Metaverse is a term that you will hear for a long, long time. Although initial impression is that this new technology has failed to gain widespread public traction, big tech is not in the mood to give up just yet.
Multiple organizations have joined to form a consortium called the Metaverse Standards Forum.
The big idea behind this organization is to promote the development of open and interoperable standards necessary to build the metaverse. Though, obviously, we are still not sure of what final form the metaverse will actually take.
But, at least, we have some standards going, which will definitely help with setting the direction and the momentum of this bold new frontier in technology.
Vice President of Metaverse at Meta, Vishal Shah, termed the collaboration as:
“Building a metaverse for everyone will require an industry-wide focus on common standards. The Metaverse Standards Forum can drive the collaboration that’s needed to make this possible, and Meta is committed to this work. Creators, developers and companies will all benefit from the technologies and experiences that will be made possible by common protocols.”
The consortium has mentioned the need to invest in and build spatial technologies like interactive 3D graphics, VR, digital twins, content collaboration and more so that the metaverse can reach new levels of scale and immersion.
Membership is free of cost, and is open to any organization that is willing to take part in this effort.
Curiously, both Apple and Google are absent from the list of founding partners, even though both companies are heavily invested in this nascent field. Whether it is due to the lack of interest, or the two firms want to go their separate ways with proprietary technology remains to be seen.
Forum meetings begin next month, and they should provide us with a clearer picture of where this thing is heading.
