In Metaverset, the digital and physical worlds meet. Yin and Yang in harmony side by side. Metaverse is not 3D or 2D, or even not necessarily graphic. It is about dematerializing physical space, distance and objects. The digital part of Metaverse is a massively scalable, interoperable network of real-time virtual worlds that we experience from the physical world. Synchronous is experienced by an unlimited number of users, each with an ‘individual sense of presence’ such as identity, history, rights, objects, communication and payments. The real challenge is to make this virtual life as reliable, dependable and secure as it is organized in our physical life.
On the page ‘Spacial Reality’ I came across a nice interview with Valentin Heun, VP of Innovation Engineering at PTC, where I also worked in the nineties, where CAD / CAM, life cycle and digital product data merged. Challenging times when 3D design systems were increasingly able to digitally describe, portray and record products – including their behavior – in the design phase of digital product definitions. A massive data-centered approach to a virtual world that enabled the automated factory and today’s manufacturing industry.
The technology in CAD systems has not stood still, and production facilities have been developed, defined and simulated on the virtual drawing board. A technical variant of the meta-verse, where engineers intuitively control real, three-dimensional objects in the real world. Remote maintenance on running machines. With Augmented Reality you can support a technician remotely with repair and replacement with spare parts.
According to Valentin, two revolutions are currently underway: One is ‘web 3.0’, a data-driven wave of distributed accounting on the Internet enabling NFTs, digital currencies, smart contracts and DAOs. The second revolution is spatial computer technology. A development that allows us to go beyond the desktop. And to make our computer use ‘a real part’ of our daily lives. So real that computer simulations can no longer be distinguished from reality and enable a human experience that has never been seen before. This is the significant paradigm shift that is currently taking place.
In his view, spatial computing is a revolution similar to the personal computer revolution. Before desktops, computers were only available to experts. Today, computers are embedded in everything that is present in the real world around us. For the general public, the computer is still a difficult phenomenon to understand. The information world is a virtual world that is hard for many to imagine. Everyone uses it, but invisible virtuality is difficult to overlook and therefore understandable.
Spatial computer technology simplifies the representation of the invisible virtual world. To better imagine what we compute, design, simulate and virtually test. The desktop and laptop completely lack the concept of space. Even a Zoom or Teams screen does not give you the feeling of being ‘in the room’ of the participating interlocutors. You ‘look’ at a flat, two-dimensional image without depth. You have no idea where you are.
Chat is also a 2D thing that fits well into the desktop paradigm and thus Web 2.0. A desktop where I can move my mouse in 2D, fill in my agenda or write a text. Perfect for multitasking, but it does not have the ‘depth’ of our real world. Chat is missing 3D information. The 2D view in your Zoom or Teams meeting also applies to the factory. One can see robots moving and overseeing work processes, but the depth is lacking. You look at it, but you’re not there. The desktop does not actually allow 3D work. In addition, it takes a lot of computing power to display a 3D image via a 2D interface.
Web 3.0 provides the opportunity to truly experience the three-dimensional experience. Your avatar as the digital embodiment in the space from which you can look around and move. Carry a purse, an inventory of your own goods and have a (sometimes pseudo-anonymous) identity. A digital space where you can own goods with property rights stipulated in digital contracts. A space where you can see and touch working robots. Your mind has the feeling of being present in that space, of being able to move there and explore the space.
Also a space where I can be present as a digital avatar, which is safe and protected for me as an avatar. Where I allow and can ensure integrity between my avatar and the space. A legal handshake that as an avatar is safe in this space and vice versa. The mind constantly remains the translator between your own physical reality and the 3D experience in the virtual environment. As Valentin says, “it’s mind juggling to be able to function in these spaces”. Like flying a drone, it is still difficult to make the simple translation between the joystick and how the drone moves through space.
Intuitive and ubiquitous
The challenge of 3D space is the operating system to move you through the virtual space. How do you make it easy and intuitive? With its 3D experience, PTC had the background to further develop spatial computing. To dive into the virtual space from the perspective of a designer, user or maintenance engineer. Really take the robot by the hand and program it virtually. Flies into a place and touches a defective part, unscrews it and replaces it with a spare part.
The platform developed by PTC makes this possible. Directly behind a screen or with aids such as glasses and headsets. Seamless transition from a piece of physical world to a connecting virtual space. To experience how the extension fits into the existing part. Where ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ are increasingly intertwined and we no longer know where we are. What Mark Weiser called the 21st Century Computer: The 1980s scientist at Xerox in Palo Alto, who coined the term “ubiquitous computing”: “ubiquitous computing.” The cool idea that this in-depth technique blends into the fabric of the world that is indistinguishable from the real world.
A new reality
The integration of Metaverse as a spatial computer technology is imminent. The technology, the ideas, the creativity, the first experiences are all present and make us so curious to experience that there are countless initiatives to develop, use and experience this new ‘world’. The complete blend of the digital and the physical. Not only in terms of digital identity, digital accounting and digital assets, but also a digital experience in space and emotion.
In a previous blog ‘the world is analog’ I described that humans, our world and our universe are physical. The virtual world cannot exist without physical products such as silicon chips, computers and networks. Built with raw materials and physical artifacts, which we as creative people have devised, extracted, produced and implemented. And which in turn can give us something amazing extra that we have never experienced before. We can no longer do without the virtual world that we build because it will increasingly merge in our perception and experience.
Business use of Metaverse with Digicorp labs
In addition to games and social platforms, Metaverse will be important to industry and government. For professional users, brands and customers in the Enterprise segment. Digicorp Labs develops solutions and tools for this professional virtual world of services and digital products, where security, reliability, legality, privacy, accessibility, continuity and accountability are the most important values.
Mobile, user-friendly applications eliminate security risks and costs. Secure data management and quantum-safe storage that respects privacy and confidentiality and forms the basis for decentralized applications and services. Must be settled with modern cryptocurrencies and registered in a blockchain account. Digitally secure ownership of documents and objects with NFTs and peer-to-peer-based information exchange and business communication.