Intersection of IoT and Metaverse 

Ever wondered what could be the possible outcome when IoT and Metaverse intersect with each other in real-time?  

The interaction would result in creation of digital twins. Digital twins are virtual reflections of real physical entities that look and act in similar ways as the real being in an online stimulated environment. IoT is being referred to as Internet of Things which is all encompassing now, as every possible tech process is increasingly becoming ‘Smart’ by integrating the unconnected products into connected smart solutions and services. Metaverse, on the other hand is all about the way in which humans interact with technology and with each other using technology. A recent Bloomberg analysis estimates that global Metaverse revenue opportunity will approach $800 billion by 2024. People are spending more time engaging with digital systems, socializing in digital spaces, than ever before.  

Over the last couple of years, it has been observed that, some major companies are placing big bets on the Metaverse or unlimited reality to fundamentally change the way people interact. As a result, the Metaverse is escalating quickly to a topic for boards to address and consider their company’s growth and talent strategies, and opportunities. The maximal value of both Metaverse and Web3 will depend on the ways in which the two converge with one another. Both driving new lines of business, new ways of working, and new means of interaction between businesses and people.  

Market Integration and Impact 

Metaverse will challenge businesses to rethink their presence online and become a part of shaping the next platform revolution as they build new ways to connect to customers, partners, and their digital workforce. According to Accenture Technology Vision 2022 report, 71% of global executives state that the Metaverse will have a positive impact on their organizations, with 42% believing it will be a breakthrough or transformational. 

According to the Monetizing the Metaverse Economy report the new digital future will be known as the “Metaverse economy” have come together basis these technologies: 

Influences of decentralisation in the intelligent web 

New means of value exchange via cryptocurrencies 

Interactive experiences in digital worlds, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and mixed-reality technologies 

The report also states that the whole Metaverse economy would be worth $21.7 trillion by 2030, according to Constellation, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.6% playing a vital role in advancing business models, matching expectations, and improving the human condition during this Great Refactoring. 

Metaverse is creating avenues to make product marketing and retail interesting and highly intriguing for the end consumer. IoT’s potential to empower the applications required to generate innovative opportunities for virtual shopping encounters, particularly in the field of automotives, real estate and apparel and fashion.  

On the B2B front, the organizations are contemplating the role of Metaverse in smart cities and smart nations.  They are investing in R&D and implementing ways in which Metaverse can replicate smart cities and produce virtual environments for testing autonomous vehicles on populations digital twins i.e., their virtual avatars rather than endangering real people and places. This will be done by creating simulations and virtual models. These virtual models are being used to test a lot of real-life scenarios before actual implementation in the real world.  

Tapping the Opportunities  

Enterprises will be able to design, build, manage, and monetize digital assets that will be deployed across multiple worlds thanks to companies offering Metaverse platforms and tooling technologies such as immersive headsets, hardware devices, haptic suits, and other hardware. Individuals can also employ digital representations of themselves across worlds via avatars, bots, and other digital surrogates, thanks to key technologies like augmented, mixed, and virtual reality. 

As more people flock to the web, there will be land grabs in the Metaverse as certain worlds attract different types of business, government, and consumer participants. Metaverses will all have their own type of value exchange via their own coins, which brands and businesses may expect. As the physical and digital worlds meet, value exchange among cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, virtual-world coins, and even loyalty programmes would become a standard. 

The current ecosystem is still in its early stages, and while some winners have emerged, new firms are being funded and introduced to the market on a regular basis.  

A Case For the Future 

The intersection of IoT and Metaverse will bring the main focus on carrying out simulations on current operations. It will help identify potential dangers and take precautions to avoid them. These technologies will help apply new models to current circumstances and create new products and services based. 

Metaverse will give people a choice: whether to meet someone in-person, or as a carbon copy or as an avatar. However, we still need to be careful about the new cyber vulnerabilities, risks, and frauds, which will lead to businesses and governments focussing on personal information while also addressing emerging cyber risks when dealing with IoT and Metaverse. 

To protect data in the Metaverse, the governments across the world and in India will need to make provisions within the data protection laws that govern the data in terms of its profiling, data localisation, and cross data transfers. 

The author is President, Aeris Communications