The word “Metaverse” was first used in Neil Stevenson’s 1982 novel, Snow Crash. But it made heads turn in Oct 2021 when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be named Meta. And the reason he gave was that he wanted his company to refocus around the metaverse. A metaverse is an environment of virtual worlds coming together for social connection. Metaverse will surely take technology in a new direction.

Metaverse Trends – Most Awaited Metaverse Technologies

Metaverse trends refer to a pool of different technologies. This will help the users explore the virtual world around them, meet new people, and enjoy every virtual world experience. Metaverse is still experimental and every contribution adds a flavour to it, making the end result in a surprise to all of us. Having information beforehand about the upcoming trends will facilitate immediate use of these trends. Let us dive deeper into the virtual worlds and know more about the upcoming milestones of the metaverse technology.

Milestones of Metaverse Trends

There is no limit to the metaverse world. It is boundaryless and therefore offers a vast amount of opportunities. The trends which are on a look out for heading are discussed below:

Metaverse Avatars

We all know avatars, right? We all have used them on Snapchat or Apple mobile phones. Avatar is a figure that represents a particular person in a game or movie, or we can say that it is the digital identity of a person. In 2019, Facebook first introduced “codec avatars”. This refers to a face model that is as real as a photo, and it can correctly represent a person’s face shape in 3D and virtual reality (VR). Metaverse will have nearly photorealistic avatars.

But Metaverse Avatars are more sophisticated and flexible. This means they are improved and can be used across various apps and platforms. When a person enters a new environment, his avatar will also enter the same environment as and with the user.

For example, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Meta avatars will now be expanding to Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

Use of Augmented and Virtual Reality in Gaming

The virtual gaming industry is the most expanding and used area of the metaverse. The crucial technologies that have taken gaming to a whole new level are 3D Technology, AR and VR assemblies, and sonic systems. As per reports from the Quarterly AR/VR Headset Tracker of the International Data Corporation (IDC)’, the market for AR and VR headsets increased by 60.8% in 2021. This shows the exponential growth and value strengthening of these technologies amid the rise of the Metaverse.

A Hong Kong-based futuristic gaming platform called The Sandbox is a live example of what gaming in the metaverse can offer. In this game, the users can personalise their avatars as per their choices, innovate their ideas, govern the land, host virtual events, exchange ideas, and buy and sell digital assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Metaverse Events

The hype of the metaverse is all over the place. People are going crazy about the idea of metaverse events. It will enable people to participate in events from anywhere in the world. The events could be metaverse concerts and entertainment events, gaming events, tradeshows, graduation ceremonies, awards functions, job fairs, and products launch, to name a few.

For example, 10.7M users have participated in Fortnite concerts Online. It was a dive into the future of interactive entertainment, where a never seen virtual environment has been created by the worlds of gaming, music, and celebrities.

The Programmable World

The world is already programmable since the development of programmable languages. With metaverse technology, everything becomes livelier and more virtual and computerised. This also holds true in programming, where it will touch new heights.

For example, a few generations ago, all automobiles were entirely mechanical. Any problem with their working was analysed mechanically, such as the engine, brakes, or gearboxes. But today, simply plugging them into a computer can diagnose faults.

Motion Tracking

Metaverse functions to bring the virtual and the natural world at par. In motion tracking, we will be able to fulfil this aspect where there will not be any difference between the virtual and real world. Both worlds can be occupied at the same time.

3D Digital Twin Technology

I recently purchased an item from a website, and they enable me to see that object in my living room before even buying it. 3D Digital Twin Technology allows businesses to create exact replicas of the physical location by providing an immersive 3D virtual and dimensionally accurate model of that location. It can be any building or space.

On the other hand, it will also enable the consumers with various services like trying out clothes virtually, checking out new shops, and checking whether new furniture would fit before making a purchase for the home, all just with one click.

NFT Crypto Projects

Just like a country needs money for a prosperous economy, the metaverse will also require money. Because every event or business will require money for functioning, the transaction of money becomes very important. Here comes the role of NFT Crypto Projects. The cryptocurrency will be the virtual cash of the metaverse world. The cryptocurrency and NFTs will enable authentic transactions in the metaverse.

Cloud Computing

The importance of cloud computing cannot be denied for the immersive and ubiquitous metaverse to process, store, and analyse the data generated on platforms.

Virtual Art Galleries

Virtual art galleries will provide a virtual platform for the artists to showcase their NFT exhibitions for collectors and trade their favourites.

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Data science works on tremendous volumes of data to provide meaningful insights and thus is an important trend of the metaverse. AI works on connecting the physical reality with the virtual. The better the connection, the more realistic the experience is. Among the endless uses of data science and AI, the most important ones are 3DImages, Animation, Speech (Natural language processing and translation), design and artwork and blockchain.

Smart Homes Evolution

Devices like Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri have already proliferated consumer tech toward innovative home technology. These voice assistants prove to be a boon in today’s busy life by doing chores like setting timers, waking you up, working on shopping lists and helping in a variety of different ways. With new metaverse trends, these assistants will be more efficient and integrated and will help in more essential aspects of daily life like climate control, hand tracking (where we can manipulate the objects present digitally as if they are in the real world) and use of haptics (the science of applying touch sensation and control) in open space.