What is the “Metaverse”?

First the Facebook group changed its name to “meta”, then Mark Zuckerberg also talks about the metaverse, but somehow nobody really knows what it’s all about. This month, we’d like to shed some light on what the Metaverse is all about, how it’s supposed to work, and when it might “happen”.

Metaverse is a vision for a new online world. In it, virtual world (VR), augmented reality (AR) and the physical world merge. This results in extensive interaction possibilities for the users. They move with their digital identity, represented by an avatar, in a shared virtual space.

This is what the word “metaverse” means

Many IT experts, analysts and technology companies see the metaverse as an important future trend. The name change from Facebook to Meta should also be seen in this context. Metaverse is the English term for the metaverse. The word “metaverse” is composed of the two words “meta” and “universe”. The prefix “meta” means beyond and the universe describes the totality of space, time, matter and energy.

This is how you can imagine the metaverse

Today, metaverse is the term used to describe the vision of a shared online world. It is to combine virtual world (virtual reality), augmented reality, cyberspace and the real physical world in a common digital space without internal boundaries. Metaverse users are not pure consumers, but interact with their digital identity in virtual space. They help shape the metaverse. People live, work and communicate in the metaverse. In contrast to the purely virtual world, however, no parallel world is created, but the objects and components of both worlds can be taken from the real world into the virtual world and vice versa, or mapped there. For example, a piece of street art with the appropriate device can be seen and move in three dimensions. Here the metaverse interacts with the real world.

Other features and characteristics of the Metaverse

This digital world consists of three-dimensional spaces without internal boundaries, which means that the usable area and locations are infinite, since space is not physically limited. Users are represented by their personal avatar and can move freely with it in the metaverse. One has the opportunity to communicate and meet with people regardless of their physical living space.

The metaverse is freely accessible to everyone and can also be modified by any user. These can create, influence or modify digital spaces. As in the physical world, the spaces can be open or closed. Just as with the area, there is no limit to the number of people. In a digital world, there is room for everyone.