What?! The metaverse is not possible at all
Not a day without news about the metaverse. It is also called the next step in the internet. But at the moment the metaverse is not possible at all…
Almost all large (tech) companies are working on the hardware to access it. It seems more and more that this could eventually become the next major communication platform at the scale of the worldwide web. Exciting times, but is it actually possible? Intel, not a small player after all, says it is still a long way off in the end.
It is actually quite logical why it is not (yet) possible. Intel says that if we really want to get immersive computing going, we’ll need 1000x greater computational efficiency from today’s very best tools.
Raja Koduri, a senior VP at Intel explains, “Truly persistent and immersive computing, at scale and accessible to billions of people in real time, requires even more. Namely, a 1000-fold increase in computing efficiency over the current state of the art.” In addition, according to Koduri, we also need new software architectures and algorithms in addition to hardware.
Threshold
There is no clear threshold for how much computing power the metaverse needs. Some would say that the metaverse already exists in a rudimentary form. Intel’s statement does raise a point, however. Because in order for the metaverse to provide persuasive social interactions to a broad group of people, we probably need a huge improvement in processing efficiency. We just need more power to power all those VR and AR games.
And it’s more than just what simple avatars display. The metaverse contains everything! According to Koduri, “Convincing and detailed avatars with realistic clothing, hair and skin tones – all rendered in real time. And based on sensor data that captures real-world 3D objects, gestures, audio and much more. Think data transfers with super high bandwidths and extremely low latencies. To a persistent model of the environment, which can contain both real and simulated elements.” It will take some time to realize this.
