China wants metaverse users to have traceable IDs

In a bold move that has ignited discussions around the globe, China is considering the expansion of its real-world social credit system into the realm of virtual online worlds and metaverses.

The controversial proposal, titled "Digital Identity System," has been crafted by the state-owned telecom giant China Mobile and reviewed by experts—raising concerns among digital privacy advocates.

Under the proposed system, each individual using a virtual online platform or...

22 August 2023 | Metaverse

NVIDIA unveils Omniverse innovations to accelerate OpenUSD adoption

NVIDIA has unveiled a suite of innovations to accelerate the widespread adoption of OpenUSD through its Omniverse industrial metaverse platform.

OpenUSD, created by Pixar Animation Studios, is a cutting-edge 3D scene description technology designed to facilitate interoperability across various tools, data, and workflows.

Earlier this month, NVIDIA joined industry titans in creating the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) to standardise OpenUSD specifications and create a solid...

9 August 2023 | Digital Twin

UKAEA will develop a fusion energy plant in the metaverse

The industrial metaverse is set to revolutionise the development of the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s prototype fusion energy plant, STEP, located in Nottinghamshire.

The immersive and connected virtual environment will serve as the digital realm where engineers and scientists will collaborate to design and refine the plant's engineering blueprint.

In partnership with Dell Technologies, Intel, and the University of Cambridge, UKAEA aims to leverage the power of...

28 June 2023 | AI

Apple’s mixed-reality headset will use magnetic batteries

Apple's upcoming mixed-reality headset will feature a unique magnetic port for attaching a battery pack.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the external battery pack will have a proprietary connector on one end that attaches to the headset itself. The magnetic connector will be round-tipped and will lock into the port by the user turning it.

Each battery pack will offer just two hours of battery life. The magnetic connection will enable users to quickly and securely...

24 April 2023 | Applications

Apple’s AR/VR headset plan causes internal divisions

Internal divisions are reportedly arising at Apple over its much-anticipated AR/VR headset.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams are said to be pushing to launch the headset as soon as possible, even if its design isn’t optimal.

Designers at Apple are said to have disagreed with their leadership and want to wait until it's feasible to launch a product that is lighter and less expensive. Current price estimates for the headset are between $2,000 and...

13 March 2023 | Consumer IoT & Wearables

Quest Global and Nvidia partner for digital twins in manufacturing

Quest Global and Nvidia are teaming up to create digital twin solutions for the manufacturing and automotive industries on the latter’s Omniverse Enterprise platform.

Omniverse Enterprise is a scalable, end-to-end platform which enables enterprise organisations to build and operate metaverse applications. Teams can connect and customise complex 3D pipelines and operate large-scale, physically accurate virtual worlds, including entire premises such as factories.

Regular...

7 February 2023 | Digital Transformation

Web3 Studios: Sporting metaverse is ‘at an inflection’

A report from Web3 Studios claims the sporting metaverse is “at an inflection point” amid growing interest.

The World Cup in Qatar proved a great opportunity for web3 players to connect with sports fans. In their report, Web3 Studios noted some of the key projects around the FIFA World Cup:

While the collapse of the FTX exchange shook confidence in blockchain-related web3 projects, the growing number of high-profile deployments shows that brands are willing to...

19 December 2022 | Metaverse

‘Metaverse’ is a contender for Oxford’s Word of the Year

“Metaverse” is among the leading three contenders for Oxford’s Word of the Year (WotY). 

The metaverse is an unsurprising inclusion for WotY—not everyone understands it, but most will have at least heard the term.

Facebook changing its company name to Meta towards the end of 2021 undoubtedly led to increased awareness of the metaverse. Over the last year, the word has been thrown around a little too easily.

There is still some confusion around what...

23 November 2022 | Applications

Apple’s AR glasses may not debut until 2026

A leading analyst has claimed that Apple’s first augmented reality (AR) glasses may have slipped two years to 2026.

“We now expect the AR Glass to be postponed to 2025-2026, due to design issues,” wrote Haitong International Tech Research’s Jeff Pu in an email to MarketWatch.

Just five months ago, Pu said that Apple’s AR glasses could be announced in 2024.

Back in 2013, Google Glass showed the world an exciting vision for a ubiquitous future of...

8 November 2022 | Consumer IoT & Wearables

Xbox and Apple execs criticise the ‘metaverse’

Recent comments from Xbox and Apple executives suggest the companies remain deeply critical of the metaverse.

Most current "metaverse" experiences are just online games looking to capitalise on the hype around the term. More technological advancements are needed to fully realise the metaverse.

One core principle of the metaverse is that it will mix elements from the real world with the virtual. A “digital twin” of a factory, for example, could enable workers to...

27 October 2022 | Digital Transformation