Metaverse: metacontroversy?

Looking for new profits... including in education

Dive-in view

The metaverse is put on the public square by Marc Zuckerberg who decides on colossal investments to promote its uses. It is a virtual and immersive world in which a user immerses himself via an interface and an avatar. Metavers, a word taken from the language of geeks becomes fashionable. But what is it exactly?

For the Les Echos newspaper the original concept would be inspired by science fiction in the cyberpunk current and in particular the novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson or, in the same vein, the work "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. In this novel and film, the real and the virtual eventually merge. It's possible to draw an even deeper thread. Perhaps these science fiction writers were influenced by ancient traditions, e.g., Indian that have their heroes, the "avatars" project themselves into multiple universes.

The term hologram is also used to describe the fictional character from which the user experiences. The hologram is part of the history of photography in the 1940s that seeks to move from the two-dimensional image to the three-dimensional image.

The metaverse would thus be an online world in which a faithful or alternative projection of oneself would evolve with others to share experiences at a distance. It would aspire to provide an experience of the self in the form of expansion and further dimension taking.

The antecedents and issues

The Second Life universe acts as an ancestor. It developed between 1999 and 2003 and still claims connections even if the graphics are faded. Massive multiplayer online games show the potential of a technology that has singularly progressed since the 90s, remote coordination, fluidity of scenes, impressions of living as in a movie in which you are the hero.

Facebook announces its ambitions by changing its name and calling itself Meta to anchor this shift. The company is announcing the investment of $10 billion in particular by relying on virtual reality headsets.

Microsoft is also positioning itself by imagining a metaverse aimed at businesses whose advantage would be to replace the black screens of our turned-off cameras with dapper avatars. The Teams tool would be used for the penetration of companies of these new modes of interaction. Whiteboard cooperation or remote information exchange features would be integrated.

However according to analyst Mandipa Singh even with multi-billion investments, the imagined devices would only take off in several years to reach a user base of 15-20 million within 3 years. This limited number would be linked to the cost of the technologies to be acquired (headsets and computers). Reduced to the initial investment it is therefore a cost of 500 euros of investment to agree to conquer a user.

Other players dedicated to training and education exist as the company Tech Adaptika founded by Hossni Zaouali who developed a virtual campus. With their personalized avatar, like in the video game The Sims, participants can take classes, attend a conference and even visit an art exhibition, among other things. For Hossni the virtual campus is a way to bring additional knowledge to African countries sometimes lacking educational infrastructure.

What are the benefits for users?

For Marc Zukerberg, the main benefit would be to improve the social experience of distance exchanges. Will this be enough, to convince users? The tests conducted showed all the interest in learning in teams. But, these took place during the Covid period at a time when the choice to see each other was restricted and everyone was eager for contacts even if mediated by avatars.

Several elements will probably play in favor of an acceleration of the adoption of this technology on the one hand it is a base of digital culture acquired during the covid which will make interactions easier, everyone having become accustomed to visio and online exchanges, on the other hand, it is the massive deployment of 5G which, by making the experience fluid through massive and rapid circulations of data, can make it much more attractive.

Fast access to video streams, coordination human action facial recognition coupled with avatar expression and immediate retranscription in the virtual universe are all technical conditions that the "virtual universes" of the 90s did not enjoy. As of now it is possible to test one's new kitchen remotely, have an avatar put on one's clothes or visit one's future apartment in virtual reality.

Many operators are already in the running to conquer this market such as Dassault système which is interested in industrial uses (dangerous handling, medical), or educational, the Immersive learning lab regularly tests new uses, Laval Virtual regularly organizes online events with several thousand participants, as well as associations like xr4europe.eu and afxr.org

This business bet is incidentally seeking new markets. One asks to see the reality of the real uses and benefits to be expected, especially in education where non-verbal communication remains with the mediation of a third party of the elements that it is not so easy to do without, unless micros cameras gone to facial recognition reveal what is going on inside us from our micro facial expressions?

Sources

Wikipedia Ready player one https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_One_(novel)

Wikipedia Snow Crash https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Samouraï_virtuel

01.net. Microsoft wants to enter the metaverse and will offer avatar-based Teams meetings https://www.01net.com/actualites/microsoft-veut-entrer-dans-le-metaverse-et-proposera-des-reunions-teams-par-avatars-interposes-2050637.html

Cointribune. Nvidia in 5 years metaverses will take over the world https://www.cointribune.com/blockchain/entreprises/nvidia-dans-cinq-ans-les-metaverses-envahiront-le-monde/

The Echoes. Metaverse 5 questions about Facebook's new virtual world https://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/metaverse-cinq-questions-sur-le-nouveau-monde-virtuel-de-facebook-135966 7

ICI Radio Canada Virtual Campus Tech Adaptika https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1698875/campus-virtuel-tech-adaptika-apprentissage-education.

Finacialafrik - Hosni Zouali African above all. The man who wants to revolutionize distance learning in Canada https://www.financialafrik.com/2020/07/16/hosni-zouali-africain-avant-tout-lhomme-qui-veut-revolutionner-lenseignement-a-distance-au-canada/

Thot cursus- Cristol Denis Virtual reality for team learninghttps://fr.cursus.edu/22379/la-realite-virtuelle-pour-apprendre-en-equipe

Dassault système https://edu.3ds.com/en/hub/immersion-in-virtual-reality Immersive learning lab https://franceimmersivelearning.fr/immersivelearninglab/

Laval-virtual.com https://www.laval-virtual.com/en/home/

xr4europe.eu https://xr4europe.eu