Metaverse. What will the metaverse eventually provide to construction businesses? Is there, in fact, such a thing as the metaverse? The metaverse is still more of a buzzword and vision than a fully-fledged end goal with a defined arrival date. And the impact for construction companies is even less defined.
What we have today are tech companies building their version of a “multiverse,” but this is not fully interconnected, does not yet widely employ open standards, and certainly has not fully embraced XR (extended reality)—all tenets of the metaverse vision.
Despite all the headlines and investments, the metaverse will not arrive in 2022 or, for that matter, within the typical 5-year forecast window, according to ABI Research. One missing piece is an ability to connect all the diverse pieces that are supposed to make up the metaverse. While the internet is the logical connector, the reality is that the 5G network is going to be the missing link to connect all the pieces, many of which are mobile in nature—smartphones, tablets, etc.
In its new whitepaper, 38 Technology Stats You Need to Know for 2022, global technology intelligence firm ABI Research identified and highlighted forecasts that illuminate the direction in which digital transformation is heading now, at the (hopefully) tail-end of the pandemic.
For all the hype the metaverse receives around virtual worlds and assets, it is the build-up to this interconnected future where the physical and digital are merged that deserves more attention. Trends across digital media and advertising, immersive, hybrid workforces, and evolutions in technology (i.e., 5G advanced and upcoming 6G) are all coming together to change how we consume content, work, access services, and communicate. These changing markets, especially as they come together, will create tremendous demands on networks (i.e., data and ultra-low latency connections) and computational resources.
Until technologies at every stage of design, manufacturing, shipping, and integration come together, the metaverse will remain a collection of ideas looking for execution. But when they do come together, look out world.
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