The document defines the metaverse as an expansive, interactive network of 3D virtual worlds where users can experience real-time engagement and a shared sense of presence. It emphasizes aspects such as scalability, interoperability, and the necessity of persistent environments for meaningful user experiences. Additionally, the metaverse's evolution will depend on advancements in infrastructure and standards, potentially reshaping the technology landscape and user interactions.

1. THE
METAVERSE
Syeda Sharmeen Fatima

2. WHAT IS THE

3. - MATTHEW BALL -
“A massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D
virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently
by an
effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of
presence,
and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements,
objects,
communications, and payments.”

4. Let us explore the
terms used in the
definition one by one,
to get a better
understanding of the
Metaverse.

5. Virtual Worlds
• Virtual worlds refer to any computer-generated simulated environment.
These environments can be in immersive 3D, 3D, 2.5D (also known as
isometric 3D), 2D, layered atop the “real world” via augmented reality, or
purely text-based.
• Virtual worlds can reproduce the “real world” exactly (these are often called a
“digital twin”) or represent a fictionalized version of it or represent an
altogether fictional reality in which the impossible is commonplace.
• The purpose of a virtual world can be “game-like,” which is to
say there is an objective such as winning, killing, scoring,
defeating, or solving, or the purpose can be “non-game-like”
with objectives such as educational or vocational training,
commerce, socializing, meditation, fitness, and more.
• Virtual worlds in the recent years can be seen in The Legend of
Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Minecraft &
Roblox.

6. Massively Scaled
• For “the internet” to be “the internet”, we generally
accept that it has to have a seemingly infinite number
of websites and pages. It can’t, for example, just be a
handful of portals owned by a few developers. The
Metaverse is similar. It must have a massively scaled
number of virtual worlds if it is to be “the Metaverse.”
Otherwise, it is more like a digital theme park—a
destination with a handful of carefully curated
attractions and experiences that can never be as
diverse as, or contend with, the outside (real) world.
• Within the Metaverse, there might be “metagalaxies,” a
collection of virtual worlds that all operate under a
single authority and that are clearly connected by a
visual layer.

7. 3D
• Although virtual worlds come in many dimensions, “3D” is a
critical specification for the Metaverse. w. Metaverse theorists
argue that 3D environments are required in order to make
possible the transition of human culture and labor from the
physical world to the digital one.
• Many imagine that the improvements to 3D virtual worlds and
simulations, as well as VR and AR headsets, will fundamentally
reshape our pedagogical practices. Students from around the
world will be able to strap into a virtual classroom, sit alongside
their peers while making eye contact with their teacher, then
shrink down to blood cells which travel through a human
circulatory system.
• The advent of the 3D Metaverse does not mean that the entirety
of the internet and computing at large will transition to 3D.

8. Interoperable Network
• Central to most visions of the Metaverse is the user’s ability to take her virtual
“content,” such as an avatar or a backpack, from one virtual world to another,
where it might also be changed, sold, or remixed with other goods.
• For example, if I buy an outfit in Minecraft I might then wear it in Roblox, or
perhaps a hat I purchased in Minecraft would be paired with a sweater I won in
Roblox while attending a virtual sporting match developed and operated by FIFA.
• The Metaverse should make it so that wherever a user
goes or whatever they choose to do, their
achievements, history, and even finances are
recognized across multitudes of virtual worlds, as well
as the real one.
• Interoperable, is a term that refers to the ability for
computer systems or software to exchange and make
use of information sent from one another.

9. Real-Time Rendered
• Rendering is the process of generating a 2D or 3D object or
environment using a computer program. The goal of this
program is to “solve” an equation made up of many different
inputs, data, and rules that determine what should be
rendered (that is, visualized) and when, and by using various
computing resources, such as a graphics processing unit (or
GPU) and central processing unit (CPU).
• Although real-time rendering enables a virtual world to be
“alive” and respond to input from a user (or a group of
users), it means that a minimum of 30, and ideally 120
frames, must be rendered each second. This constraint
necessarily affects which and how much hardware is used
and for how many cycles, and thereby the complexity of
what’s rendered.
• Immersive 3D requires far more intensive computing power
than 2D

10. Synchronous
• We don’t want virtual worlds in the Metaverse to merely persist or respond to us
in real time. We also want them to be shared experiences. For this to work, every
participant in a virtual world must have an internet connection capable of
transmitting large volumes of data in a given time (high bandwidth), as well as a
low latency and continuous connection to a virtual world’s server.
• Synchronous online experiences are perhaps the greatest constraint facing the
Metaverse today—and the one that is hardest to solve.
• Virtual worlds have higher performance requirements
and are more affected by even the slightest of hiccups
than any of these activities. Far more complex data sets
are being transmitted, and they’re needed on a far
timelier basis and from all users.
• We will need new cabling infrastructure, wireless
standards, hardware equipment, and potentially even
overhauls to foundational elements of the Internet
Protocol Suite

11. • Almost no current games demonstrate full persistence. Instead, they
run for a finite period before resetting part.
• This is less of a problem when virtual worlds are “games,” but for
human society to shift in a meaningful way into virtual spaces (i.e., for
education, work, healthcare), what we do in these spaces must reliably
endure, just as our grade school reports and baseball trophies do.
• Increasing persistence within individual virtual worlds will nevertheless
be essential to the growth of the Metaverse. Until then, the virtual
worlds most in need of persistence are likely those based around
virtual real estate, or tied to physical spaces. For example, we expect
that “digital twins” should be frequently updated to reflect changes to
their real-world counterpart, and that virtual-only real estate platforms
would not “forget” about new art or décor added to a given room.
Persistence

12. • The Metaverse will only become “the
Metaverse” if it can support a large number
of users experiencing the same event, at the
same time, and in the same place, without
making substantial concessions in user
functionality, world interactivity, persistence,
rendering quality, and so on.
Unlimited Users and Individual Presence
• Even nonpersistent virtual worlds that are less than ten square kilometers
in surface area, severely constrained in functionality, operated by the most
successful video game companies in history, and running on even more
powerful computing devices still struggle to sustain more than 50 to 150
users in a shared simulation.

13. • Both the Metaverse and Web3 are “successor states” to the internet as
we know it today, but their definitions are quite different. Web3 does
not directly require any 3D, real-time rendered, or synchronous
experiences, while the Metaverse does not require decentralization,
distributed databases, blockchains, or a relative shift of online power
or value from platforms to users.
The Metaverse and Web3
• Yet another question is whether centralized server
models can ever support a nearly infinite, persistent,
world-scale Metaverse. Some believe that the only
way to provide the computing resources needed for
the Metaverse is through a decentralized network of
individually owned—and compensated—servers and
devices.

14. The Next Internet
• The Metaverse will require the development of new standards and creation of new
infrastructure, potentially require overhauls to the long-standing Internet Protocol
Suite, involve the adoption of novel devices and hardware, and might even alter the
balance of power between technology giants, independent developers, and end users.
• The enormity of this transformation also explains why companies are repositioning
themselves in expectation of the Metaverse even though its arrival remains far off and
its effects largely unclear. As shrewd business leaders know well, every time a new
computing and networking platform emerges, the world and the companies that lead
it are forever changed.
• Moreover, the Metaverse will not replace or fundamentally alter the internet’s
underlying architecture or protocol suite. Instead, it will evolve to build on top of it in a
way that will feel distinctive.

15. THANK YOU