It wasn’t long ago that the “metaverse” was a make-believe place, in the true sense of the term. A term first used by sci-fi writer (and Blue Origin’s first employee) Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel, Snow Crash, it described a space shared by physical and augmented reality (AR). Today, that world is rapidly forming into what Stephenson imagined would replace the Internet. Just consider this: In 2020, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) - XR tech - were the focus of CES®. Nearly every announcement, booth and pressroom conversation focused on how XR will become a new way of life. During the CES Digital Health Summit, for example, attendees watched a compelling documentary about a community hospital that used VR to create patient-focused addiction treatment.
Fast forward to this year’s CES, where the global stage for innovation was set in a virtual environment. In an opening segment from Verizon’s CEO, viewers learned just how fast the metaverse is approaching and how it will impact experiences across all industries, from sports and entertainment to healthcare, retail, automotive, education, manufacturing and space and defense. Organizations across a gamut of industries are already using Digital Twins, virtualized 3D renditions that mirror a physical system and provide insight into critical processes. NASA, for example, has been using Digital Twins for years to duplicate systems in space for the purpose of simulating and evaluating conditions onboard a spacecraft. Other industries are utilizing the technology to experiment before a single physical step is taken. (Think city infrastructure changes, surgical procedures, vehicle design and factory optimization.)
With XR, even the hologram may finally reach its full potential. If you were a kid visiting Disneyland in the 70s, you probably experienced your first “hologram” in the Haunted Mansion, where Madam Leota, a talking head inside of a crystal ball, appeared to be three dimensional. It wasn’t actually created through the use of holography, a technology dating back to the 1940s, but the illusion was mystifying and likely a source of inspiration for the incremental improvements that have taken place over the years. In 2016, the world’s first true 3D color hologram - a floating Rubik’s Cube - was unveiled by Korean researchers. Since then, the hologram has evolved at warp speed. In 2018, the NFL Super Bowl half-time show featured Justin Timberlake performing alongside a holographic Prince, who had passed away two years earlier. The display was so powerful, it inspired Bernhard Paul, the founder and director of the German-based Circus Roncalli, to use holograms of animals rather than real ones in all of its acts. It took a crew of 15 3D designers and software engineers, 11 laser projectors and more than 3000 cloud-based processors to create larger-than-life horses, floating fish and elephants, among other things. In the end, audiences were amazed, applauding Paul for not only accomplishing a tremendous feat.
With the power of XR, mobile edge computing (MEC) and 5G, someday in the not-so-distant-future holograms will be less exotic and more common than we think - with more people rather than just a few having the capability to create them. Here’s why: MEC is already enabling devices and apps to connect to cloud resources at local data centers, base stations and individual servers to boost performance-impacting applications necessary for holographic technology. In addition to film, entertainment and gaming industries, where cutting-edge visual technology usually makes its first debut, the demand for holography is growing in other sectors. Imagine doctors empowered to make better decisions that result in better outcomes with 3D MRIs and CAT scans, as well as pre-surgery images of internal organs and external parts of the body. Or educators using holography to bring historical figures into the classrooms. When holograms become widely accessible, family members living far away will be able to make appearances at special gatherings and celebrations, like birthdays and holidays.
On this path to the future of cutting-edge visual technology in education, entertainment and recreation, however, optical wireless communication (OWC) will be required for any untethered VR headsets use, due to the bandwidth that this XR will require. As XR matures with higher resolution imagery as well as increased use of transducers and sensors to support the demand for fully immersive experiences, so too will the continued need for more speed, bandwidth and reduced latency in the transmission of data - beyond the capacity of 5G and MEC.
To extend these capabilities, market leaders are looking to OWC technology, which offers rapid point-to-point data transmission via beams of light that utilize low-power, safe, infrared lasers in the terahertz spectrum that need no licensing. NASA and branches of the military have been using OWC for decades. Cost-effective, highly secure and reliable, OWC ensures rapid satellite communications for mission-critical and bandwidth-intensive applications. Thanks to investments that have been made in OWC by governments and agencies such as NASA, JAXA (Japan) and the European Space Agency, all having helped mature OWC capabilities, the commercial industry can now take advantage of these technologies.
With OWC still being relatively new to the commercial XR space, and thus not prominent in the XR - or 5G - discussion. Like all technologies in those conversations, OWC development and deployment strategies must factor in infrastructure costs, including those associated with front-haul, back-haul, ground stations and satellite hardware, as well as funding sources and the reality of long-term sustainability. But, with so many remarkable and life-changing experiences waiting in the wings, it is a technology that should not be overlooked. Major decision-makers who are willing to work together and utilize a wide range of technologies and expertise will not only succeed in creating a real metaverse but a space shared by humans and virtual reality that could improve every aspect of life.
