Virtual worlds are disruptive technologies that (1) introduce new capabilities like enabling rich collaboration from anywhere through shared virtual experiences, (2) are much cheaper than existing physical solutions, and (3) ride the harmonics of converging technologies to change business models in the digital world.

1. Virtual Worlds Are
Disruptive
Michael Macedonia

2. What Makes A Technology Disruptive?
• Introduces a new capability (e.g. the digital
camera)
• Maybe “inferior” but a lot cheaper (e.g. the
transistor)
• A result of the “harmonics” of technology
curves (e.g. the iPhone)
• Ultimately forces change in business
models (e.g. Internet)

3. Harmonics: The Fully Connected World

4. Harmonics: Universal Wireless Broadband

5. Harmonics: Everyone Lives in the Virtual World

6. Everything Changes: eLearning in Africa

7. Stuck in the Past: CIC on a Ship
2005
People looking at dots
on a screen trying to
imagine they are ships
1975 and airplanes

8. What is the
business
model of
command
centers?
Its all about
collaboration.

9. Predator Cockpit – The Ultimate Virtual Reality
Experience

10. Imagine This: Command Center in Cyberspace

11. Imagine This: Virtual Worlds as the Workspace

12. 1995: $1 million for
virtual astronauts to
shake hands between
Houston and Germany

13. 2010: unit cost of virtual worlds go
toward $0 while performance goes
exponential

14. How: Media Sharing in Forterra’s OLIVE
Video or Flash Based Web Content Sharable Content Object
Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint
Desktop Applications White Board

15. How: Geospecific Mirror Worlds in OLIVE

16. Group Meetings & Collaboration
• Branded Rooms &
Accessories
• Identity
– Personalized avatars
– Profiles
• Media Sharing
– MS Powerpoint
– Video
– Desktop applications
• Virtual Meeting
Reservation System
(VMRS)
• Lotus Sametime

17. Training
• Realistic & hypothetical
Scenarios
– Scenes
– Simulations
– Role players
– NPCs
• Scenario & Scene Editor
• CBT or SCORM
Integration
– Instructor led
– Self-paced
• Record & Replay
• Datamart

18. Operational Solutions
• Virtual Emergency
Operation Centers
• Common Operating
Picture
• Context Specific
Operation Centers
• Connection to real
world – GPS, RFID
and other sensors
• Embedded
Rehearsal
Environments
18

19. Summary
• Virtual worlds are disruptive because:
• New capabilities
• They make the abstract a real experience
• Enable rich collaboration from anywhere on the
earth
• Cheaper
• They are far, far cheaper than existing physical
solutions
• They ride the harmonics of the Internet, Computing,
Social Networking and 3D graphics
• They are changing business models in a Internet world