Metaverse impact on industries
The imagined future of the internet will be based on the possibilities and novel opportunities ushered in by the different applications of the metaverse. Digital communication will become more immersive and innovative as online-enabled interactions with other individuals and even digital contents will become more life-like or closer to real-world experiences
Of course, as a backgrounder, the metaverse is a term that represents always-on shared virtual environments that allow users to create their individual virtual presence and interact in an immersive and graphics-intensive digital realm using relevant technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as artificial intelligence.
Several Big Tech companies have placed their hopes on this upcoming technological revolution. Facebook even changed its company name to Meta Platforms to reflect its transition from a social media company to a social technology company. Microsoft has an ongoing plan to integrate this concept into its Xbox gaming platform and its Microsoft Teams app.
Metaverse applications
Applications of Metaverse in Marketing
The internet and the subsequent rise of social media platforms have taken marketing to another level. Channels for marketing communication have become more accessible, less expensive, and more convenient to businesses of all sizes.
Compared to the limited reach of traditional mediums of communication such as traditional media, outdoor displays such as through posters and billboards, and the individual dissemination of marketing paraphernalia, the reach of digital media is customizable.
Because the metaverse is an upgraded online experience, it provides businesses with new platforms for innovatively marketing their products and services. Take note of the following specific applications in digital marketing:
• Branding Through an Online Presence in a Virtual Environment: Businesses can create their avatars in shared virtual environments similar to how they pursued branding in the digital age by creating websites and social media accounts.
• Promotion Through Non-Paid Digital Marketing and Paid Advertising: The same virtual environments serve as digital platforms for marketing promotion such as the distribution of marketing contents and placing online advertisements.
• Distribution Through Electronic Commerce or Virtual Storefronts: Businesses can also create and maintain virtual storefronts that can provide a more immersive and interactive online experience for their customers.
• Sales Through a Virtualized and Immersive Sales Process Experience: The virtualization of the sales process experience makes interaction with the customers and customer or after-sales support more immersive and engaging.
Digital Infrastructure for Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions to build technological capabilities and utilize online-enabled tools to ensure uninterrupted learning despite the absence of actual face-to-face interactions due to community lockdowns and restrictions.
But the learning experience from using video conferencing platforms and asynchronous mode of instruction has been considered by some as challenging and counterproductive. Specifically, the overall quality of communication has been regarded as one-sided and passive.
Nevertheless, through an immersive and graphics-intensive digital platform of communication, some of the promising applications of metaverse center on providing online-enabled instruction and enabling distance learning that are more life-like.
Students can use their avatars and virtual reality gears to create an online presence and participate in a shared virtual environment wherein they can actively interact, collaborate, and engage with their classmates and instructors.
Virtualized learning materials or the creation of immersive three-dimensional digital learning contents serve not only as visual aids but also as tools that can make instruction more engaging and interactive. Active participation from students becomes possible.
Metaverse Shopping Applications
Online shopping is a given in the metaverse. But it’s more than digitally trying on clothes people can purchase for real life. Virtual fashion, avatar “skins”, and virtual real estate (housing, cars, etc.) will have their own worth in the metaverse. Companies will have to design brands for different people at different stages of wealth. People who invest heavily in the metaverse may have their own businesses and property, therefore partner opportunities with businesses that don’t exist in physical reality.
Fashion is a big part of creating a character or being represented by an avatar. Virtual fashion houses and designers have a chance to enter a whole new market of digital-first clothing. The metaverse is about identity in ways that haven’t been possible before.
Metaverse Healthcare applications
The deployment of augmented reality in the healthcare sector has a substantial value in training and strengthening the skills and knowledge base of future medical professionals. Surgical assistive tools are technology like the Microsoft Hololens that surgeons utilize to help them with and speed surgical procedures [4]. In addition to pre-operative pictures from CT, MRI, and 3D scans, AR headsets are used to view crucial real-time patient data such as heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and respiration rate.
Nurses and physicians are now using augmented reality to enhance vein identification [5]. This tackles the problem that locating a vein can be difficult for many individuals, amazingly if their skin is intensely pigmented or tiny blood veins. In the healthcare industry, visual-driven technology like X-rays and CT scans are prevalent. Simply put, they aid medical practitioners in detecting, diagnosing, and treating patients by allowing them to look within their patients’ bodies.
Metaverse Military Applications
Military applications of AR and VR have seen considerable breakthroughs as well. Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR) is a technology that appears similar to night-vision goggles (NVG), but it has many more capabilities. It may display a soldier’s precise location as well as the positions of ally and hostile forces. The system is attached to the helmet in the same manner that the goggles are, and it may be used at any time of day or night. As a result, TAR effectively substitutes the standard handheld GPS gadget and eyewear.
As a consequence, a soldier would no longer need to glance down to verify their GPS location. Furthermore, Synthetic Training Environment is an augmented reality system designed to provide soldiers a more realistic training experience by putting them in more physically and psychologically demanding combat settings. One of the key objectives of the STE creators is to create a training alternative that will enable commanders to produce adaptive units with a higher degree of preparation.
Metaverse Real estate applications
The capacity to give potential clients a realistic and immersive experience is VR’s greatest strength. Real estate marketers may take advantage of this power by allowing clients to ultimately see the property before making a choice. Several multimedia features, such as ambient music, narration, and light-and-sound effects, can also be included in specific VR tours. These aspects provide the encounter a feeling of reality and awe and boost clients’ confidence before they sign on the dotted line. Clients may explore the property and the surrounding area in real-time via virtual reality tours and guided walkthroughs. This reassures consumers about various decision variables, such as road conditions or the place’s ambiance, while also reducing the journey time to zero. Real estate agents also save time and money by avoiding costly showings and face-to-face meetings. Unlike conventional tours, virtual reality walkthroughs may be easily modified to appeal to various consumer tastes. The lighting, interior design, and zoom functions, for example, are helpful for highly visual clientele. Pop-up windows may be customized to present comprehensive information, statistics, and space measurements for more practical clients.
Metaverse Manufacturing applications
Accidents are substantially less likely if the maker uses virtual reality technology. People learn significantly faster and retain more when they study in a real-world setting. The manufacturer does not have to spend money or time educating a new employee because VR training takes care of it. Employees can also learn about safety precautions and even participate in a risky circumstance simulation. As a result, the likelihood of an accident is minimized. These technologies also aid in the development of better products. Each and every element of the product may be examined by just donning a VR goggle. Furthermore, manufacturers may simply create flooring using virtual reality. They can quickly choose the best location to put up the equipment and maintain the required space between them. It assists in the improvement of safety and the better planning of equipment locations. Ford personnel are utilizing virtual reality technology to access their locked-down models at a time when the coronavirus has spread worldwide. They’re making the most of virtual reality
Metaverse Education applications
Virtual reality is fantastic because it allows us to explore other worlds and experiences. Wearing a VR headset exposes you to high-quality representations that can positively impact your life. Traditional teaching approaches will never attain such a high level of effectiveness in highlighting concepts through visuals. Regardless of their age, students will always choose to sit and watch something rather than read it. Virtual reality technology is fascinating because it can produce incredible experiences that could never be “experienced” in real life. With the usage of this technology, students will be more motivated to learn.
Teachers nowadays find it extremely difficult to develop an effective classroom environment. With the advent of virtual reality technology in school, this feature will go permanently since most students would be enticed to talk about their virtual reality experiences [3]. Virtual reality may frequently assist in the detection of errors in content as well as give excellent editing capabilities. It also removes the barrier of language. When it comes to schooling, the language barrier is frequently a significant issue. If you wish to study in another nation, you must be able to communicate in that language. Virtual reality allows for the incorporation of any language into the software.
Wrapping up
A new iteration of the internet is being worked on and this will have massive implications for society. Marketing, communications, and branding professionals will face new challenges but also new opportunities. This new era of the metaverse will unleash amazing creativity and open up new frontiers and horizons for brands and businesses. Metaverse spread all over the world and also makes new Metaverse applications for various industries.
