A VR Headset. Meta to Lower Age for Users of Headset to 10

Hardly 'proves' safety,  but what would?   As the article suggests, market vs needs?

A virtual reality headset. Meta to Lower Age for Users of VR Headset to 10

The New York Times

Mike Isaac; Adam Satariano; Natasha Singer

June 16, 2023

Social media giant Meta announced its intention to lower the recommended minimum age for users of its Quest virtual reality (VR) headset to 10 from 13. Meta said creating accounts for preteens would require parental approval, while young users would only see applications and content appropriate for their age group. However, VR games are rife with harassment, assaults, bullying, and hate speech, while researchers warn there are few measures for easily reporting misbehavior. Josh Golin at nonprofit children's advocacy group Fairplay said Meta did not prove the safety of its VR products for young people before lowering its age recommendation, which Fairplay said is "clearly driven by the fact that they are trying to compete for a market, not driven by kids' needs." ... ' 

VR Suit Could Help You 'Feel' Things in the Metaverse

Talked this from a customer perspective.

VR Suit Could Help You 'Feel' Things in the Metaverse

By EuroNews, June 26, 2023

A test subject in the immersive reality suit.

The suit's artificial muscles feel similar to human muscles and send haptic feedback to the suit so the wearer can ‘feel’ the virtual environment.

Credit: ETH Zurich

Engineers at Switzerland's ETH Zurich constructed a full-body tactile suit to amplify immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences.

ETH Zurich's Maximilan Eberlein said the Meta Suit's sensors and hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic actuator (Hasel) muscles are designed to make VR interaction more natural.

The muscles contract and expand with an electrical current to transmit haptic feedback so the wearer can "feel" the VR environment.

Said Eberlein, "You have pouches that are filled with a special fluid and you spray electrodes on them and you apply a voltage on these electrodes so that these muscles zip together and this leads to a contraction of the muscle.

From EuroNews

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Doctors Train in Virtual Reality

Doctors Train in Virtual Reality

By Jake Widman

Commissioned by CACM Staff, June 22, 2023

Surgeons collaborate during virtual surgery.

In addition to relevant tools and a patient, the simulations can provide highlights and tool tips or floating diagrams to guide a trainee through performing the surgery.

Healthcare is just one of the many fields finding new uses for extended reality (XR), comprising both augmented and virtual reality.

Virtual reality (VR) in particular is being used for everything from hosting remote support groups for teen cancer patients to giving medical students a taste of the grisly reality of trauma medicine.

Those projects typically are one-off purpose-built implementations of VR, though. The technology has continued to advance and its availability to increase, enabling the creation of more general-purpose applications.

The potential is not lost on VR developers and investors. According to the June 2022 Global AR-VR in Healthcare Market report from Research and Markets, the sector was valued at $2,748 million in 2021, and is expected to reach $9,796 million by 2027.

Two applications identified by Research and Markets as drivers of that growth are medical training and surgery planning.

The U.K.'s Royal College of Surgeons has set up an commission to examine where surgery is headed, and one of its commissioners, plastic surgeon and medical entrepreneur Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram, told MobiHealthNews, "We can see the effective use of virtual reality in simulation, in terms of preparation and rehearsal. The challenge here is the cost of scaling, as there are tens of thousands of different procedures with nuances in each of them."

Several companies are tackling the scaling problem.

How surgeons now train

A main value of VR simulation, as exemplified by its use to expose medical students to trauma situations, is to give surgeons an idea of what they can expect to encounter in actual surgery.

Surgery is traditionally taught as a mentorship program, explains Dr. Michael Ast, an orthopedic surgeon and Chief Medical Innovation Officer at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. "We do didactic teaching in a modified classroom setting, and then we guide our trainees through the operations. Eventually, they start to participate in the procedure."

The problem with that approach is the limited number of those "tens of thousands of different procedures with nuances in each of them" in which a trainee might actually get to participate. Also, those 'nuances' are not about just the mechanics of the surgery, says Dr. Ast; "The farther along into training, the more our trainees come to realize that our job is not just to fix the problem, but also to preserve the rest of the anatomy. The questions tend to change from 'how does this drill work' to 'how do I make sure that when I'm using this drill, I'm not causing damage to other things?'"

Training on generic patient models   ... ' 

VR Services Competing

Relatively inexpensive service for trying out ideas.      And for VR you need lots of try-outs.  Games Mostly? 

Meta: Facebook owner launches $7.99 a month virtual reality service

By Annabelle Liang,  Business reporter   in the BBC.

Facebook owner Meta has launched a virtual reality (VR) subscription service as it tries to make that part of its business profitable.

Meta says paying users will get access to two new games a month.

For the first three months of the year, the parent company of Instagram saw a $4bn (£3.1bn) loss at its VR unit.

Meta faces competition from firms including technology giant Apple, which unveiled its highly anticipated mixed-reality headset this month.

On Monday, the company said the Meta Quest+ service, which costs $7.99 a month or $59.99 for an annual subscription, was compatible with its Quest 2, Quest Pro and upcoming Quest 3 headsets. ... ' 

Apple Provides some Vision

Finally some leaks/hints about what Apple will  sell as head/eye ware.  Will we buy?  Liked the idea, even had some use cases long ago, can they still fly?   AI integration ideas?

Apple VR/AR mixed reality headset vs Apple Glass   in Tom'sGuide

Apple Glass

According to reports, the Apple VR/AR mixed reality headset is designed to be a precursor to Apple Glass. The AR lenses are supposed to offer an "optical see-through AR experience," according to Ming-Chi Kuo. However Apple Glasses may not arrive for a long time, with Apple reportedly delaying the project due to technical challenges.

Based on everything we've heard, Apple Glass is designed to look and act like an ordinary lightweight pair of glasses. We're talking about glasses that are able to project information, and presumably imagery, onto the lenses. 

The Apple VR/AR mixed reality headset is expected to be like a typical VR headset, but one with a number of exterior cameras and sensors that unlock bonus functionality.

That way Apple's VR and mixed reality headset can offer body tracking, and incorporate real-world environments in a virtual space. Plus, the Apple VR headset could incorporate a see-through experience that can deliver a form of augmented reality. So it's more like the Meta Quest Pro, rather than the VR-only Meta Quest 2.

Unlike the Meta Quest Pro, however, Apple may not be jumping on the "metaverse" bandwagon. Mark Gurman has claimed that the Apple headset will be designed for short trips into VR. In fact, Apple is said to have declared the metaverse "off limits". Users will be able to use the mixed reality headset for communication, content viewing and gaming, but it won't be a device you wear all day, or as a replacement for real life.

Still not sure what the difference between mixed reality, augmented reality and virtual reality actually is? We have an explainer that tells you exactly what mixed reality is and what Microsoft, Meta and Apple have planned for it.   ... '   (more) 

Japan Firms Turn to VR for Customer Service Training

Examined VR for this in the 80s.   Useful when well staged with examples.   Saw examples in Japan then. 

Japan Firms Turn to VR for Customer Service Training

By The Japan News, May 8, 2023

A FamilyMart employee receives virtual reality customer service training.

Conventional training requires an instructor to teach employees the various customer-related tasks at the convenience stores, but with virtual reality, trainees can learn on their own.

Increasingly, Japanese companies are using virtual reality (VR) technology to train customer service staff.

Employees of convenience store chain operator FamilyMart wear VR goggles and manipulate a controller to learn various tasks, like using cash registers, ordering products, and accepting delivery orders.

VR enables trainees to learn on their own, shortening training time from 36 hours to 12.

In January, Kyoto College of Hotel, Tourism, and Bridal Management developed a VR-based training program for hotels and inns featuring situations that change according to trainees' responses, so they can manage various scenarios while engaging with different guests.

Japan's manufacturing, automobile, and railway sectors are using VR for inspection and repair, while a labor shortage has prompted that nation’s food service and lodging industries to roll out VR training to enhance efficiency.

From The Japan News

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Odors In Virtual Worlds

 Again, a space we experimented in, especially with regards to coffee.  Here more VR related.

Scientists have come up with a new way to introduce odors into virtual reality via small, wireless interfaces. 

Creating smells in virtual reality is a vexing problem that has prevented consumer VR devices from offering a full sensory experience in most settings. “People can touch in VR,” says Xinge Yu, a professor at the department of biomedical engineering at the City University of Hong Kong and the lead author of the new paper, published today in Nature Communications. “And of course, you can see and hear in VR. But how about smell and taste?”

Previous efforts to create odors in VR have involved multiple wires, messy liquids, and bulky contraptions that don’t lend themselves to home use. 

To tackle the problem, Yu and his co-author, Yuhang Li of Beihang University in Beijing (both of whom have backgrounds designing flexible electronics), developed two wearable interfaces. One can adhere to the skin between the nose and mouth like a bandage; the other straps on beneath a headset like a face mask.

Both types of interfaces use miniaturized odor generators, a grid of tiny containers filled with perfumed paraffin wax. When a heat source beneath the wax is activated, the wax heats up, essentially becoming a scented candle capable of reproducing multiple odors within 1.44 seconds, according to Yu and Li. When the experience is over, a copper coil kicks a magnet to tamp down on the wax and cool down, ending the scent.

Related Story

digital image of a woman and man in indian attire getting married in the metaverse with a livestream of bride and groom inset

This couple just got married in the Taco Bell metaverse

The future of virtual weddings is shiny, tacky… and sponsored.

The higher the heat, the stronger the odor and the more easily identifiable the smell, Yu says. That means that interfaces can get very hot—up to 60° C (140° F), which is dangerous for human skin. But Yu says the interface is safe because of an “open” design that lets hot air escape, along with a piece of silicone that forms a barrier between the skin and the actual device.

In a test with 11 volunteers, the interface that goes between nose and mouth was judged safe so long as it was at least 1.5 millimeters from the nose, with a temperature at the skin’s surface of 32.2° C, or 90° F—less than human body temperature. Yu realizes, though, that a scalding hot interface attached to your face might not feel safe enough to use, and he said he and Li were testing ways to make the interface run at lower temperatures or cool down more efficiently.

Yu and Li are not alone in trying to create seamless olfactory experiences in VR. At this year's CES, OVR Technology announced that it would release a headset containing a cartridge with eight “primary” aromas designed to mix and match. 

“This is quite an exciting development,” says Jas Brooks, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago’s Human-Computer Integration Lab who has studied chemical interfaces and smell. “It’s tackling a core problem with smell in VR: How do we miniaturize this, make it not messy, and not use liquid?”

Artists have long attempted to bring scents into entertainment. In 1960, “Smell-O-Vision” made its first and only appearance with the film Scent of Mystery, which released odors during key plot points via air conditioning. But the effort bombed: during screenings, scents were either delayed or too faint to notice. 

These new interfaces are a notable development that could change how we experience VR. Olfaction is a powerful sense and a prerequisite for our mouths to detect flavor. The possibilities range from the obvious—sniffing a virtual flower field or inhaling VR food—to some less obvious applications. For example, perfumeries could test fragrances virtually.

Medically, scent-equipped VR could be helpful for people who have anosmia, or an inability to smell, according to Yu. Scents can also be therapeutic for patients with memory issues and might even help with mood. Yu told me he noticed he felt happier when he used the green tea scent in his tests. He realized that the smell was nostalgic: “When I was little, I’d have some chocolate with a green tea flavor,” he recalled. “I still remember peeling off the wrapper, and how I loved the smell.”   ... ' 

VR for Therapy

Have seen some proposals for this,  but  no clear benefits indicated. 

VR Is Revolutionizing Therapy. Why Aren't More People Using It? By CNet, March 27, 2023

High costs, VR's slow adoption, and a lack of awareness about VR therapy are to blame for its slow uptake.

The idea of using virtual reality to ease anxiety and overcome phobias isn't new; it's been studied since the 1990s.

Sam Stokes, a New Zealand-based sales manager, isn't usually an anxious person. But there's one thing that, as he puts it, scared the shit out of him: needles. 

His aversion was severe enough to hold him back from getting routine tests. Stokes, now 40, recalls an instance in his 20s when he simply couldn't bring himself to get a blood test. He once even drove to the testing facility to get his blood drawn, but couldn't follow through with it. His partner (now wife) eventually convinced him to get the test, but he remembers it as one of "the most horrific" experiences he's had. 

"I kind of passed out a little bit along the way, and was sweaty and clammy and all that sort of stuff," he said. "I just absolutely hated the whole experience."

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, he knew he couldn't let his needle phobia hold him back. Even watching the news became difficult, as stations regularly ran stories about vaccine developments.

From CNet

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VR Headset Gives you X-Ray Vision!

Possibilities are considerable in VRworld

MIT researchers invented an augmented reality headset that gives humans X-ray vision. The invention, dubbed X-AR, combines wireless sensing with computer vision to enable users to see hidden items. X-AR can help users find missing items and guide them toward these items for retrieval. This new technology has many applications in retail, warehousing, manufacturing, smart homes, and more.

For more information, check out:

Website: https://Xar.media.mit.edu

Paper: https://www.mit.edu/~fadel/papers/XAR-paper.pdf

Instagram: @mit_sk_lab (https://instagram.com/mit_sk_lab?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)

Authors: Tara Boroushaki, Maisy Lam, Laura Dodds, Aline Eid, Fadel Adib

Video Production: Maisy Lam, Jimmy Day

UI design: Maisy Lam, Yuechen Wang

Funding: NSF, Sloan Foundation, MIT Media Lab

VISIT WEBSITE   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdUN21ft7G0 

VR Games Helping Stroke Patients

Noting Neuralink as an example.

Can mind-controlled VR games help stroke patients?   By Zoe Kleinman, Technology editor

A system which can translate human brain activity into actions without any physical movement is being developed by a neurotech firm called Cogitat.

When wearing a prototype headset, basic actions in virtual reality can be carried out by thinking about them.

So for example, in a game where a VR jet ski is controlled by handles, you move by thinking about it, rather than squeezing your hands.

Elon Musk's firm Neuralink is developing a similar concept.

It is called brain-computer interface and there are many neurotech companies exploring it.

One aim is that it could eventually allow people who have suffered a stroke, or have other brain injuries, to control phones or computers remotely.

Neuralink's method requires a chip being placed into the brain itself. The firm has so far only worked with animals, and has been criticised for their treatment. It has released videos it says demonstrate a monkey playing the video game Pong with its mind, and the brain activity of a pig with a chip implanted in its brain.

Cogitat is one of the firms developing a system which works on top of the head rather than inside it.

It could one day take the form of a headband worn with a VR headset. Some companies are already creating their own hardware but, as a university spin-off, Cogitat is concentrating only on the tech behind it.  .... ' 

Turn 2D Images into Immersive 3D Scenes with NVIDIA Instant NeRF in VR

Preparing content for 3-D VR and more.  

Turn 2D Images into Immersive 3D Scenes with NVIDIA Instant NeRF in VR   By Thomas Müller

Tags: Image Processing, NeRF, News, NVIDIA Research

Thousands of developers and content creators have built stunning 3D visuals with NVIDIA Instant NeRF, a rendering tool that turns a set of static images into a realistic 3D scene. Now, it is also possible to navigate Instant NeRF in VR and step into 3D creations with the latest Instant NeRF software update.

Named by TIME Magazine as a top invention of 2022, Instant NeRF provides a glimpse into the future of photography, 3D graphics, and virtual worlds.

With Instant NeRF in VR, users can rapidly create virtual scenes using 2D images. Using advanced rendering techniques including foveation, dynamic scaling, NVIDIA DLSS, and, optionally, a second GPU, creators achieve desired frame rates and resolution targets across a wide range of budgets.

Create and share immersive virtual scenes

Traditionally, creating 3D and virtual scenes is a time-consuming, costly process requiring specialized equipment and expertise. But Instant NeRF enables users to create scenes in minutes with just a few 2D photos. The tool processes static images into rendered 3D scenes using an AI-based technology called neural radiance fields (NeRF).

Since Instant NeRF was released last year, developers and content creators around the world have downloaded the source code to create striking and realistic 3D scenes.

Now with the addition of VR, users can render these scenes from static images and virtually step inside the environment, moving freely inside the 3D space. Creators can use almost any image—whether from the real world or rendered—as source content. NeRFs can be created using images and video captured on smartphones, or rendered images and screenshots captured from games, design applications, and more. 

Instant NeRF in VR comes with the capability to clean up scenes easily in VR, making the creation of high-quality NeRF more intuitive than ever before. With precompiled executables now available, the creation of your own NeRF has become accessible to even more people.  ... ' 

You Might be Able to Write Your Own Apple AR/VR Headset Apps?

Like the idea, But how easy will it be?   Lots of dated rumor out there, warning. 

You might be able to write your own Apple AR/VR headset apps

Includes link to a podcast  in TechRadar,  By David Nield 

The long-rumored Apple AR/VR headset might possibly, at last, be launching later this year – and we've got a new set of leaks around app development for it, hinting that everyone will be able to create augmented reality experiences on this device.

According to sources speaking to The Information(opens in new tab) (via MacRumors(opens in new tab)), Apple is working on software development tools to make the app creation process as straightforward as possible. The more apps get built, the more appealing the headset will be.

These tools mean that even consumers could build their own apps through Siri, the report says: so you could just describe the experience that you wanted to see in augmented reality, and Siri would interpret your commands and build it for you.

One of the examples mentioned in the article is being able to build an app showing virtual animals walking around a room, just by describing it to Siri. No coding or computer graphic design skills would be required to put it together.

It's worth noting that the information sourced in the story is from 2021, so it might be a little outdated at this stage – and it's obviously unconfirmed and unofficial to begin with. However, it's logical that Apple would want to make app development as easy as it can.

The report also mentions that Apple is working on AR content for the headset, with health and wellness a priority. One potential use of the device is as a meditation aid, enabling users to sit in digitally generated, calming scenes of their choosing.  ....  ' 

Smelling, Touching Take Center Stage in Metaverse

More than vision?  

Smelling, Touching Take Center Stage in Metaverse

Associated Press  Haleluya Hadero; Rio Yamat, January 8, 2023

Metaverse technologies unveiled at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2023) included sensory products that can replicate sensations and even odors in virtual reality (VR). VR developer OVR Technology demonstrated a headset containing a cartridge with eight smells that can be combined into different scents, for release later this year. The company is marketing the product as a kind of digital spa combined with Instagram, with the goal of helping consumers relax. Aurora Townsend at VR game developer FireFlare said her team aims to enhance the company's upcoming Planet Theta VR dating application with touch and other sensations. Metaverse expert Matthew Ball doubts such products will see wider use in coming years, outside of fields with large budgets and specific needs like bomb disposal units using haptics, and medical workers.  ... ' 

Spray on Smart Skin

Examined a number of related methods, without success. 

Spray-on Smart Skin Reads Typing and Hand Gestures No cameras, keyboards, sensor gloves, or VR motion trackers required      PRACHI PATEL  Spectrum IEEE

KYUN KYU “RICHARD” KIM/  STANFORD UNIVERSITY

A new AI learning scheme combined with a spray-on smart skin can decipher the movements of human hands to recognize typing, sign language, and even the shape of simple familiar objects. The technology quickly recognizes and interprets hand motion with limited data and minimal training and should work for all users, its developers say.

Besides finding use in gaming and virtual reality, the new hand-task-cognition technology could allow people to communicate with others and with machines using gestures. Other applications the technologists envision include surgeons remotely controlling medical devices, as well as a new modality for robots and prosthetics to achieve object and motion recognition.

The gesture-recognition technology developed so far has relied on bulky wrist bands that measure electrical signals produced by muscles or on wearable gloves with strain sensors at each joint. Other approaches have involved cameras that track human motion and interpret it using machine learning. Those motion-capturing camera systems require images taken from multiple surrounding angles, which means multiple cameras are needed for a single gesture-recognition system. These multicam systems also suffer from the inherent limitations of vision-based sensors, says Sungho Jo, a professor in the school of computing at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Such limitations include regions of a workspace that are not covered by multiple cameras, as well as errors that inevitably occur when a hand or other object is occluded from view.

The software used so far has also been cumbersome. Researchers have typically relied on machine-learning models based on supervised learning algorithms that are computationally intense. They require that a large amount of data be collected for each new user and task, all of which require humans to label.  ... ' 

Video Game Developers and Cancer Researchers Team Up

 Even seems like a natural collaboration these days.    Had been wondering how much of that is now common between game players/designers and science in general.

Cambridge University Researchers Develop VR Tool for Cancer Treatment

Video game developers and cancer researchers have teamed up to turn spreadsheet data into highly detailed VR imagery of cancer cells.      By Marco Marcelline

Virtual reality software has become an unlikely tool in the fight against cancer. 

In a bid to help doctors better understand how to treat cancer, video game designers and cancer researchers have teamed up at the University of Cambridge, England, to turn spreadsheet data into highly detailed VR imagery of cancer cells, ITV reports(Opens in a new window). 

The university’s IMAXT Laboratory has transformed brain-crunching numbers and data into an interactive 3D picture of a tumor that makes it easy for researchers to differentiate between cancer cells, as each type of cell is colored or shaped differently. 

With the help of a VR headset, doctors and researchers can essentially step inside patients’ tumors, making it easier to assess the severity and origin of the cancer cells. The aim of the tool, its makers say, is to give a better insight into how tumors can be treated.  ... ' 

High Priced VR Headsets

Emerging, evolving gear comesfrom game world,  will this be seen seriously in industry? 

VR headset prices high as Apple bides its time

Published  14 hours ago in BBC,  By Zoe Kleinman  Technology editor

Last week in Las Vegas I boxed, hunted for cute aliens, flew a laser-shooting robot and drew my own masterpiece - all in virtual reality.

Some of the headsets I used to try out these experiences cost almost twice as much as the smartphone we used to snap the photo above. Arguably they have a lot less functionality, for now at least. So are they worth it?

HTC's new Vive XR Elite, out next month, will cost £1,299 or $1,099. Meta's Quest Pro launched a couple of months ago, priced at £1,499 or $1,499.

Meta declined to tell us how many it has sold so far, but my guess is not that many. It is aimed at businesses and (wealthy) early-adopters, designed to be a teaser for Meta's vision of the future, rather than a bestseller.

Evolving hardware

The hardware involved in VR has often been described as off-putting and, to be fair, it once was. Early headsets were renowned for being clunky and heavy, and many required tethering by cables to a high-end PC, powerful enough to process the graphics.

These new headsets are comparatively lighter and far more portable. The Vive XR Elite folds up into a case about the size of a tub of peanuts.

HTC's newer headsets come with a clever little bit of internal design - you can adjust the lenses to correct common vision impairments, which is good news for short-sighted people like me who do not enjoy wearing glasses and a headset at the same time. ... '

Cambridge Researchers Develop VR Tool for Cancer Treatment

Appears to be of use  ..

Cambridge Researchers Develop VR Tool for Cancer Treatment

PC Magazine

Marco Marcelline, December 29, 2022

Video game designers and cancer researchers have teamed up at the U.K.'s University of Cambridge IMAXT Laboratory to turn spreadsheet data into highly detailed virtual reality (VR) imagery of cancer cells. With a VR headset, users can essentially step inside patients’ tumors, making it easier to assess the severity and origin of the cancer cells and glean better insight into how tumors can be treated. ..  '

Big Players Ready for Meta Headset Offerings

Big Players and more Meta Reality Hype and Prep

Apple Is Now Calling Its AR/VR Headset Operating System ‘xrOS’

By Josh Norem on December 5, 2022  in ExtremeTech

Apple seems to be getting close to the launch of its much-hyped AR/VR headset, as it’s reportedly settled on a name for the operating system. Noted Apple soothsayer Mark Gurman is reporting it’s going to be xrOS. This is shorthand for “extended reality,” as opposed to strictly augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). Previously it was believed to be called realityOS, but Apple has allegedly ditched that for a shorter name, the report said. (The Bloomberg article is paywalled and was summarized by MacRumors.)

The device will be Apple’s first new product since the Apple Watch, which debuted in 2015. The new naming confirms Apple’s plans to follow in the footsteps of the Meta Quest Pro by offering mixed, or extended, reality. That approach will allow the user to experience both VR, a fully digital world, and AR, virtual objects overlaid with reality. This is seen as a more flexible offering than just sticking with one technology. Current headsets like the Meta Quest 2 and Valve Index are strictly VR headsets. ... ' 

Sutherland on the Future of Augmented Reality Displays

In fact, at the big enterprise, we tested some of Sutherland's findings in real life retail.   But found it to mostly be too 'busy' for practical use.  Still worth further examination in a new era of adaptive interaction.  What would make it pop for the right cases? 

The metaverse offers challenges and possibilities for the future of the retail industry  by Omar H. Fares, The Conversation

In 1968, American computer scientist Ivan Sutherland predicted the future of augmented and virtual reality with his concept of the "Ultimate Display. The Ultimate Display relied on the kinetic depth effect to create two dimensional images that moved with its users, giving the illusion of a three-dimensional display.

While the concept of virtual reality only focuses on the creation of three-dimensional environments, the metaverse—a term coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 book Snow Crash—is a much broader concept that surpasses this.

While no official definition of the metaverse truly exists, science and technology reporter Matthew Sparkes provides a decent one. He defines the metaverse as "a shared online space that incorporates 3D graphics, either on a screen or in virtual reality."

Since the term was coined, the idea of the metaverse has remained more of a fictional concept than a scientific one. However, with technological advancements in recent years, the metaverse has become more tangible. Much of the recent hype happened after Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement to rename the Facebook brand to Meta. Many retailers have since jumped aboard the metaverse train.

Nike recently filed multiple trademarks allowing them to create and sell Nike shoes and apparel virtually. JP Morgan opened their first virtual bank branch. Samsung recreated their New York City flagship store in the virtual browser-based platform Decentraland, where they are launching new and creating events.

While many retailers are capitalizing on the metaverse early, there is still uncertainty about whether the metaverse really is the future of retailing or whether it will be a short-lived fad. ... (more that discusses this usefully)  ... 

Applying the Metaverse, are we Ready?

Considerable piece. We experimented with the basic idea, and am skeptical  we are ready for it.  But deserves some realistic tests

Applying the Metaverse  By Keith Kirkpatrick

Communications of the ACM, November 2022, Vol. 65 No. 11, Pages 16-18  10.1145/3565470

three figures interact in the metaverse, illustration

Trying to distill and describe what is being called the metaverse today is a bit like trying to describe the Internet to people in the 1970s or 1980s: the framework and building blocks were there, but few pundits were able to accurately encompass, delineate, and predict the applications that gained traction, the wide-ranging technological achievements that would occur, and how everyday life has been impacted via the commercial use of a worldwide network of computer servers.

What Is the Metaverse?

The metaverse has been described as a network of virtual worlds, where augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the Internet come together to provide a fully immersive, three-dimensional (3D) experience to users. Technology stalwarts such as Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) have gone on a public relations blitz to depict a world in which doctors might be able to practice operating in a VR world before ever using a scalpel on a patient, or where people can feel immersed in remote locations and experiencing the sights and sounds as if they were there, while sitting in their homes wearing VR googles and headsets.

Indeed, AR, VR, holographic technology, and high-speed, low-latency communication networks are typically described as the foundational elements of the metaverse. Yet the specifics of which use cases, applications, and companies will drive the development of the metaverse and thrive in its new ecosystems remains an open question.

"No one knows what the metaverse is right now, other than the fact that people are speculating heavily because they're speculating on virtual property," says Jennifer deWinter, a professor of arts, communications, and humanities at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA. "I think Face-book is imagining it as a 3D digital environment. If you expand it out into a bunch of tech entrepreneurs or futurists, it's probably a grouping of applications still in and around the same idea of digitized selves."

The idea of immersive, digital communities was around long before Facebook decided to rebrand and capitalize on the metaverse. Nearly 20 years ago, virtual communities that allowed people to connect with each other in an immersive, fully digital environment, such as Second Life and Habbo Hotel, sprung up and introduced the concept and use of "avatars," digital representations of a real person depicted in a virtual environment. Not surprisingly, Hollywood got into the act as well, with movies such as the aptly named Avatar, as well as Jumanji, where children are sucked into the virtual world of the game itself and actually become their digital avatars.

The metaverse will require three elements in order to become as ubiquitous as the Internet itself: a robust communications infrastructure, powerful and easy-to-use development platforms and, perhaps most importantly, compelling applications that provide value to users that cannot be replicated or found elsewhere.

Building the Metaverse

The development and rollout of 5G and 6G communications networks will serve as the backbone for the metaverse, which will require fast, always-on, and rich data exchange among users, virtual worlds or environments, and applications. In particular, graphics-intensive technologies such as AR, VR, and holograms will not function optimally without robust, reliable communications networks.

The metaverse also will require platforms that allow content creators to develop the virtual worlds in which users will interact, as well as supporting the technologies that bring these digital worlds to life. Today, the most common platforms being used for metaverse VR platforms are Decentraland and Voxels, which are virtual-world, browser-based platforms where users can buy virtual plots of land in the platform as NFTs, but this will change as existing players enter this new space, explains Prashant Kelker, partner, digital strategy and solutions, for technology research and advisory firm ISG.

Kelker also observes that several large hyperscale companies (which have vast amounts of cloud-based compute, memory, networking, and storage resources) likely will support the initial infrastructure needed to support metaverse applications. For example, Kelker says Meta plans to develop a massive supercomputer to power the metaverse, and has selected the European Union to develop the metaverse technology in order to create more employment in Europe.

He also cites NVIDIA's development of metaverse-ready assets known as Omniverse, Apple's creation of a head-mounted display (HMD) virtual meeting application, and Unity Software's efforts to supply a development platform that supports 3D, VR, and AR-based environments.

"The key element in my mind that needs to be solved is kickstarting a parallel market between creators and consumers," says James Kaplan, co-founder and CEO of conversational AI company MeetKai. "There needs to be a major push from the entire ecosystem to make content easier to create."  ... '