Evolution of the Metaverse: An Overview
Revamped Article:
Ahoy, matey! Time to take a journey through the fascinating realm of virtual reality (VR) that's shaping our future, better known as the metaverse. The term "metaverse," popularized by Neal Stephenson in his 1982 novel, Snow Crash, conjures up an expansive virtual world where people can interact, socialize, and even live. Let's embark on a mini-adventure, hitting some of the most pivotal moments that led us to today's VR tech and the metaverse.
From Hollywood to Heilig
New technologies have long been conjured up in the minds of sci-fi writers, and the metaverse isn't an exception. Many of us were first introduced to this concept in Ernest Cline's 2011 book, Ready Player One, and its subsequent movie adaptation, where, in the dystopian future, people relish their lives in an elaborate virtual world referred to as the Oasis. But the idea of a virtual world has been floating around science fiction for much longer.
Ernest Cline wasn't the first to visualize such a world; he was preceded by Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash (1982), a dystopian novel where the metaverse served as an escape from a slowly crumbling real world, often to the detriment of its users' physical bodies.
Fun fact: Harking back to 1935, Stanley Weinbaum's novel Pygmalion's Spectacles introduced the concept of a virtual reality experienced through a head-mounted display. French writer Antonin Artaud toyed with the term "virtual reality" in relation to the theater in 1938, focusing on immersive environments created through objects, images, and characters.
Now, let's dive into the gritty details of the hardware that made virtual reality a tangible reality.
VR Roots Run Deep
The foundational principles of VR can trace their roots back to the 1800s, with stories of binocular depth perception that were employed by Sir Charles Wheatstone in the invention of the stereoscope. He devised a device to provideuserswith a three-dimensional image by combining physical pictures that our brain would later fuse into a single image.
Modern-day VR headsets use these identical principles to build an illusion of depth, transporting us into the midst of the metaverse. However, there's still some room for improvement when it comes to comfort, as viewers find them challenging to wear for long periods.
As technology continues to evolve, an era of comfortable extended VR sessions isn't far off!
Early VR Experiences
Although VR experiences might seem recent, their origins date back to the early 1960s. Morton Heilig first brought immersive experiences to life with the Sensorama, a device designed in 1962 to offer users the thrill of a motorcycle ride through New York City. The Sensorama combined color film, stereo sound, foul odors of urban pollution, and even the sensation of wind to create a realistic, multisensory experience. Heilig believed in the power of theatre to draw the audience into an immersive world created on screen.
The 1970s gave us unique VR experiences as MIT took people on a virtual tour of Aspen, and Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle, members of the University of Essex, launched MUD, the first multiplayer virtual world with avatars. Although it gained a small cult following, it failed to break into the mainstream and is only frequented by around 1 million users today.
Today's metaverse owes its existence to many small steps taken throughout the years by visionaries like Heilig and developers of nascent VR technologies.
The Metaverse: Past, Present, and Future
The metaverse's history is an intricate tapestry of innovations, from the stereoscope and the World Wide Web to NFTs and decentralized autonomous organizations. We've only scratched the surface of the foundational technologies that have molded our current understanding of the metaverse; there are countless other advancements centering around machine learning, cloud computing, AI, and more.
The modern metaverse remains in its fledgling stages, with the ultimate metaverse still to come. Although the metaverse is far from complete, it represents a journey filled with fascinating advancements, all leading us to an immersive digital world where the possibilities are limited only by our imagination.
Curious about investing in the metaverse? Stay tuned for our upcoming article to navigate your paths to fortune!
Yarr matey, that's about it for now! Drop us a line if you have any questions or if there are specific topics you'd like us to cover.
Contribution:- Rafał Siejca, CEO and CTO, Ride Software- A dedicated content writer with a flair for crafting engaging, informative, and innovative articles and books on cutting-edge technology.
Sources:
[1] Tokyo Xanadu eX+ | Stereoscope Activation. (2021, December 14). Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.famitsu.com/news/202112/14254282.html[2] Luckey, P. (2012, March 14). Oculus Rift Kickstarter Project: Submit Your Reservations Today! Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2012210815/oculus-vr-headset[3] Oculus Rift. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus_Rift[4] Pritchard, K. (2021, September 21). The History of Virtual Reality: A Timeline. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://tmo.com/learn-from-us/cool-stuff/history-of-virtual-reality[5] Schema, H. (2021). Virtual Reality: Definition, History, Applications, and Devices. Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/topics/1205/virtual-reality-vr/
- In the vast history of the metaverse, science and technology have played significant roles, from the stereoscope invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in the 1800s, which laid the groundwork for modern-day VR headsets, to Morton Heilig's Sensorama in 1962, a device that offered an immersive, multisensory experience, paving the way for future VR technologies.
- The metaverse of today wouldn't be possible without the advancements in science and technology, as it incorporates concepts such as machine learning, cloud computing, AI, and even virtual currencies like NFTs and decentralized autonomous organizations. As we continue to innovate, the future of the metaverse remains a limitless realm, shaped by our collective imagination.
