Some of the world’s largest companies and organizations have reached a standardization agreement on the metaverse, the most controversial and popular technological current of 2022. The list includes giant companies such as Meta (formerly Facebook), Epic Games, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Huawei and IKEA, which center the metaverse. So what will change? We explain.
We have left behind a period when the developments in virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies peaked and the concept of “metaverse” entered our lives, although it has not yet been clearly defined. This process, which started with Facebook changing its name to Meta, made its impact felt in many areas, especially in cryptocurrencies.
However, as with every unpredictable innovation, there were serious confusions during the metaverse ascension period. After 11 out of 10 people suddenly become metaverse experts, numerous crypto and blockchain-based frauds, the inconsistent attempts of companies that entered this field with the gas of the old Facebook Meta, and most importantly, countless biological, sociological and psychological discussions, finally the expected moment has come: Metaverse . Standards Forum was officially established at the initiative of many pioneering companies.
Here are the Companies that Signed the ‘Constitution of Metaverse’!
- 0xSenses
- Academy Software Foundation
- Adobe
- Ali Dad
- Autodesk
- avatar
- blackshark.ai
- CalConnect
- Cesium
- Daly Realism
- disguise
- Enosema Foundation
- Epic Games
- Express Language Foundation
- Huawei
- IKEA
- John Peddie Research
- Khronos (Managing member)
- Laminate1
- Maxon
- Meta
- Microsoft
- NVIDIA
- OpenAR Cloud
- Open Geospatial Consortium
- auto
- Perey Research and Consulting
- Qualcomm Technologies
- ribose
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Spatial Web Foundation
- Unity
- VerseMaker
- Wayfair
- Web3D Consortium
- World Wide Web Consortium
- XR Association (XRA)
In the list above, we have highlighted the important companies and organizations, which are dominated by large masses in World, in bold type. In addition, all of the people on the list are founding members of the Metaverse Standards Forum . Of course, there will be some later additions to this forum.
For what purpose was the Metaverse Standards Forum established?
To clear the confusions that cause discussions about Metaverse, to build “open source” collaborative workspaces that will pave the way for initiatives and technologies to be made in this field. Similar organizations are also being established in technological areas such as the internet, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. For example, the Wi- Fi Alliance organization sets the standards for Wi-Fi 6 technology .
The main purpose of this first major organization built on the Metaverse is quite clearly to enable “developers to build cross-platform systems”. For example , enabling MANA, the crypto currency used in the metaverse universe named Decentraland , to be used in the Horizon Worlds universe of Meta, making it easier for Ethereum to be accepted as a valid currency in all universes… Of course, the only thing these standards and the forum provide is not to create economic common areas. .
In the metaverse universes, there is no limit to digital assets acquired in exchange for money or – if it’s a game – missions. It could be a costume purchased for a digital character, a plot, even a yacht… Even a digital character itself is an entity. However, the fact that an entity is only valid in one universe prevents the metaverse from creating an “above-platform” technology market . In a way, this agreement transforms the concept of metaverse into an umbrella structure like the internet.
To sum up, the Metaverse Standards Forum is not a conclusion, it is intended to be the starting point, the reason for creating new and more massive metaverse technologies. For this reason , it may remain too abstract in the eyes of end users and companies whose purpose is only to “buy, sell and advertise land” .
Participating in the Metaverse Standards Forum is and will always be free: So what awaits the participants?
For-profit companies, non-profit institutions and organizations, associations, foundations and even universities can also participate in the forum, which was established with the call of “Help us Open Build the Open Metaverse” , that is, “Help us to build the Open Metaverse”. There are 2 levels of membership in the forum: Participant (Participant) and Principal Member (Principal) . Participating members will be able to play a role in forum discussions and projects within the scope of the organization. The Main Members will be the members who fund the forum projects and are the quarterbacks of the forum. Those who want to evaluate the membership can access more details from the link here.
Who runs the Metaverse Standards Forum?
The Kronos Consortium , which sets the standards in the field of 3D graphics technologies, of which 160 different companies are members, will be the manager of the forum. In other words, the management of the organization is not entrusted to a for-profit company such as Meta or Epic Games, it is clear that this choice was made to ensure impartiality and to make the competition sustainable . The management of similar organizations is also done in this formula.
Neil Trevett, President of the Kranos Consortium, said : “The Metaverse Standards Forum will be driven by the mission of promoting the pragmatism and standardization necessary for the ‘open and inclusive metaverse’. It will be a unique place for coordination between standards bodies and industry . ”
The Metaverse Standards Forum is starting its first meetings in July 2022. By participating in these meetings, the participating members will have the right to express their opinions, present reports and contribute to the development of the ecosystem. In the future, mass events such as hackhaton will be organized within the scope of the forum, which will make it easier to solve the problems about the metaverse and to implement the standards .