Until a few months ago, when I was writing articles aboutthe Metaverse, I had a huge need to explain the meaning of this concept and the very purpose of its creation. But today I feel like I don’t need to explain it to anyone anymore. Over the past few months, there have been more of them than in the entire decade. Facebook has turned Meta and shared the first version of Horizon Worlds, Pico has changed hands and released Neo3 glasses, and everyone is looking forward to the announcementof Apple’s VR/AR glasses. As if that wasn’t enough, we recently witnessed the Oculus glasses ‘ hand tracking 2.0 update (which makes a really good impression). We see how much VR has started to evolve, how much investment has been made in the further development of this technology, and how many large companies and people speak positively about this venture. But what’s next? Is Horizon Worlds coming to Europe soon? Will haptic VR devices become more common? What will be the next step in the race to create a true Metaverse, and why are Big Tech companies interested in it?

Horizon Worlds availability.

Currently, the beta version of Metaverse can only be used by citizens of Canada, the United States and, more recently, the United Kingdom. A prerequisite is the presence of Oculus Quest 2 glasses and the age of majority of the user. However, we can expect that access to the platform will soon be expanded to include European Union member states. Meta plans to create more than 10,000 jobs in this region over the next 5 years, which will certainly not be an easy task. But it is obvious that there are concrete actions behind these plans. Without a doubt, a big step towards opening up to the European market was the opening this year of the Metaverse Academy in the French capital, where future specialists in immersive technologies will be trained. Classes will start in the near future, with the beginning of the school year. There are also plans to build new Metaverse academies in other cities in France. However, why does such a thing occur at all? As the company itself points out, 80% of the leading professions operating in 2030 have not yet been created. Meta sees this as a space for her investment and would like to take an active part in creating new career paths. He also sees great potential in the European market.

I assume it depends on the availability of Horizon Worlds itself In Europe, first of all, legal factors will depend, mainly related to Mark Zuckerberg’s company itself. We all know that Meta has been repeatedly accused of trading in its users ‘ data, and Europe has repeatedly demonstrated that it values privacy. Therefore, I believe that it can be quite a long process of lengthy legal battles. However, the very investments associated with Metaverse in Europe have already been made by Meta, and it should be remembered that this is not the only company that develops this environment in the world. There are many companies investing in these solutions in Europe, and it doesn’t say that this meta will have a monopoly on the European market. Moreover, the European Union itself is open to the development of the Metaverse, given the available grants and funding related to its development. EpicVR also contributes to the construction of a public virtual world. Thanks to NCBIR funding, we are implementing the project “An innovative self-learning tool to facilitate the development of multi-user mode in VR applications‘” We believe that our work will contribute to increasing awareness of the possibilities of virtual reality and the Metaverse and will contribute to the creation of excellent projects that use the solution we have developed. We hope that in the near future, the availability of VR will be comparable to the availability of a smartphone or tablet, and given the pace and growth of this industry, this is very much possible.

Haptic Devices

Haptic technology uses a device to communicate with its user through touch. It can do this with vibrations, vibrations, or soft movements. Its purpose is to stimulate this feeling in relation to the experience experienced in a virtual environment. Thanks to it, we can feel an object that is only a virtual creation on our own skin. This is a tool that significantly increases the experience of working in the virtual space. An example of this technology is, for example, tactile gloves, with which we can interact tactilely with 3D objects. The ability to simulate the weight, touch, and texture of the object being held gives you a huge immersive experience. The introduction of this technology in the virtual reality industry makes it even easier for us to immerse ourselves in the created world. In terms of VR training, haptic devices make the actions performed during them even closer to us.

There are more and more devices on the market that provide such capabilities. They come not only from the companies that make glasses themselves, but also from businesses that are exclusively engaged in this VR industry. The choice of such devices at the moment is really huge, so there are significant price fluctuations associated with the quality of the product itself and the brand of a particular manufacturer. However, we live in a time when most of us are able to treat ourselves to such a device (better or worse quality).

I believe that any attraction of new senses to virtual reality is a step that brings this technology closer to the mainstream. In my opinion, each subsequent milestone associated with the development of this technology becomes an opportunity to build a dialogue, discussion and general awareness about it. Naturally, any new product makes people talk about it. Especially when we know that the use of this technology is predicted in the Metaverse. Even the Meta company itself is openly talking about working on producing its own tactile gloves for the Oculus series.

What will be the next step in creating a Metaverse?

I believe that first it will be distributing the devices themselves to the community. The price of glasses is already falling, and you can pay less for good VR equipment than for the latest console. I think it will continue in this direction.

The next step, of course, will be the further development of existing technologies. As I mentioned earlier, work on new releases of tactile gloves is still ongoing. I was under the impression that most of the adoption of this technology will depend on the launch or official announcement of Apple glasses. The Cupertino company certainly has a lot to contribute here. I hope that thanks to this, there will be a lot of buzz around this technology, which can bring a breath of fresh approach to the topic. This will certainly energize not only the VR enthusiasts themselves, but also the competitors to take even stronger measures. Apple has always been known for introducing unusual, bold solutions that deviate from previously established standards – sometimes they came out well, sometimes worse, but never left the industry the same. I believe that a lot may depend on their perception of the idea of further development of the Metaverse and the direction in which VR will develop further.

Big Tech and VR technology.

If you don’t know what’s going on, then it’s about money, but in this case it’s also about power. The metaverse is a topic that is gaining momentum. A company that manages to realize its vision of a public virtual platform will surely be able to understand what underlies the entire definition of the Metaverse-community. It creates a picture of the place where you really want to spend time. It is clear that the creators expect that the snowball effect will attract a large publication. This is why I use the word ‘race’so often when writing articles on the Metaverse. I believe that in this case, its use is very appropriate, since these companies are really involved in the pursuit of a virtual monopoly. The truth is, the later you start investing in what is called Internet 2.0, the more you will be in the back of the people who started doing it before you.

Resume.The VR Revolution Process

In every article I write that has a Metaverse theme, I write that the” breakthrough ‘ is coming soon. This may seem like a “hot air balloon ‘ at first, but you should pay attention to how much has changed over the past few months and how much the pursuit of metaverse has escalated. A revolution, a breakthrough,is not something that happens overnight – it is a process that is happening before our eyes and of which we are a part.

Maciej Fiałkowski, EpicVR