“The metaverse” is a term for a new online experience that brings together digital and physical elements. All the attention is well-deserved. A look at the possibilities of combined augmented reality and virtual reality, and you’ll see how they could fundamentally change the human experience in profound ways.
Two big-picture qualities of human mobility in a world changed by the Metaverse come to mind as we consider this subject. There is no such thing as business travel, and commuting is a nightmare in and of itself.
Because of online collaboration technologies, intercity business travel has no long-term future. In the short term, post-pandemic business travel will increase, but in a decade or so, platforms like Miro, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace will be able to mimic and even surpass the capabilities of physical venues.
Airports, trains, stations, pods, and other transit modes will all look and feel different because most people will be on vacation. Now, the character of those areas is dictated by the rigorous sequences of TSA lines and boarding queues and materials designed to be easy to clean and long-lasting. There will be a new emphasis on fun transit areas when leisure travel becomes the dominant mode of travel.
Traveling within the city will be less of a hassle as well. Employer-sponsored rooms will still be used for meetings and collaboration, but they won’t be daily. There are a couple of reasons for this: Firstly, remote workers may be even further away from their corporate mailing addresses, making them even more distant; and secondly, the Metaverse will allow people to come together and interact without wasting time or energy traveling.
Overhauls are given to the transportation systems.
For transit systems like subways and light rail, which were initially built to serve centralized urban areas in predetermined morning and evening trajectories, the Metaverse will put a strain on relevance and finance. These systems won’t disappear, but they won’t disappear entirely either. The Metaverse, on the other hand, will aid in the transformation of their use. This is because the Metaverse includes constructing high-fidelity digital twins of the things we experience in real life—including transportation infrastructure, from huge things like airports and motorways down to bus shelters and bicycle racks—and then managing these things digitally. New efficiencies should be generated as a result, at the very least in theory. As a result of these efficiencies, we may not require as much infrastructure, saving us money in the long run.
Automation will help with this new approach to managing complexity, as AI will continuously write and rewrite code. A new system will be developed to replace the current inefficient and strict routes and schedules created by human minds. All transportation assets are coordinated, with passengers dynamically routed across various transit modes. If this occurs, we will no longer distinguish between the point-to-point taxi and rideshare platforms and the hub-and-spoke light rail and subway networks. A new means of hopping and skipping over transit networks will arise in the future thanks to the Metaverse, which will allow for a highly connected lot.
The Metaverse hasn’t stopped those guests or pals from exploring and experiencing the globe. Instead of wasting time and money on inefficient physical modes of transportation, they’re able to take advantage of the Metaverse’s more efficient digital alternatives.
Companies such as Ray-Ban and Apple have all been working on digital eyewear and headsets for several years, and they could be the ones to bring a layer of the Metaverse into everyday life. Metaverse in these scenarios would not simply be a virtual environment but an augmented reality overlay on top of the real world. It’s possible to envisage wearing your digital avatar in the actual world, where headset-wearers see augmented versions of their reality, including you clothed as your digital avatar, which may alter depending on who is looking at you. In the eyes of your children, you’re a three-headed puppy with rainbow pigtails; in the eyes of your employees, you’re a businessperson dressed professionally. Playing Pac-Man in the real world may allow you to run around trying to collect virtual coins that no one else can see or avoid multicolored ghosts who want to devour you alive. Even if you’re not in the same city, you and a friend can enjoy a “genuine” cup of coffee together, whether you’re in New York or Paris.
Final Thoughts
The Metaverse must contain parts that seem so realistic, even while it is evident that they aren’t, that it becomes confusing if you are or the Metaverse at any one time. Technology hasn’t caught up to such a scenario until now. Computer chips, processors, screen-rendering capabilities, and 3D software engines were just not quick enough to allow for this. All of that, though, is rapidly shifting. Then there’s the matter of what has been anticipated in the annals of science fiction. The Metaverse isn’t always pleasant in Snow Crash and Ready Player One. Indeed, it is sometimes depicted as a dystopia, ruled by a single megalomaniac who is hell-bent on conquering society and doing so through the technology he oversees. Not unlike a certain someone who is considering rebranding his company as Metaverse in the coming week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Metaverse replace real life?
The Metaverse could usher in a new era where we live more digital than in reality. AR glasses will be ubiquitous as they become necessary to shop, work, and live, just like the internet. Experts say that the turning point in the Metaverse will “not be good for humanity.” But who knows what!
What will change with Metaverse?
Like all new technologies, the Metaverse will inevitably have some ugly downsides: general addiction, losing track of time, and inability to discern the real and virtual world, just to name a few.