Understanding the Layers of the Metaverse
The Seven Layers of The Metaverse
The Next Gen Internet
MetaVerse Market Map
Layer 1 — Infrastructure
It all starts with the evolution of 5G and 6G, through new semiconductors, development of cloud computing and telecommunications networks. It takes speed, processing, storage, and fast internet delivery to build a world where physical and digital boundaries almost disappear.
Layer 2— Human Interface
In the new infrastructure that is being created, we will need a
hardware to access the metaverse. Therefore, the development from cell phones to virtual reality glasses, through smart devices to technologies that take our sensory experience with touch to digital or connect to our brain, are fundamental.
Layer 3— Decentralization
So that technologies from several fronts converge in a single space. Here I talk about all the business models that are being built to create a world without intermediaries, more democratic and distributed. If I put the entire metaverse in the hands of two or three big technology companies (BigTechs), they will dominate much of our experience. Facebook knows this and, no wonder, is now called Meta. And says that now it wants to transform the experience of its platforms, giving greater immersion with its virtual reality glasses, NFTs and use of blockchain.
Layer 4— Spatial Computing
That is, software that we will use to dematerialize objectives and interact with them, at the same time, in the physical world and the virtual world. Includes 3D engines, VR and VA technology, gesture recognition, mapping and spatial computation, with the support artificial intelligence
Layer 5— Creator Economy
In other words, it makes it easy for anyone to build and monetize things for the metaverse: design tools, graphics, new technologies and sales methods. THE Gartner, by the way, predicts that by 2023 that 50% of midsize companies will use “low code” (platforms and systems that allow developers to build what today is only possible with schedule)
Layer 6— Discovery
It’s how people will learn that the new experience exists and is real — without reality divided between world physical and virtual. It’s how we’ll get to the
Amy Webb’s example: actually living immersed. We will live the metaverse when playing games, exercising, to work, to consume, to relate and work. IT’S
when will we reach the layer of experience or “the dematerialization” to which Rahdif spoke. And when will we get there? It will depend on some milestones. From virtual reality reach the definition of the human eye.
From our brain, allied to some interface, to believe that A Creative Economy
In other words, it makes it easy for anyone to build and monetize things for the metaverse: design tools, graphics, new technologies and sales methods. THE Gartner, by the way, predicts that by 2023 that 50% of midsize companies will use “low code” (platforms and systems that allow developers to build what today is only possible with schedule). what you see is real and start to give the same value to what is physical world and digital world. But getting there requires more networking (the 6G should not be enough), a very high level of computing for render our faces, equipment better coupled to the
our body (it doesn’t make sense for us to walk down the street today with our
VR glasses available), and an amount of data that today we may not be able to process yet. A survey by Building the Metaverse indicates more than 160 large companies are involved in building the metaverse. Basically, they are involved in the construction of a new internet. Just three decades ago, we were starting to monetize the web. Selling ads on websites searches (I, by the way, was an entrepreneur making money so). And my job was to show people and
companies that there was a world with screens beyond television. Then, at the Original bank, that this world could fit in your pocket (cell phone) and that your wallet no longer needed to be physical (the bank was no longer the physical agency).
Top Companies Building the Metaverse Right Now
- Infrastructure — Connectivity technologies like 5G, Wi-Fi, cloud, and hi-tech materials like GPUs.
- Human interface — VR headsets, AR glasses, haptics, and other technologies users will leverage to join the metaverse.
- Decentralization — Blockchain, artificial intelligence, edge computing, and other tools of democratisation.
- Spatial computing — 3D visualisation and modelling frameworks
- Creator economy — An assortment of design tools, digital assets, and e-commerce establishments
- Discovery — The content engine driving engagement, including ads, social media, ratings, reviews, etc.
- Experiences — VR equivalents of digital apps for gaming, events, work, shopping, etc.
Top Companies Building the Metaverse Right Now
When Facebook rebranded as Meta, the industry was eager to realign its investments and back whoever would build the future.
But the question is, who is building the metaverse?
How do you pin down ownership for what is essentially a decentralised and democratised concept? As Meta makes it clear in its statements, no single company will own the metaverse.
Multiple organisations, independent developers, and grassroot creators — along with the final piece of the puzzle that we will discuss later — will build the metaverse.
That said, there are a few companies already beginning to invest in this direction.
Epic Games
Epic Games, the company behind the popular immersive game Fortnite, was always perfectly poised to build the metaverse.
It formalised its intentions this year, announcing a $1 billion funding round to fuel growth opportunities for the metaverse.
Facebook (Meta)
Facebook has most of the seven infrastructural elements we discussed that go into building the metaverse.
Thanks to its Oculus range of headsets, massive social media ad engine, and a thriving creator economy, it could manage to launch a working prototype in 2–5 years.
Niantic
Niantic’s Pokémon Go was among the first immersive experiences to blur the lines between real and virtual.
Now, the company has raised $300 million to build its own metaverse, one that will be an alternative to the original notion of the metaverse as a “dystopian nightmare”.
Nvidia
While Nvidia isn’t directly building a metaverse of its own, it will be a key enabler.
In 2021, it announced Omniverse Enterprise where creators can collaborate on 3D modelling, design, and simulation. Omniverse combines 3D graphics with AI and supercomputing, laying the foundations of the metaverse.
Microsoft
Microsoft, meanwhile, is looking to build a work-focused metaverse that connects its hugely popular offerings in a digital environment called Mesh.
Inside Mesh, you’d be able to use Microsoft Teams, Windows, and other services in VR.
Decentraland
Decentraland was among the early movers who explicitly mentioned the metaverse as their core product.
Since its inception in 2017, Decentraland has steadily gained momentum — a piece of real estate inside its VR world recently sold for a record $2.4 million.
Apple
Apple could be a surprising dark horse in the race towards the metaverse. It is currently working on advanced VR gear that could revolutionize the metaverse experience.
Morgan Stanley went as far as to say that mass-market adoption of the metaverse hinges on Apple, much like smartphone and tablet markets before it.
References
- https://medium.com/building-the-metaverse/the-metaverse-value-chain-afcf9e09e3a7
- https://coruzant.com/op-ed-p/quantum-solace/taking-a-quantum-leap-into-the-5th-industrial-revolution/
- https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1245542.shtml
- https://coinculture.com/au/currencies/enjin-plans-to-decentralize-metaverse/
- https://medium.com/insitu-world/spatial-computing-with-nfts-building-the-metaverse-dad783c98c50
- https://www.archdaily.com/974534/why-every-3d-designer-architect-can-benefit-from-the-creator-economy-in-the-metaverse/61d41d8f3e4b31552e00002a-why-every-3d-designer-architect-can-benefit-from-the-creator-economy-in-the-metaverse-image
- https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58749529
- https://techreen.com/understanding-metaverse-what-you-can-do-with-the-virtual-experience/
