zoom. Generally speaking, technologies that combine Metaverse include augmented as well as virtual reality that puts together the digital and physical world. Think about how your Uber app shows you how far your car is on the location map or how Netflix identifies the shows that you have watched before for showing you related suggestions. Metaverse, in reality, is the advanced version of our current Internet. It can also transform into a digital economy where people can make, buy and sell goods. Among the big players that have adopted the concept, Nike is getting themselves ready to sell computerized sneakers.
Thousands of people are engaged in spending their time in virtual spaces such as Fortnite and Roblox. Interest has now been diverted towards digital ownership, with NFTs and cryptocurrencies increasingly making headlines. Facebook and Microsoft are planning to announce different ways to join forces online.
Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse
Several years ago, Steve Perlman’s technology helped lead in-ear where Hollywood fantasy fiction appeared highly real. Now, Mark Zuckerberg and other technologists are fantasizing about a future where we can spend much of our time in an enticing digital world known as the "Metaverse". Perlman also has some advice saved up for the Metaverse creators – “Focus on the face.”
By this, Perlman means that combining innovative technology and creative professionals in movies and complex video games has created increasingly realistic virtual creatures. They have made it happen by thoroughly examining the facial expressions and body movements. Gollum from the "Lord of the Rings" and numerous marvel movies’ superheroes are not real but seem to be to an extent that we can feel having a connection with them and their feelings.
Perlman's Work in the Area
Perlman, who has helped Apple advance its digital video technology, says what he has seen from the Metaverse now seems extremely monotonous in comparison to the games and characters in Hollywood. According to him, the face is the most expressive part of the body that none of the VR/XR headsets can exactly record. By this, he is referring to virtual reality glasses and technologies like snap glasses that combine digital images with real-world images. He is working on creating a wireless technology which he thinks is an important first step toward Metaverse and other virtual exchanges.
Perlman seems to have a record of bringing computerized characters into life. His start-up Crack made us stay connected to the 2-D characters. Mova Contour System had glittering makeup on the faces of the actors and used customized camera gear and software to transform these performances into computerized data.
This and other related tactics have now become increasingly common to put real feelings of imagination into movies and complex video games. People who laughed and cried with the animated characters should be grateful to Perlman and other technologists.
If you have tried Fortnite, Second Life, or Meta Horizon World, you will agree that these virtual beings don’t really look or feel nearly as human. They are animated characters. At times, they show people who don’t have legs in the Metaverse. Even though it seems okay, Perlman believes that to take hold in the digital world, Metaverse should make people feel human. This is where Perlman visualizes himself stepping in. For years, his company has worked on a wireless technology that aims to deal with the flow of digital information and convert the same action onscreen as the movement of a person’s head wearing VR goggles within snippets of a second.
What's Next?
Even if it seems Metaverse has a long way to go, we are found spending more time engaging with each other through screens, searching for more real ways to connect which seems a technical challenge as well as a humanitarian one. You get to earn through Metaverse as well. With blockchain centralized games, people can transform their time into cryptocurrency.