Everyone’s talking about the metaverse – a future in which our physical and digital worlds merge, in fully immersive virtual reality. Many have not yet crossed over into the world of virtual reality (VR), its sister tech, augmented reality (AR), or taken a virtual step in the metaverse, but that may soon change. Organisations around the world are already thinking of virtual reality as a tool for business and are devoting significant resources to building their ‘metapresence’.
Built on a foundation of more than a decade of research and a century of combined data science expertise, Slingshot Simulations bring unique expertise to the key technology enablers bringing the unfolding vision of the metaverse to life.
Below is a video of the HIKER (Highly Immersive Kinematic Experimental Research) lab. The largest HIKER Lab in the world which Slingshot Simulations work with and have on their doorstep in Leeds…
The Metaverse Wouldn’t Be Possible without AR/VR Technologies
In essence, the metaverse is defined by an immersive user experience, which wouldn’t be possible without a combination of AR and VR technologies. These two interactive technologies accomplish different things: “In virtual reality, the user feels present within a simulated environment, while in augmented reality the user feels present in a combined world of real and virtual content.” From virtual workspaces and real estate to 3D data visualisation, the opportunities in the enterprise metaverse are endless and all of which are likely to constitute an interplay between aspects of both AR and VR.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse is “an embodied internet where instead of just viewing the content-you are in it”. Therefore, despite providing an important access point to the metaverse, the metaverse itself cannot be limited to virtual reality and the devices associated with it. Instead, it will be accessible by any devices used to connect to the internet, opening the door to various features that aren’t possible with virtual reality alone.
Synchronising the Real World with The Virtual; Digital Twins are the Building Blocks of the Metaverse
The metaverse was described in a 2021 Microsoft announcement as “a persistent digital world that is inhabited by digital twins of people, places, and things”. Digital twins are a regular discussion point at Slingshot, and we define them as digital environments that reflect on, mirror and evolve ahead of the physical environment or service to facilitate SMART decision making and storytelling of possible futures.
The intrinsic properties of digital twins make them the fundamental building blocks of the enterprise metaverse. While the metaverse may be capable of delivering supernatural virtual worlds and experiences, it will also be used to create exact replications of reality. By incorporating a digital twin into the metaverse, an object can be recreated in its entirety and fed with live data in order to behave exactly as it would in the real world.
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Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), digital twins, and the metaverse are predicted to grow exponentially in their use and functionality. Get in touch to find out how these technologies can be used to automate your analytics…