Science Fiction Made Reality
A deep dive into the meaning of the metaverse
AR Cloud
The AR Cloud, also know as the world as a shared screen, is described by Ori Inbar as “a persistent 3D digital copy of the real world to enable sharing of AR experiences across multiple users and devices”. The AR Cloud shows a memory of the physical world and allows users to have shared experiences, not just shared videos or messages. People will be able to collaborate in play, design, study, or team-up to problem solve anything in the real world. Most importantly, it’s about increasing productivity and facilitating our daily lives. It will allow us to get searched information or questions we need quickly without having to search pages on Google. What’s difficult to understand is how would the AR Cloud understand the 3D scene to blend virtual and real and why hasn’t it happened yet? How much longer until it will be truly implemented into our lives? Pokemon Go uses game servers to store geo-location information, hyper local imagery, and players’ activity — but not a shared memory of the physical places in which its players go, which is interesting because no real shared experience can occur.
Key ideas of the AR Cloud:
Collaboration is an important term to the meaning behind AR Cloud. Sharing experiences with others creates connections and problem solving behavior and ideas.
The AR cloud would provide convenience, productivity, and focus on real environments.
Magicverse
The Magicverse is similar to the AR Cloud, but uses “verses.” which are not completely a new concept. “Verses” are data sets that represent thematic layers of content that one might want to see overlaid on their world. There can be layers for entertainment, art, sports, work, utility and so on. The importance of the idea is stated by the company: “The Magicverse can provide massive economic amplifiers to communities around the world, erode space and time boundaries, and enable communication and work to occur in completely new ways, at fractions of the cost of current physical systems.” It’s hard to understand exactly how the layers work and interact. I find it interesting that one of the problems that enables the Magicverse is the hundreds of billions of dollars of new infrastructure to create high-speed network & edge computing zones in modern cities across many countries.
Key ideas of the Magicverse:
The Magicverse is an Emergent System of Systems bridging the physical with the digital, in a large scale, persistent manner within a community of people.
Spatial computing creates the power of place and the Magicverse also evokes a paradox of place.
Mirrorworlds
Mirrorworlds are alternative dimensions of reality, layered over the physical world. They have an invisible digital layer of data that’s spatially anchored to relevant objects and places. Rather than completely removing you from your environment, they are parallel to reality. Mirrorworlds preview AR similar to maps or layouts where every object will have its twin, filled with information and ready to be manipulated. What exactly does having a digital twin mean and whats its significance? I find it interesting Mirrorworlds are farther away than expected. Kelly believes that full-blown mirrorworld won’t be here for another 25 years. It will require a hardware base of wearable AR devices, followed by all of the above mapping and content creation.
Key Ideas of Mirrorworlds:
Once in place, Mirrorworlds can activate AR sequences and feed AR devices with the right data to do their thing. It will blanket and “mirror” the physical world.
First, there was the web which linked digital information. Then social media linked people digitally. Mirrorworld will link the physical world in conceptually similar ways.
Cyberverse
Luo Wei describes Cyberverse as an innovative advanced technology that integrates the virtual world with reality. Importantly, connecting users, space, and data through spatial computing, it provides Huawei’s mobile device users with a brand-new interaction mode and unparalleled visual experience. It’s hard to understand how the HDMAP of Cyberverse and how it can automatically and efficiently draw highly precise multidimensional and multi-source HD maps by automatically identifying the features of the surrounding environment. Cyberverse was released in 2019. I think it’s interesting that this type of AR is current, but similar technolgy like Mirrorlands still has a predicted 25 years to come.
Key ideas of Cyberverse:
Cyberverse incorporates capabilities including 3D ultra-high definition map, spatial computing, better scenario understanding, and ultra-realistic immersive rendering.
Cyberverse will be used in public places such as tourist attractions, museums, smart campuses, airports, high-speed railway stations, and commercial buildings.
Planet-scale AR
At Niantic, Planet-scale AR enables experiences across current and future generations of AR hardware that will give people entirely new ways to interact with the world. While gaming is frequently common, all other AR technology is built off of the same thing: the real world. I find it interesting Niantic is mainly a gaming company, but focus on using games and other AR technology to create communication and connection between people. Niantic uses digital games to collect data about the world, and that’s hard to understand and wrap my head around.
Key ideas of Planet-scale AR:
Planet-scale AR merges advanced AR technology with the mobile industry’s 5G networks.
Advantages to players with 5G-ready AR content includes sub-millisecond low latency, and high bandwidth.
Spacial Computing
It’s important to understand that Spatial Computing is an umbrella term. Spatial computing is human interaction with a machine in which the machine retains and manipulates referents to real objects and spaces. I didn’t know Spatial Computing differs from related fields such as 3D modeling and digital design in that it requires the forms and spaces it deals with to pre-exist and have real-world valence. I find it hard understanding the specific characteristics that make the production and analysis of spatial computing systems different from purely synthetic virtual systems. What kind of characteristics would be examples of differences?
Key ideas of Spacial Computing:
The term Spacial Computing is quite complicated, because it’s an umbrella concept. It refers to a huge selection of technologies, rather than just one or two in particular.
The human brain has evolved to deal with a three-dimensional physical environment, not 2D screens. Even the language we use to describe thought is built around physical metaphor.
Broader Implications of The Metaverse and Ownership of Virtual Space/Objects
“All technologies live on a spectrum of good and evil, useful and harmful.”
Many implications that come with the Metaverse are focused towards the loss of physical connection with the world and others as well as ownership rights. Ownership in the virtual world is complex. The separation of content and platform ownership, and their inherent interdependencies, poses significant challenges to users engaged in entrepreneurial activities in virtual worlds. The virtual world business model favors the platform’s ownership rights while undermining other kinds of competing ownership interests.
Effects of extreme implementation of AR technology are formed by over-use and reliance of the technology itself. Loss of physical connection with the world and others, leaving the physical world behind, technological feasibility, and not differentiating the real and virtual world.
