Facebook’s metaverse, virtual reality that nibbles space-time

Although it sounds like a science fiction story, the metaverse longed for and described by Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook, is a reality that is taking shape in the technological world, despite criticism and concerns.

“There will be new ways to interact with devices that will be much more natural than pressing a keyboard or a button. You’ll make a gesture, or say a few words. You’ll just have to think of an action to do it,” said the founder enthusiastically from the social media giant on Thursday (28).

The billionaire announced that his company will be renamed “Meta”, after the Greek word for “beyond”, but also as metaverse, for metauniverse, the parallel world that, according to him, represents the future of the internet.

For critics, the Californian group seeks with this strategy to divert attention from the scandals it is accused of, from the dissemination of disinformation to the abuse of a dominant position in the online advertising market.

But, in addition to a possible political strategy, the metaverse encompasses existing devices and lifestyles, for a minority, such as autonomous cars.

progressive immersion

Since the launch a year ago of the Oculus branded Quest 2 virtual reality device (acquired by Facebook in 2014), about 1.87 million devices have been sold worldwide, according to researchers at the Statista center.

At the moment it is mainly used for immersive games, with buttons and controls to simulate a tennis match, for example.

Facebook has also begun to build more informal spaces, such as “workrooms,” where participants appear around a round table as personalized avatars that look like cartoon characters.

But we are still a long way from Ernest Cline’s dystopian novel “Ready Player One”, in which most of humanity escapes a world in crisis by entering a global virtual reality (VR) system through a viewfinder, gloves and tactile clothing.

“But within five or ten years, a lot of these technologies will become commonplace,” Zuckerberg said during his presentation in a virtual home with a heavenly setting, listing the technological tiles needed to build this parallel universe.

The equipment, virtual reality helmets or augmented reality glasses, will not only project images in very high definition and 360 degrees, but will also be able, through sensors, to reproduce the physical appearance of a person, from the texture of their skin to their facial expressions, ultra-realistic and in real time.

open system

Facebook is working on a different helmet, called Cambria, that would be more comfortable to wear longer and would have new tools.

“Avatars can look at each other in a natural way,” celebrated Angela Chang, director of virtual reality devices at Meta.

“We combined a battery of sensors with algorithms to reconstruct the physical world, with depth and perspective,” he explained.

For its mass adoption, the metaverse will also need an open operating system, in which users can easily pay for virtual objects and transport them from one world to another, like clothes.

The Californian group aims to promote the emergence of an ecosystem of companies that create programs for this new Internet.

Zuckerberg estimated that within ten years the metaverse could represent “a billion users, hundreds of billions of dollars in digital commerce and millions of jobs for creators and developers.”

This will require ways to protect transactions and intangible creations. For this, decentralized blockchain technology can be used, which has allowed the emergence of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and NFTs (digital certificates of authenticity for online content).

“Our priority will be the metaverse, not Facebook,” Zuckerberg emphasized. “This means that, over time, you will no longer need to use Facebook to access our other services.”