A metaverse by any other name

In science fiction, the metaverse is envisioned as a unified and singular immersive digital platform that is separate but parallel to the real world. For next year, value is more likely to be found in less holistic expressions of the metaverse. Info-Tech views the metaverse as best understood from a technological perspective. A convergence of mixed reality, artificial intelligence, immersive digital space, and real-time communications stack together to create metaverse experiences. Depending on the use case, not all technologies may be necessary to produce value.

The term “metaverse” exploded into buzzword territory in November 2021 when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook was renaming to Meta, making its future ambitions clear. Shortly thereafter, Microsoft used its Ignite conference to recast several of its product lines as metaverse technologies, including Microsoft Mesh, a mixed reality collaboration platform that includes 3D avatars and object models. Neither Facebook nor Microsoft explicitly defined the metaverse as a concept. But their demonstrations of people interacting through digital identities in an immersive virtual world that’s connected to the real world harken back to the vision of Neal Stephenson, who coined the term in his 1992 novel Snow Crash.

In 2022, many technology firms adopted the term or amplified their use of the term. Builders of decentralized virtual worlds such as Decentraland and Sandbox had been talking about their “metaverse” even before Zuckerberg’s announcement. Their use of the term conflates the concept with “Web3,” which describes the next generation of the internet that’s built on blockchain. Other major vendors are relating to the term, most notably NVIDIA with its Omniverse product line, which it calls “the metaverse for engineers.” Ireland-based ENGAGE XR Holdings bills itself as “the professional VR platform for leading Fortune 500 companies globally,” and has clients including BMW, 3M, and HTC.

“For next year, value is more likely to be found in less holistic expressions of the metaverse. Info-Tech views the metaverse as best understood from a technological perspective. A convergence of mixed reality, artificial intelligence, immersive digital space, and real-time communications stack together to create metaverse experiences.”

While it continues to escape definition, an effort to create open standards around the metaverse is underway. The Metaverse Standards Forum combines standards organizations with industry players. The work is necessary if Stephenson’s vision of a truly universal metaverse is to ever be realized. Today, the early metaverse is fractured across multiple different private and public platforms, with limited portability between the worlds.

THE METAVERSE MADE BY MICROSOFT AND META

Marketing pitches and media headlines leave IT leaders wondering if they should be running a proof of concept on VR collaboration in 2023 or perhaps staking a claim to virtual real estate. For this reason, Info-Tech projects that value in the metaverse will more likely be found in less holistic versions of itself, allowing for customization and adaptability for companies based on each use case to produce value.

Despite renaming the company to Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook isn’t seen as defining the metaverse space by IT professionals. Instead, Microsoft and industry analysts were trusted to give an accurate picture of what’s coming in five years’ time.

When it comes to envisioning what the metaverse will look like five years from now, whom do you most look to for an accurate picture?

Microsoft 35^% Industry analysts or consultants 35^% Meta (formerly Facebook) 9^% Creators of blockchain-based virtual worlds 6^% Other 5^% Nvidia 4^% Authors of science fiction 3^% Epic Games 3^%

Signals Let’s just stick to Zoom

The metaverse as a solution to hybrid work is still a far-off concept for most firms, with 63% of organizations having no plans to collaborate in virtual reality (using headsets that totally block out the real world). Only one quarter of firms are conducting a proof of concept or planning to do so. Slightly more than one in ten say they're either scaling up or already seeing widespread organizational adoption.

When survey takers were asked individually about their interest in collaborating in VR, about one in four said they were interested. That’s equal to the number of organizations that are at least planning a proof of concept, showing that on average, organizations are demonstrating the right amount of enthusiasm for the metaverse.

Organizations show slightly more interest in adopting augmented reality headsets (which are transparent, allowing the real world to be seen) over virtual reality. Thirty-five percent of organizations are at least planning a proof of concept or are more advanced in using AR headsets, compared to 32% that can say the same of VR headsets.

Two industries are showing more interest than others in collaborating in VR. The media, information, telecom, and technology industry (n=75) is most enthusiastic with 34% at least already conducting a proof of concept. The professional services industry (n=93) is the next-most interested, with 29% already conducting a proof of concept or an initiative that’s progressed even further.

What best describes your organization’s current approach for collaborating in a virtual reality environment?

How interested are you in using a virtual reality headset to collaborate with your colleagues?

Drivers Meeting on equal footing

“...tech firms focused on digital collaboration solutions see interaction in a mixed reality environment, involving avatars and shared virtual spaces, as a way that everyone can collaborate on equal footing in a more natural way.”

Metaverse collaboration is a response to the challenges experienced around remote work during the pandemic

The concept of “Zoom fatigue” describes the exhaustion due to the mental effects of engaging in videoconferences all day long (IFRI, 2022). With most organizations moving to a hybrid model of work, it can be difficult to facilitate meetings between employees who are in the office and those working remotely. Colleagues limited to participating through a screen tend to be ignored. For this reason, tech firms focused on digital collaboration solutions see interaction in a mixed reality environment, involving avatars and shared virtual spaces, as a way that everyone can collaborate on equal footing in a more natural way.

The pandemic also disrupted business travel

Industries that rely on specialized experts to travel to different locations to maintain complex machinery had to find ways to adapt. Rather than having the skilled technician travel to the location, they can connect with an onsite employee wearing an augmented reality headset like Microsoft HoloLens. Using the camera and speakers on the device, the expert can effectively see through the eyes of the non-skilled employee and give them step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task. This type of interaction is being enhanced with recorded sessions, digital models and animations of complex machinery, and even digital twins of entire environments.

While friction in the workplace is being resolved, the last couple of years have seen a boom of time spent on digital entertainment

Meta is estimated to have sold 8.7 million Quest 2 VR headsets in 2021, rising to 15 million by mid-2022 (Android Central, March and June 2022). Meanwhile, gaming platforms that invite users to build their own experiences, such as Roblox and Fortnite, are demonstrating the viability of business models that allow free access to a virtual world and drive revenue through microtransactions.

Attack opportunity – protect from risk Pursue digital twins, avoid vendor lock-in

Opportunities

Enhance field worker productivity

Workers that typically work with their hands can benefit from accessing an enterprise knowledgebase and collaborating with experts through an augmented reality headset. This type of solution is more mature than full-on virtual reality use cases for the enterprise. There are a variety of manufacturers making headsets at different price points, solution providers to deploy them to your workforce, and systems integrators to tie them into enterprise systems.

Plan complex logistics better

Digital twins are proving useful to plan out changes to manufacturing lines, airports, and warehouse facilities. If you operate an environment with a lot of moving pieces and a lot can be gained from optimizing it, building digital twins is a capability worth pursuing.

Risks

Platform lock-in

Early platform providers have paid lip service to the idea of portability across metaverse environments, meaning you can take your data from one vendor’s platform to another’s. But how interoperability will work is unclear. A company could build out a customized metaverse experience on a private platform, only to later have the terms changed.

Evaporating margins

Initial revenue-sharing schemes released by Meta for Horizon Worlds have been aggressive, claiming almost half of the pie from developers (Ars Technica, April 2022).

Legal Quagmire

If a harassment lawsuit is filed based on an interaction that took place in the metaverse, in what jurisdiction should it be brought to court? What rights does one have to virtual real estate or digital goods registered to the blockchain? There are many opinions to be found on these questions but not a lot of clarity. The early metaverse experience may feel a bit like the Wild West, with platform providers playing the role of sheriff.

case study Moots in the metaverse

“We’re looking into 3D recreations of a crime scene. Can we transport the judge and jury virtually to the scene of the crime?” Ritesh Kotak
Juris Doctor Graduate
University of Ottawa

Situation

The University of Ottawa’s Common Law Section holds a moot competition for its students annually, requiring teams to prepare written submissions on a legal point and then argue their case in front of a panel of judges. It’s meant to simulate the feeling of being in a courtroom and is typically hosted in a real physical courtroom. Pandemic restrictions made that impossible and the competition was to be held using Zoom videoconference. Seeking to improve upon the virtual experience, third-year Juris Doctor student Ritesh Kotak worked with peers, Tech Fellows Ayushi Dave and Ryan Mosoff, on a metaverse moot initiative.

Action

With funding from LeClair and Associates, the students engaged Ireland-based ENGAGE XR to help create a virtual courtroom. Using the company’s virtual reality platform, an existing American courtroom was modified to suit the moot competition style of three judges and no jury. After initial rounds of the moot were completed over Zoom, the finalists held their moot contest on the VR platform in March 2022. A former Supreme Court justice and a current Ontario Court justice helped judge the event. Participants were shipped Meta Quest 2 headsets to use for the experience. They uploaded photos of themselves to create avatars with their likeness. “It felt real, it felt like we were in a courtroom,” Kotak says. “No one thought we would ever do trials over Zoom until the pandemic happened. To me, that was a bandage approach to create some continuity. It wasn’t the be-all and end-all.” An in-world videographer created a recording of the virtual event that was suitable to stream on YouTube.

Resolution

Funding from LeClair and Associates for the project lasts through 2026. Even though the moot competitions can now be held in person again, Kotak says there are plans to take a hybrid approach to them and still include a VR component. Kotak has now graduated but plans to volunteer his time for the project. Their aim is to introduce a new element that hasn’t previously been done in a trial every year. For next year, they are looking at introducing a recreation of a crime scene to serve as evidence in a trial. “Can we transport the judge and jury, virtually, to the scene of a crime?” Kotak says. “They could walk around and see that scene virtually, with real evidence.” Also of interest is to expand on open court principles, to allow the public to have access to trials that are taking place. Kotak says some members of the public were invited to sit in the virtual gallery at this year’s moot competition.

what’s next? A metaverse that moves you

Holographic communications systems are being created by several vendors. With enterprises already testing prototype products, we could see some of these solutions come to the market in general availability in 2023. These solutions focus on projecting photorealistic 3D images of people into a remote environment. Users wear augmented reality headsets to see the holographic content and interact with it. Capturing the hologram-quality 3D image also requires special equipment and cloud-based rendering of multiple video feeds.

Some solutions in this space use volumetric video to capture the holograms. Cisco is developing a light field capture method with Webex Hologram that it says offers a more realistic representation of people and objects. “We bring a glass of water into the scene, and you can see the reflections bounce off the water,” says Edel Joyce, product manager for Webex Hologram at Cisco. “Our goal is to make it as real as possible so you can get that emotional feeling of the presence.”

It’s still in prototype mode, but Cisco has several early customers testing out Webex Hologram across different industries. McLaren Racing is the one publicly stated partner, but other users include two hospitals, two universities, a manufacturer, an apparel design firm, a medical device maker, and other technology firms. Companies investing in the system are seeing value in a few different scenarios, Joyce says. Companies that require expert trainers to travel onsite to demonstrate complex equipment can save on the airfare for their trainer and instead have them do several sessions a day in different locations by appearing holographically. Companies that want to accelerate a design process around a physical object find the technology brings them to consensus more quickly. And then there’s the mental health benefits of feeling the presence of another person despite their distance. Cisco is talking to defense forces about arranging for deployed overseas troops to have a holographic family visit, Joyce says.

Cisco is learning how to refine its product from its early customers. Improvements to the interface are made iteratively and paring back the requirements for the capture system will help bring down the cost. “People don’t need to see the back of your head during a meeting,” Joyce says. “So, we’ve narrowed down the number of cameras we need on a device.” Cisco is not sharing any pricing or roadmap information on Webex Hologram at this time.

“We’re tricking the brain to make you think the person is present. It’s as real as you can get.” Edel Joyce
Product Manager for Webex Hologram
Cisco

What will be the HTML of the metaverse?

Hypertext markup language (HTML) made the web possible by setting a standard for how web browsers rendered content. If a future metaverse is going to be equally seamless and accessible, a similar standard is necessary. NVIDIA and Pixar are championing the Universal Scene Description (USD) standard developed by Pixar and released to open source in 2016. It defines not only the visual characteristics of an object in 3D but its behavioral attributes as well, such as weight, density, and whether it has an interactive component (NVIDIA, 2022).

Recommendations Manage 3D content and improve hybrid engagement

Watch and wait as the metaverse develops

The vision of the metaverse as a universal digital space where people interact at scale and spend money is still a distant vision. It’s OK to stay in learning mode for now and not rush into a proof of concept using virtual reality headsets or blockchain-based digital real estate.

Consider how to manage 3D objects

Digital 3D objects are becoming more useful in a number of different work settings to facilitate collaboration around complex machinery or environments. Consider how you will create the digital twin of your environment and how you will manage the inventory of 3D objects.

Improve the hybrid work experience

The metaverse is proposed as a way to facilitate more engaged collaboration between colleagues who are split between working in the office and working in remote locations. But it’s not the only way. Think about how to improve your conferencing facilities and procedures to get the most out of hybrid meetings.

Info-Tech Resources

Into the Metaverse

Understand the definition of the metaverse and the technologies involved. Examine the risks and benefits implied for IT.

Double Your Organization’s Effectiveness With a Digital Twin

Understand what digital twin is, including the unique characteristics of this transformative technology. Articulate both the value and constraints of digital twin technology. Formulate a use case and validate its alignment with your organization.

Modernize Communications and Collaboration Infrastructure

Make the case for your communications infrastructure modernization project and be prepared to support it.