Metaverse?
With the announcement this week that Facebook was renaming itself “Meta” many people have been wondering exactly what the Metaverse is. Quite simply, the “Metaverse” despite all the hype, is just an open “virtual” or “augmented-reality” computer environment. Often associated with gaming or social media, metaverses have existed for decades. Many of you probably remember Second Life. Or maybe VR headsets and goggles from almost 30 years ago? Data suits from the 90's anyone? The concept of a metaverse requires that it is persistent, always on, so it would have to be available on every device that connects to the Internet. That's where 5G networks come in. Facebook owns Oculus. It also plans to release AR-powered “smart” glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban. The first thing that came to my mind was “Google Glass” from almost 10 years ago. Everyone involved in 5G technology is betting on metaverses being the “next big thing.” Qualcomm calls its approach "XR" or extended