BS IT-1

Evening Shift

DIGITAL LOGIC AND DESIGN (DLD)

Assignment No.1

SUBMITTED BY:

M. Naveed UL Hassan

SUBMITTED TO:

Mr. Usman Ali

Department of Information Technology

UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (VEHARI CAMPUS)

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 TITLE: A Next Generation Virtual World (Metaverse)

What is the metaverse?

Introduction
Metaverse is a new beginning to create
something new, much like the early days of
the Internet. Billions are being invested in
building metaverse, and tech tycoons call it
the future, but what is metaverse? Its most
basic definition refers to “the concept of a
fully immersive virtual world where
people gather to socialize, play, and
work.”.
Metaverse is not a product of Facebook,
Microsoft, or Google. It is basically a term derived from the 1992 cyberpunk novel
“Snow Crash,” which implied a world in which people could interact with each
other by using their avatars.
The metaverse concept, recently publicized by Facebook's rebranding as Meta, will
revolutionize how we interact with the world. Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated
that "the next generation of the internet is metaverse" and that existing social media
will come under the umbrella of this new wave. He describes metaverse as "a virtual
environment where you can present yourself with people in digital spaces. You can
kind of think of this as an embodied Internet that you're inside of, rather than just
looking at."
Definition:
The Metaverse is the post-reality universe, a perpetual and persistent multiuser environment
merging physical reality with digital virtuality. It is based on the convergence of technologies
that enable multisensory interactions with virtual environments, digital objects and people such
as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
The metaverse is a concept of a persistent, online, 3D universe that combines multiple different
virtual spaces. You can think of it as a future iteration of the internet. The metaverse will allow
users to work, meet, game, and socialize together in these 3D spaces.
While we don't yet have a single, linked metaverse, we have plenty of platforms and projects
similar to the metaverse. Typically, these also incorporate NFTs and other blockchain elements.
Who owns it?
• Just as no one truly owns the internet, no one person or company owns the
Metaverse. But there are companies and people who hold massive sway and contribute
more to its maintenance and creation than any other company.
• No one owns the entire metaverse network. Metaverse is not a real physical thing that
you can own. It is a virtual 3D world where everyone can participate. There are different
metaverses created by different people or teams.

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 • Theoretically, the creator of a metaverse is its true owner, but that may not always be
the case. In the case of the Facebook Metaverse, it is owned by the company founder
and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
• Decentraland was created by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano for a company called
Metaverse Holdings Ltd., which and a number of investors own the rights to the digital
universe.
• Kohrman Jackson
• Krantz LLP
In 2017, Microsoft acquired the VR Company Altspace VR, and has since implemented
virtual avatars and meetings held in virtual reality into Microsoft Teams. Proposed
applications for metaverse technology include improving work productivity, interactive
learning environments, e-commerce, real estate and fashion.
Ideas discussed in metaverse
Many ideas are discussed in metaverse like:
• Metaverse Decentraland; A Virtual World
Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform where you can purchase virtual
plots of land in the form of NFTs using the Ethereum blockchain's MANA
cryptocurrency. You may also create your own business, shops, and applications on
that land. Its users govern the platform through the Decentraland DAO, a decentralized
autonomous organization

• Virtual Events:
From the arrival of Metaverse, virtual events gained huge popularity. The metaverse
offers great space for integrated virtual events. These metaverse virtual event planners
and organizers create virtual events where event participants feel like they are
physically there at the event. This virtual event gives an awesome metaverse experience
like a real-world environment.
The main advantage of virtual event management in the metaverse is its accessibility
via which users feel more comfortable.
• Immersive Learning Experience:
When it comes to immersive learning experiences offered by the metaverse, the institute
or particular organization need not construct any separate infrastructure as an
immersive learning experience because the metaverse has it already.

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 This metaverse’s immersive learning experiences will be a highly valuable business
opportunity for military applications, higher education, medical, and various other
fields of study.

• Virtual Shopping Platforms:

The retail sector is one of the major industries for experimenting with metaverse
business ideas. This metaverse-based immersive shopping experience can benefit all
the businesses in the retail sector.
Just imagine you as a digital avatar going shopping in a fashion store on the metaverse
as like in the real world. You can dress up your avatar with the clothes and accessories
from a store in the metaverse. At final you can look at the best suit for you. This
combination of metaverse and retail business can bring you more profit.
• Digital Real Estate:
Here is one more unique business in metaverse which is the digital representation of
real estate. This concept of virtual real estate is highly speculative even though it draws
the interest of a certain groups of business people.
Real Estates sales on top metaverse platforms including Sandbox, Decentraland, Crypto
voxels, and Somnium recorded $5OOM the previous year and are expected to double
this year.
• Gaming Business:
Gaming is a multi-billion-dollar sector and the worth of the video gaming business is
predicted to reach $268.81B by 2025.
Players can play in a virtual reality world with the adoption of Metaverse in gaming.
The introduction of a metaverse in games can make the scene go crazy and the whole
gaming industry will boom more.
• Entertainment Streaming Platforms:
At first, Netflix is the only online streaming platform available. But now, you can get
streaming services from platforms like Amazon Prime, Hulu, and more.
With the implementation of a metaverse in gaming subscription and streaming services,
you can offer VR space for players. Since Metaverse is all about digital space, the VR
headsets will be common among people and make good money for them.
• Virtual Offices:
Metaverse immensely helps companies to empower their workspace digitally
augmented. Metaverse helps organizations in connecting the employees, improving
engagement, and collaborating the relationship.
Many companies like Microsoft have adopted their own Metaverse for their employee
engagement which is named Microsoft Mesh. Thus, you can also utilize the metaverse
for enabling a digital augmented workspace for your organization.

Role of AI in metaverse
• The role of AI in the Metaverse is to be the virtual assistant for all human beings in a
virtual world. It can help with anything from navigating and mapping your
surroundings, to provide you with information about certain locations, people, or
objects.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely applied in our lives in recent years: business
strategy planning, decision making, facial recognition, faster computing, and more.

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 More recently, AI experts have been studying the possibilities of applying AI to the
creation of immersive metaverses.
• AI has the potential to process a lot of data at lightning speed. Combined with machine
learning techniques, AI algorithms can learn from previous iterations, taking into
account historical data to come up with unique outputs and insights.
• Within the metaverse, AI can be applied to the non-player characters (NPCs) in
different scenarios. NPCs exist in almost every game; they are a part of the gaming
environment designed to react and respond to players’ actions. With AI’s processing
abilities, NPCs can be placed across the 3D spaces to facilitate lifelike conversations
with users or perform other specific tasks. Unlike a human user, an AI NPC can run on
its own and be used by millions of players at the same time. It can also work in several
different languages.
• Another potential application for AI is in the creation of metaverse avatars. AI engines
can be used to analyze 2D images or 3D scans to generate avatars that look more
realistic and accurate. To make the process more dynamic, AI can also be used to create
different facial expressions, hairstyles, clothes, and features to enhance the digital
humans we create.
• AI is one of the most important enabling technology for the foundation and
development of the metaverse, which helps it in reaching its full potential. Based on the
original image or 3D scan, an AI model will analyze user images automatically and
create a very realistic simulated rendition called avatars. In the metaverse, the
representational attributes and features of avatar affect the overall quality of user
experience. Concretely, AI can plot a variety of facial expressions, feelings, fashions,
aging-related characteristics, and so on for the avatar to make it more dynamic [29]. As
a result of significant artificial intelligence training, the metaverse will be available to
individuals all across the world, regardless of their linguistic competence. Making the
metaverse experience that is both entertaining and authentic while salable will be
challenging without the use of AI.
Role of blockchain technology in metaverse
The motivation behind integration of blockchain in the metaverse are summarized below:

• Ensuring Data Privacy and Security: The metaverse collects vast volumes of sensitive
information in order to present the user with the greatest possible experiences. The
organizations or the applications need this data for the successful development of targeting
systems. If the information is leaked into the hands of the wrong people, they might also
target users in the real world. Blockchain, with its authentication, access control, and the
consensus mechanisms provide the users complete control of their data thereby securing
the data privacy of the users. The blockchain uses asymmetric-key encryption and hash
functions which ensure security of data in the metaverse.
• Enabling Data Interoperability: In the metaverse, stakeholders need to access and hold
assets in different virtual worlds and use a variety of applications. Data interoperability
across these virtual worlds is limited due to the different environments in which they are
built. It is possible to exchange data on two or more blockchains located in distinct virtual
worlds using a cross-chain protocol. Users can migrate more easily between these virtual
worlds because of the blockchain’s interoperability.
• Ensuring Data Integrity: The metaverse’s data must be maintained consistently and
accurately. The stakeholders may lose faith in the metaverse if the integrity of the data is

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 compromised. The metaverse data is saved as a copy in every block throughout the chain
that can’t be amended or removed without the consent of majority of the participants, due
to the immutability provided by the blockchain. This mechanism of blockchain ensures the
data integrity of the metaverse.
• As the metaverse is built on blockchain technology, any items you own or produce are
unique and cannot be replicated or stolen. As with art pieces, blockchain technology
assures that distinct digital goods traded in the metaverse are one-of-a-kind. Furthermore,
cryptocurrencies keep the metaverse running; everything is purchased and sold using
distinctive sorts of cryptocurrency. One of the most used terms in the metaverse is NFTs.
The Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique cryptographic tokens and cannot be
duplicated on a blockchain. NFTs can be used to represent real-world items that are
collectible digital assets that hold value in the same way that physical assets do; for
example, a piece of land in metaverse comes under NTF.

How metaverse carries the idea of cryptocurrency?

Beside AR and VR technology, Blockchain also plays a crucial role in the Metaverse. It allows
you to use cryptocurrencies and NFTs to create a fully functional virtual economy where you
can buy and sell any virtual asset.
Since metaverse is built on blockchain, cryptocurrencies also use the same technology.
Therefore, it will be the most popular form of payment in the metaverse world. Using
cryptocurrency will be the simplest, most convenient, and least expensive method to embark
on a global metaverse shopping trip. You may use your cryptocurrency at any store, regardless
of where it is located. You won't waste money on international communication or transaction
costs if you use crypto, and most stores in the metaverse accept all major cryptocurrencies.

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In this way, investment and speculation in the market will continue to flow, and the total value
of the industry related to the Metaverse has now reached about 714 million US dollars. In the
future, running the metaverse will probably need to include a large number of NFTs,
cryptocurrencies and NFT-related products will be used in the future virtual world. It can be
used, leased and bought and sold in the metaverse, which requires the use of a large number of
cryptocurrencies to promote the market’s investment interest in cryptocurrencies.
Which organizations adopt this idea?
Many organization and companies adopt this idea. Here the details of some metaverse
companies:
Metaverse Companies:
A Group of 160+ Companies, here are several companies with their own metaverse
visions.
• Facebook
In an open letter, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company's metaverse
investment represented a fundamental change and was part of a new vision for the social
media giant designed to "bring the metaverse to life."
He also said that Facebook is a metaverse-first, not Facebook-first, company. That's an
important change because it means users eventually won't need a Facebook account to
use other services in the metaverse. Among other non-Facebook products, Facebook
has already sold millions of its Oculus VR headgear units for navigating the metaverse.
In the Meta announcement, Zuckerberg said Facebook aims to accelerate the
development of the fundamental technologies, including social platforms and creative
tools, required to "bring the metaverse to life." After the Meta news dropped in late
2021, Facebook launched Horizon Worlds, a VR space that users can navigate as an
avatar, and tools for developers to create additional virtual worlds.

• Microsoft
Microsoft surprised in the last edition of Ignite presenting Mesh, its virtual reality bet
designed to be used, mainly, in Teams, and that has the momentum of its HoloLens2.
The technology giant itself defines it as an opportunity that “enables presence and
shared experiences from anywhere, on any device, through mixed reality applications.
They also speak of avatars, even of “holoportation” in the work environment as a way
to improve the fluidity of decision-making and the acceleration of problem-solving.

• Ali Metaverse of Alibaba

The Chinese giant is the one at the earliest stage, but it has already applied for several
metaverse-related trademarks and has declared its intention to run in this technology

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 race. The first trademark would be Ali Metaverse, but Taobao and Dingding Metaverse
are also joining. We just have to wait and see how it turns out.

• Epic Games Metaverse

Another participant in creating its own metaverse is Sony, which has invested $1
billion to make it possible. Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite are in charge of
developing it.
For years, this digital universe has been the dream of Tim Sweeney, the co-founder of
the video game company, and with this injection of funds, it could be more feasible.
However, unlike Zuckerberg’s idea of a monopoly, Sweeny wants the metaverse to be
a completely open standard that could even replace the internet.

• Zepeto, Zara’s Metaverse

Changing sectors, we find Zara, the textile giant that has chosen Zepeto as the
metaverse to launch its first collection of virtual garments. It is a South Korean
metaverse for cell phones, with 3D avatars and more than 2 million daily users, which
has made it one of the fastest-growing virtual environments in the last year.
This metaverse allows the purchase of digital items through its own currency and
provides interaction with millions of users around the world. The predominant audience
is young women between 13 and 24 years old, who create avatars based on the real
physical characteristics of the users.

• Disney’s metaverse
The entertainment giant has also joined the virtual world and has already approved a
patent that will allow the creation of customized interactive attractions for visitors to
its theme parks.
This metaverse will employ technology that will track visitors through their cell
phones, generating and projecting customized 3D effects on walls, objects or any
physical space nearby within the park.

• Samsung 837X
After announcing a platform dedicated to NFTs in its TVs, Samsung has launched a
space in the Decetraland metaverse. Inspired by its Samsung 837 store in New York,
the space is divided into three areas: The Connectivity Theater (intended for the
presentation of the brand’s new products), the Sustainability Forest (a forest
environment that gives visibility to the company’s sustainable initiatives) and the
Personalization Space (it will host a mixed reality party hosted by DJ Gamma Vibes).
It’s just the first step, as the company has advanced that they have big plans for the
future in this digital universe.

• Gucci Garden
The luxury brand launched 2 simultaneous initiatives: Garden Archetypes, an
immersive multimedia experience, and Gucci Garden, a unique and interactive virtual
exhibition.

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 As visitors entered the “garden”, avatars became mannequins. They could wander
through the different rooms, absorbing elements of the exhibition, retaining fragments
of the spaces and ending a journey as unique creations.
• Apple
Apple could be a surprising dark horse in the race towards the metaverse. It is currently
working on advanced VR gear that could revolutionise the metaverse experience.
Morgan Stanley went as far as to say that mass-market adoption of the metaverse hinges
on Apple, much like smartphone and tablet markets before it.

Conclusion
• While the metaverse is still under development, many companies are already exploring
its potential. In the crypto space, Decentraland and The Sandbox are notable projects,
but big companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Facebook are also getting involved. As
AR, VR, and AI technologies advance, we will likely see exciting new features in these
virtual, borderless worlds.
• While a single, united metaverse is likely a long way off, we already can see
developments that may lead to its creation. It looks to be yet another sci-fi use case for
blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. If we will ever really reach the point of a
metaverse is unsure. But in the meantime, we can already experience metaverse-like
projects and continue to integrate blockchain more into our daily lives.
• The Metaverse is not a new concept. Its main dimensions are illustrated in Figure 1.
However, in the context of MR, it can bridge the connectivity of social media with the
unique affordances of VR and AR immersive technologies. If the interplay among
them is unleashed creatively, it promises to transform many industry sectors, among
them distance online education.
• Physical presence in a classroom will cease to be a privileged educational experience.
Telepresence, avatar body language and facial expression fidelity will enable virtual
participation to be equally effective. Additionally, social mixed reality in the
Metaverse can enable blended active pedagogies that foster deeper and lasting
knowledge.
• More importantly, it can become a democratizing factor in education, enabling world-
wide participation on equal footing, unbound by geographical restrictions.

Figure 1. Metaverse technologies, principles, affordances and challenges.

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