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The future of Internet : Metaverse

What is the Metaverse, or Meta-Universe as it is called?

Metaverse, which is used as an abbreviation of the expression meta-universe, can be defined as a 'digital world' where the real and virtual worlds merge with science fiction.
In such a 'world', people can switch to different electronic devices and communicate in a virtual environment. In this case, you do not need to connect to a computer.
In more concrete terms, Metaverse refers to augmented reality products and services. The concept of the metaverse will come out of science fiction novels and become a part of our lives in the not too distant future. With its creative world, which is far beyond the imagination, and of course, its dystopian dark sides.

Which is one of the most talked about topics in the world of technology lately? If we ask, I guess the majority of those who read these lines will answer "Metaverse". The interesting thing is that Metaverse has become such an inclusive term that it has started to be mentioned frequently in many different fields, from AR/VR applications, online games, NFT-based artworks, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) solutions or 5G technology.

Metaverse, which was first included in the cyberpunk & sci-fi style novel Snow Crash in 1992 and described as a kind of virtual reality universe, came to the fore again after the spread of AR / VR applications and the excitement created by the movie Ready Player One. As of 2021, Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, first announced that Facebook would become a Metaverse company, and then decided to change the name of the umbrella company to "Meta" last week for this vision change. together with Metaverse, we almost didn't hear anything.

To summarize briefly; Metaverse is a kind of new reality universe & dimension where virtual and real can be experienced simultaneously, formed as a result of combining all virtual worlds (MMO games, virtual meetings, etc.) and content on the internet, using Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and blockchain technologies. we can say. There are no sharp distinctions like virtual & real in Metaverse, users can access all content and experiences in Metaverse at any time and from anywhere, either in Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) mode. The virtual and real worlds are so intertwined that users can exist in both environments simultaneously with the help of their digital avatars, and their actions on both sides can affect the other in real time.

In fact, most of the things we talk about Metaverse are just conjectures for now, because we do not yet have a technological infrastructure that can fully create the Metaverse universe. On the other hand, we have been actively using the components of Metaverse such as AR / VR technologies, MMO (mass multiplayer online) games, digital virtual twins (3D scanned virtual copies of the world), NFT-based artworks and blockchain applications separately from each other for a while. For this reason, we can speculate about what the Metaverse will look like when all these components come together.

Not only Meta (formerly Facebook) but also technology giants such as Microsoft, Epic Games, Roblox and Nvidia have been working on the construction of Metaverse for a long time. For example, at the beginning of 2021, Epic Games received an investment of close to 1 billion dollars only for the work in the Metaverse area. In addition, 12.3 million players instantly attended the Travis Scott concert held in Fortnite last year, inspiring many about what the virtual concert experiences of the future will be.

Microsoft, on the other hand, aims to bring AR/VR, Mixed Reality and desktop PC users together under a single virtual environment with the "Mesh for Teams" platform it has developed, and to benefit from Microsoft's products as well as games, entertainment and different services through a kind of Metaverse experience. Nvidia, on the other hand, provides a high-capacity visualization service by providing a real-time 3D simulation environment to independent applications and operating systems with the Nvidia Omniverse platform, which it has developed for the Metaverse field. In this way, 3D visualizations in AR / VR applications will become fast and easy.

We can say that Roblox, one of the largest online games in the world, has turned into a closed-circuit Metaverse universe with game contents produced and played by users. In addition, global brands such as Gucci, Nike, Lego, which aim to reach the Z generation, have started to offer their commercial virtual store experiences within Roblox. In addition to big technology companies, numerous startups are working on virtual avatars, costumes and items that users will carry in the Metaverse universe.

If we compare today's internet experience with the future Metaverse; While the current internet is an environment where information and data are shared by users mutually, Metaverse will be a place where fully inclusive 3D content and experience are shared beyond mere information. Because now we will connect to websites or social networks with Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) glasses instead of reaching the two-dimensional and bordered screens of computers or mobile devices. 2D internet will be replaced by 3D inclusive virtual environments.

Source : webrazzi.com | Guven Celikkaya