To hear tech leaders talk about it, the metaverse seems like the future of the internet. During 2022, it was hard to move on the internet without bumping into the “metaverse” discourse. Following Facebook’s rebranding in 2021, everyone was keen to showcase their vision for digital worlds where users can work, play and socialise all on one platform.
With the metaverse concept predicted to add $5 trillion to the value of the global economy by 2030, there’s everything to play for, and 2022 has been a pivotal year for defining the direction it will take.
Let’s look at the top announcements made in the domain during 2022.
Zuck’s $10,000,000,000 selfie
While launching Meta’s Horizon Worlds in France and Spain, Zuckerberg posted a selfie of his avatar in front of digital renderings of the Eiffel Tower and La Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.
It got plenty of buzz—but probably not the sort Zuck was hoping for.
The internet pointed out that it resembled old-school video games.
The selfie even got its own entry on knowyourmeme.com, which posts the stories behind viral memes.
Air-to-air combat
Deepmind’s AI technology was part of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program.
‘Blue Shark’, ‘Project Avengers’ and ‘AI Dogfighting’, which sound like titles of Marvel movies, are some of the billion-dollar metaverse projects of the US army. These projects are believed to be much bigger than Meta’s metaverse.
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Interpol storms into the Metaverse
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced that it is putting on its VR headsets to crack down on the extensive list of “potential crimes” in the metaverse.
According to the announcement, Interpol has launched the “first-ever Metaverse designed for global law enforcement”—introducing it at the 90th Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi—which is already fully operational.
Indian IT enters the Metaverse
Tech Mahindra announced ‘TechMVerse’, a metaverse-related business, to offer customers immersive experiences. The company wants to use its AI, blockchain, and AR/VR capabilities to build B2B use cases across segments.
The Indian IT major will use business opportunities offered by the metaverse, such as the ‘DealerVerse’—the virtual car dealership, ‘Meta Bank’—the virtual bank, ‘Middlemist’—an NFT marketplace and a virtual gaming centre.
Infosys launched ‘Metaverse Foundry’ to help enterprises adapt to the ways of the metaverse. The virtual and augmented environments will be for their customers, workplace, products and operations.
Burj Khalifa – In the Metaverse!
The digital twin of Burj Khalifa is now in the metaverse! The brain behind the innovation ‘Eventcombo’ claims that the experience is accessible to everyone with a regular device and a keyboard. The users will not require fancy hardware to watch the iconic skyscraper.
Individuals can experience a 360-degree view of Dubai and roam around. As observed in the demo video, avatars are seen roaming around the building, taking the elevators, walking around the corridors before entering the viewing deck, and offering replicated views of the city.
First Indian QSR chain opens in Metaverse
India’s leading QSR (quick service restaurant) chain Wow! Momo Foods has launched three of its outlets in the metaverse. The three brands named Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken is on ‘festemverse’—a new Metaverse platform curated to celebrate festivals of India across the year.
The company claims launching the three brands on metaverse is first-of-its-kind in the Indian QSR space.
