Metaverse needs better technology, scalable infra, strong governance

Many minds have been intrigued by the idea of metaverse, and its effect is such that the social media giant like Facebook has been rebranded as Meta. Yet, there is a big question mark on the future of this technology. The enablers of metaverse such as augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality operating on computers, smartphones and other devices have failed to give the complete real-world like immersive experience to end users.

There is a clear lack of standard virtual environment and technical specifications for implementing metaverse – a bottleneck in using technologies from different proprietors. Due to the business privacy and transparency concerns, interoperability of services from various providers has become a big challenge. Although, the efforts to standardize virtual reality, such as Universal Scene Description, glTF and OpenXR may help in a long run, but a lot more needs to be put in. 

The technologies and devices, such as wireless headsets, portable hardware, 3D graphics used in creating and delivering the metaverse experience are still struggling to achieve high-quality visual effects. The cost of VR headsets is another major concern.

Metaverse can have a great future, especially for its usability in terms of social media connections and educational purposes, as well as for entertainment. Considering its future potential to offer real-life like immersive experience, and if used in an ethical manner, it may even change the way humans interact. However, it may also pose a big threat to user safety and data/information privacy. While the concerns related to user addictions and sexual and mental harassments cannot be ignored at the same time. They can lead to mental and physical health issues.

For a sustainable and affordable metaverse experience, there are, at least, three things that are must – a strong governance, efficient technologies and scalable infrastructure. Users must be protected from all kinds of unethical behavior such as biased content, sexual and mental harassments, and information theft. 

On the other hand, the existing technologies must evolve to be more cost effective and scalable, offering high-quality immersive experience to end users. To meet the demands of highly populated earth, metaverse needs a large scale infrastructure. 

The survival of metaverse depends on two major factors – the perception and interest of users and the willingness of service providers to invest!