What Is The Metaverse Made Up Of?

There is a lot of hype about the metaverse today. However, it is critical to understand how the metaverse can help incorporate innovative solutions to offer a better customer experience, simplify IT operations, and introduce new age business models. And it’s also important to know what technologies together make up the metaverse.

- Dr Anand Nayyar and Dr Magesh Kasthuri

As per a Gartner report, by the year 2026, at least 25 per cent of the world’s population will be immersed in activities in the metaverse (shopping, work, virtual class, social media and entertainment). Forrester’s ‘The State of Metaverse: Look Beyond the Hype to Uncover the Real Opportunities’ report claims that more than 50 per cent of all internet users will be early adopters of the metaverse.

Hyperreal world and metaverse

Hyperreality is a concept that has been in use for more than a decade, where users are made to believe to live in a virtual world. One such classic example is the live shows in Disney World (e.g., Peter Pan) which make you believe you are in that world and you forget the real world. These 3D, 4D and 5D shows use spatial, modelling and immersive technologies.

Hyperreality applications use generative AI algorithms and visual effects like sound, touch sense and realworld objects to create synthetic content which can take users into a virtual world. This kind of synthetic content leads to the development of metaverse platforms through SDK and AI services.

From an architect’s perspective, synthetic content in hyperreality, digital twins with avatars, and AI generative algorithms for model development have all led to metaverse’s success. A unified platform, which combines agility, scalability and reliability through cloud platforms, virtual transaction management through NFTs and blockchain platforms, and immersive technology through human interactive devices can help to build a robust metaverse.

The technologies that make the metaverse