The Metaverse has recently emerged as a cutting-edge technology that receives people’s attention. The new virtual world is known as a sustainable, immersive and simulated world where everyone can come together to talk, work, play or entertain.
Just like the way social media is not monopolized by anyone, the Metaverse belongs to the user community. That means every person from every corner of the world can enter and build up a Metaverse. To facilitate the Metaverse development, the three components below are needed: Hardware, Software and Content.
Hardware
Hardware is an essential factor in the Metaverse allowing people to interact with each other in the virtual world. It acts like a bridge connecting real people with the online world. Without an AR or VR headset or a smartphone, one can never have access to or interact in the Metaverse.
In order to have a deep and immersive in the Metaverse, one needs the help of some technologies, particularly AR (Augmented Reality), VR(Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) or XR (Extended Reality). Those technologies may have not been used widely yet, but they are well known because of their widespread on social media.
1. Headsets
AR headsets are like light sunglasses but a little bulkier while VR headsets are like screens that take over users’ vision. VR technology displays virtual objects in the real world for users to see and interact with while VR takes them to another space.
With the headsets, people can see things and hear the sounds in the virtual world. They are also the input devices that receive information such as voices, facial expressions, etc. to express themselves on avatars in the Metaverse.
2. Haptic suits, gloves and hand controllers
The word haptic refers to the sense of touch. Haptic suits and gloves are designed to add more touching feelings to the experience of the users. With haptic suits and gloves, users can feel the air, the heat and coldness or even the touches of virtual objects or other people in the Metaverse.
The sense of touch can be divided into two parts: tactile and force sensations. Tactile refers to the texture and the shape of the objects while force refers to the weight and resistance.
On the other hand, the suits and gloves or controllers also act as the input device to receive the information about your actions and then let programs process to generate them in the Metaverse.
Software and technology
1. The Internet connection
The Internet is of vital importance to the Metaverse’s development. To enter the Metaverse, users, of course, need an Internet connection. If the software is the bridge for you to enter the virtual world, the Internet is like an allowance for you to walk through. The improvement and the spread of Wi-Fi and 4G - 5G technology is a big advantage to the Metaverse.
In fact, there are still places with a poor or high-cost Internet connection such as the UK or Egypt. However, we can see the potential for the Metaverse in many countries such as Korea, Iceland and Singapore which have one of the fastest and most stable Internet. Besides, the Internet is on the slope of development to connect people from every corner of the world.
2. Computer Programs
As generated on a computer, the Metaverse needs a software program for its operation. There are five important programs of the Metaverse: recognise the sights and objects, generate the sights and objects, recognise the sounds and speech, synthesize the sounds and speech and output the motions.
As an input device, a headset or suit needs vision-based programs to estimate users’ poses, gestures or facial expressions to generate in the avatar in the virtual world.
Besides, the programs also process the shape, brightness, colour or design of the objects to send their images to your vision. Moreover, the programs also help to generate the sound and speech that you produce to send to the Metaverse.
3. Platform and digital assets
Apart from the programs to process information, the Metaverse also requires users to use some applications to enter. For example, you need to use the Horizon Worlds platform to access the Metaverse.
In addition, users also need NFT avatars to represent themselves in the Metaverse, which is also considered a software requirement. Moreover, digital assets like virtual lands, houses, etc. and cryptocurrencies are also important to run the Metaverse.
Content
Content is the key part that maintains the Metaverse providing users with role-playing experiences through well-organised stories. The content in the Metaverse includes the reality of the stories, role-playing experiences and the completeness of concepts.
The Metaverse is built based on blockchain technology as an application of Web 3.0 where the third-party intermediaries are eliminated and users' contribution is the key. That’s why the users’ content is essential in the Metaverse.
As you know, people need an avatar as their representation in the Metaverse to have interactions. Every NFT avatar with a distinguished appearance and characteristics will diversify the culture in the community of the Metaverse.
Besides, just like in the real world, cities in the Metaverse have their different vibes which are created by users. They can decide what every building looks like, how they will be arranged and what services will be provided.
Bottom lines
In summary, every one of those three components plays an important and irreplaceable role in the Metaverse operation. The hardware is like a bridge for users to enter the Metaverse. The Internet connection is the ticket for users to go over the bridge to reach the virtual world while the software helps to process information. And the content is the most important that is what users come to experience.
The Metaverse is made of different elements in which the users’ creativity is the most essential. The Metaverse is still in its primary era and the future of it does not depend on the developers but on the users, who have to right to shape every small part of the virtual world.