EmpowerQ: The Metaverse, Finally Explained

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Metaverse. You’re probably hearing this term a lot when it comes to gaming, exclusive events and concerts, and mixed-reality devices. But what exactly is the metaverse?

Is it a place you can go to?

How do you get into the metaverse?

Does it even exist?

To better understand what the metaverse is, we need to understand how it works. Before it earned the name it has today, the metaverse was known as spatial computing. To enable this, we have been working for more than a decade on the complex hardware, software, and experiences that make spatial computing  — also known as the metaverse — what it is today.

That said, you’re not alone if you still don’t quite get what we mean by metaverse. Let’s break it down:

What is the metaverse? 

The metaverse takes the two-dimensional, digital experience we currently have on our device screens and turns it into a three-dimensional, immersive encounter that blends the physical space around you with virtual content. 

Imagine being able to virtually step into the concert you’re watching from home, or fishing the deep sea with a friend who is actually in a different country — all in the comfort of your own living room. The metaverse connects people in a way that has never been experienced before, and brings communities together to play, work, or socialize. And there is a broad range of technologies and experiences that represent the metaverse as a whole.

How does the metaverse work?

The metaverse is realized by several foundational technologies required for it to work:

• Devices: You’ll need a medium to access spatial internet experiences, whether it be your phone, your computer, a virtual reality (VR) headset or augmented reality (AR) glasses. Headsets or augmented reality (AR) glasses enable spatial computing experiences via multiple components — including processors, cameras, sensors, batteries, and more — that rival the performance and complexity of modern smartphones and laptops. 

• Processing: Processing technologies act as the brain of the device. They include powerful artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and architecture design that process and translate the data captured by the device’s cameras and sensors into an experience. For example, hand-tracking algorithms use the data captured by monochrome cameras to identify a hand, differentiate a thumb from an index, and re-create a virtual avatar of the user’s hand. 
• Connectivity: Connectivity technologies act as a messenger between processing and apps and services you experience in the metaverse. Low-latency 5G networks and Wi-Fi are the foundation of immersive and augmented reality experiences, powering how content is streamed to devices or enabling multi-user experiences, like virtual-video conferencing, multi-player gaming, and more. Connectivity also enables smaller devices with robust processing that can be offloaded on a phone, computer, or cloud for more intensive workloads.
• Ecosystem: Without an ecosystem of applications, the technologies mentioned above would only create empty virtual worlds. To ensure that the metaverse is engaging — by having more fun, being more productive, or connecting better with people — developers need tools to make great experiences for it. And thanks to Snapdragon Spaces, we enable developers to create immersive, spatial applications that can be used across a variety of XR devices. 

How to experience the metaverse

Now that you know a bit more about what the metaverse is and how it works, you’re probably wondering how you can experience it for yourself. You can access the metaverse with a laptop, smartphone, or a VR or AR device, but your experience could be very different depending on your choice. Different devices provide different levels of immersion, and some work better for particular use cases.  Here are some examples:

• AR: With your smartphone or AR glasses, digital content will simply overlay on your physical space. For example, social media filters are a form of AR accessible from a mobile phone. Niantic’s Pokémon Go game uses outdoor AR that allows you to “catch” Pokémon in the real world. 
• VR: With VR headsets, the user is in a fully-occluded immersive experience and does not see or interact with the real world. Demeo, for example, lets you bring the magical board game world, characters, and monsters to life before your eyes. Using VR, users can move across the board, shrink the sizes of a character piece, and experience battles from an immersive point of view.

What’s next?

For us, the metaverse is about people — it’s a platform that is changing the way we communicate, collaborate, play, learn, and do so much more. Qualcomm Technologies is actively developing the foundational technologies that enable the metaverse — XR devices, machine learning, perception technologies, 5G connectivity — for better, more accessible and more immersive experiences.  

By working with a broad set of partners across the metaverse ecosystem, we not only work to champion exciting metaverse experiences, but also an ethical metaverse — one that is accessible to all and prioritizes users' privacy, security, and user safety. Together with our ecosystem partners we can make this a reality.