This orginal post is taken from a LinkedIn post written by David Whelan CEO of ENGAGE XR
I don’t usually post general stuff on LinkedIn, but I do think it’s about time I post some detail around the industry I have worked in over the past 10 years. I get very annoyed by “experts” in the “Metaverse” and “experts” in SpatialComputing” or insert buzz word here who give less then meaningless advice and confuse the life out of smart people here on LinkedIn.
The below are just some terms and phrases that are constantly misunderstood and picked up incorrectly by the press. I do highly recommend you follow the individuals below if you really want to get a feel for what’s happening in this sector today. I have worked in this space for over a decade now and I still don’t class myself as an expert. I am going to start off with just a few terms in the hope that I can stop some of the confusion out there.
Term “Metaverse” = Defines a Location.
This is a digital location which is normally networked in some way where multiple people can visit and explore such locations. There is no single Metaverse but multiple Metaverses just the same as the internet is made up of multiple websites. You would not say the Web is a single webpage but is made up of multiple webpages. Please think of the Metaverse in very much the same way.
Examples:
VRChat Inc. – Social Metaverse with complete freedom for users
Roblox – Social Metaverse very popular with brands
Meta Horizon – Social Metaverse to build games and experiences with others
Rec Room – Build and play games together
ENGAGE XR – Education and Enterprise focused metaverse applications
I do see eventually that all “Metaverses” will link together, and users will travel from one to another the same as going from one website to another. You will build your online identity “Avatar” and use it to travel from place to place.
Meta are not the “Metaverse” the same way as “Yahoo” are not the internet however Mark Zuckerberg is extremely smart and can see immersive spaces and interfaces as the future of computing. I too agree with this.
Many right now are pointing and mocking Meta for the strong investment they have shown to date. This is a small price to pay to becoming as dominant as Microsoft are today on computing devices and web services.
Term “Spatial Computing” = Defines an interface.
Although Apple are using this term heavily to promote the Apple Vision Pro it can also be applied to all other wearable VR/AR/XR headsets from all manufacturers.
Spatial Computing is immersive technology hardware and software that interfaces with specially designed digital content. This can be as broad as exploring Metaverse locations or as narrow as watching a movie on a personal screen that floats in front of your face. Any digital display that shows a digital object in 3D space can be classed as Spatial Computing.
