Metaverse arrives at the Judiciary with avatars, emojis and promise to expand interaction

Avatars of judges, lawyers, university students and communicators from different states floated through the lecture hall of the labor court of the municipality of Colíder (MT), of the TRT (Regional Labor Court) of the 23rd Region.

There they stopped to listen to Judge Graziele Cabral Braga de Lima in an experience of using the metaverse in the Judiciary.

The concept is still under development, but it refers to a kind of virtual reality with real-world dimensions, in which it will be possible to connect with other people in a more immersive way.

Magistrates enthusiastic about using the new technology believe that the metaverse could be an option for virtual audiences, as resources are improved. From now on, it allows opening the doors of the judicial unit to a wider audience, through lectures and visits.

The pilot project, carried out at the beginning of the month, was a partnership between the branch of Colíder, a city of about 34 thousand inhabitants, and the company View 3D Studio, which created the digital version of the unit mirroring the real-world version of the green lawn in the external area to the textures of the armchairs in the rooms.

Visitors accessed the site using Microsoft’s AltspaceVR software, without the need for virtual reality glasses, which expand the experience from 2D to 3D.

It was enough to install the program, configure the avatar to its image and likeness and, with the use of a password, enter the virtual world, where Graziele spoke about the new technology, gave a lecture on accidents at work and received the compliments of colleagues.

The reaction appeared with clouds of palms and little hearts during interactions made between the 22 participants who were in the room.

There it was possible to move around the space using the direction buttons, as in a video game.

In the audience hall, it was also possible to navigate through a presentation screen that showed the social projects supported by Colíder’s affirmative action management committee with appeals from the Labor Court.

On the visit to the courtroom, the avatars crossed the animation set around a large table with several computers.

The entire scenario was developed over two months by the animation company. Bernardo de Azevedo, one of the partners, says that the project is a pioneering initiative in the Judiciary.

“We had an excellent response and the reception was even better than we expected. This pilot initiative was fundamental to show the potential of the metaverse as a whole”, he says.

Graziele agrees and says that she received messages from judges and justice officials in several states interested in the initiative, which also caught the attention of the local population.

“I had many posts and reposts on social networks, where you can see the pride of such a small and distant city as a pioneer of such an innovative and technological project”, he says.

as showed the SheetBrazilian law firms have carried out experiments in the metaverse, with the objective of positioning themselves in the new environment and meeting the legal demands related to this market.

The reproduction of the environment of Colíder’s court with the realization of a lecture was a first activity, with the aim of overcoming resistance in the Judiciary in relation to the use of virtual environments.

The idea came up in March, after a live broadcast on the subject made by Graziele and Judge Maximiliano Carvalho, substitute for Araguaína’s 1st labor court, in Tocantins, who talked about the advantages and disadvantages that exist in the use of virtual reality.

Master in contemporary public management with a dissertation on the digital transformation of the Judiciary, Carvalho states that he sees the use of the metaverse as a way to add new possibilities for interaction with society.

The magistrate also defends that the Judiciary goes ahead and is present in this space, to deal with the legal issues that may arise there.

“Inside the metaverse today there are already civil, consumer, work and even criminal relationships, such as the Sheet even showed, of a person who claimed to be a victim of sexual harassment in the metaverse. If these things are happening there, the State needs to be present to support the citizen.”

Enthusiastic about the use of technology as a means of making justice more accessible, Graziele says that in the future the metaverse may be part of the resources offered in the so-called passive rooms – spaces created in the courts so that people without internet can participate in virtual hearings.

“With the speed at which the metaverse is developing, I believe that in a few years it will be acceptable to have hearings and legal acts practiced in the metaverse, but it is a distant future, a reality that we don’t know when. Maybe for our children” , it says.

Another experience with the metaverse is scheduled to take place at the 1st Labor Court in Ji-Paraná (RO) of the TRT-14 (Regional Labor Court of the 14th region), by judge Carlos Antonio Chagas Junior, who also attended the lecture in Colíder with your avatar and identifies you as an encourager of the use of technological resources.

There is still no date for the launch, but there has already been authorization from the court so that the rod is created permanently and can be used in a variety of ways, says the magistrate.

“We intend to hold events with the faculties, simulated hearings and bring the population to know the Judiciary. We can also link the hearings that are carried out by zoom and the person can watch through the metaverse”.

The judge highlights that in Rondônia and Acre the distances are gigantic and that with the virtual hearings during the pandemic, access was facilitated, as it is no longer necessary to travel five days by boat to attend in person.

As a solution to serve people who do not have a cell phone or internet access, he says that several agreements were signed for passive rooms to be created in public spaces, such as schools.

“The metaverse is there, it is a reality, and it will advance more and more. The public power is advancing in the use of technology. This adds value, adds time”, he says.

Both there and in the Mato Grosso court, the development of the environment was reproduced in the metaverse on a pro bono basis, which, says Bernardo de Azevedo, will be a company policy with other courts, to allow the Judiciary to test the technology.

For simpler projects, developed for law firms, he estimates an initial value of R$ 6 thousand to develop the project.