The coming metaverse has provoked hype, confusion, and misinformation.
For technophiles, the metaverse represents a nirvana: a place to immerse yourself in any digital surrounding, and participate in any physical reality, at any time – and also to be able to see and feel anything, even if you are thousands of miles away from that physical place.
In a future state, electromyography (EMG) movements and neural interfaces — triggered by only slight finger movements — will allow you to control devices, communicate, and collaborate with others almost as simply as thinking. Your eyes will exploit glasses that use complex sensors to see both your own reality, but virtual ones as well.
Some aspects of this apparent science fiction world are closer than we realize. Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist who has studied the metaverse closely, last year wrote a series of articles about where things are headed in the next decade. Ball breaks down the various technologies and protocols that need to come together to create the metaverse.
