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Metaverse Roadmap
Pathways to the 3D Web
A Cross-Industr Public Foresiht Proect
Introduction
Over the past year theAcceleration Studies Foundation(ASF) and its supportingforesight partners have exploredthe virtual and 3D future of theWorld Wide Web in a first-of-its-kind cross-industry publicforesight project, the MetaverseRoadmap (MVR). We use theterm Metaverse in a way thatincludes and builds upon NealStephenson’s coinage in thecyberpunk science fiction novel,
Snow Crash
, which envisioned afuture broadly reshaped byvirtual and 3D technologies.The MVR has “near-term”anticipation horizon of ten years(to 2017), a “longer-term”speculation horizon of twentyyears (to 2025), and a charter todiscover early indicators of significant developments ahead.Seeking diverse points of view,our process included aninvitational Metaverse RoadmapSummit, public and expertsurveys, a few workshops androundtables at major U.S.conferences, social meetups, anda public wiki. Many helpfulpeople from the IT, virtualworlds, professional, academic,futurist, and lay communitiescontributed ideas to the MVR.
In its inaugural version, the MVRfocuses on defining and exploringthis major new social space. Infuture versions we expect to addindustry-developed timelines forMetaverse technologydevelopment. Our inaugural MVRbudget was roughly $100K, paidfor by our generous financialsponsors. With the resourcesprovided we endeavored be asmultinational and inclusive aspossible. With greaterrecognition, more visibility andmore sponsorship support, welook forward to bringing an evenbroader range of expertise to thenext version of the roadmap.
The MVR comprises twodocuments, bothavailable atMetaverseRoadmap.org:1) a set of MVR Inputs
(75 pages) whichsummarize key insightsin 19 foresightcategories, and 2) thisMVR Overview (22pages + Appendix)which synthesizes some(not all) of the Inputsinto a series of narrativesto explain importantfeatures of the changeand opportunity ahead.The goal of the MVR project is toregularly update our ten- andtwenty-year public foresight byperiodically seeking the guidance of experts at sponsored MVR summits,and engaging in extended interactionwith online communities through theuse of blogs, wikis, podcasts, andother media channels.We invite you to contribute yourunique insights to future MetaverseRoadmap summits, conversations,and updates through feedback,volunteer effort, and financialsupport. In these early days of theMetaverse, financial sponsorship isparticularly helpful to improving thequality of future roadmaps. Email usat
Moore’s Law:
A doubling of realcomputing power has occurred every 2.3years, on average, since the birth ofmodern computing. Moore’s Law is one ofseveral enabling technological trends forMetaverse development.
What happens when video games meet Web 2.0?
When virtual worlds meetgeospatial maps of the planet? When simulations get real and life and business govirtual? When you use a virtual Earth to navigate the physical Earth, and youravatar becomes your online agent
?
What happens is the metaverse.
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