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By using a VR headset, users can immerse themselves in a wholly manufactured digital environment, such as an alternate universe. AR, on the other hand, places digital layers on top of the real world
FREMONT, CA: The metaverse is a first-person perspective version of the Internet that users can explore. Instead of engaging with content from the outside, as one does now, the metaverse will give users the sensation that they are there within it; if they are conversing with someone, they will feel physically present with that person.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies make this possible. By using a VR headset, users can immerse themselves in a wholly manufactured digital environment, such as an alternate universe. AR, on the other hand, places digital layers on top of the real world. This is accomplished by allowing users to view the real world through a smartphone screen, such as in Pokemon Go, or through the use of digital lenses.
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According to Morgan Stanley, the metaverse's market potential is worth 8 trillion dollars. With so much money on the line, some of the world's most well-known businesses are rushing to design and deploy their own versions of the future world of commerce and entertainment. Sony, NVIDIA, and Disney are among the companies said to be working on similar technology.
Facebook Reality Labs, the company's metaverse branch, has already invested at least 10 billion dollars in AR and VR technology, software, and content, and that figure is expected to climb in the coming years. Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality realm of avatars, opened in December 2021 to anybody over the age of 18 in the United States and Canada.
Meanwhile, in January 2022, Microsoft paid 69 billion dollars to acquire gaming business Activision Blizzard, putting another flag in the virtual world. The software heavyweight is also working on HoloLens, an augmented reality headset that displays digital holograms. A Japanese startup is also already in the race. Since August of 2018, Hikky has held a Virtual Market once every six months or so. The original event drew only 1,500 people, but it has consistently drawn over 1 million visitors from all around the world since 2020.
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