Indepth: Navigating the Metaverse – getting down to the brass tacks

While there is a lot of excitement and talk about the endless opportunities of the Metaverse, not everything is rosy in the road ahead for this evolving platform. The path is fraught with challenges of various hues and magnitude. From data security to privacy issues to cyber security to regulatory concerns – the issues are manifold.

Regulation

One of the challenges is that most countries lack regulatory clarity with regard to Metaverse as a technology. Is this aspect impeding its growth? Experts are of the opinion that going forward, the regulatory concerns will need to be addressed.

Since the Metaverse is an extremely new space, there are indeed regulatory concerns, feels Madhusmita Panda, Chief Marketing Officer at KredX. She, however, believes that this aspect is unlikely to impede its growth.

This technology, she adds, allows users to collaborate in a much better way in an entirely different digital universe. “It can exist in both a defined or decentralised framework as well as be created as per an individual’s universe where users can come together and collaborate in a certain manner that is aligned to the regulatory framework. However, if there is a defined regulatory framework, growth and adoption could be much faster. But like any technology, there is likely to be phases of adoption – early and late – where individuals will wade through some of these regulatory aspects, figure their way around and build accordingly,” explains Panda. 

Cutting-edge technology has always been far ahead of regulation and regulation always catches up, notes GOQii Founder-CEO Vishal Gondal. “Which is why during the interim period there is a lot of chaos and confusion. This has happened in the world of telecom, IT, communication and in every industry where technology has leapt and taken it ahead. This is how every industry evolves. Take the example of Uber. When it first started, there were a lot of protests, etc., within the industry, then slowly regulations were developed and things are much smooth today,” he points out.

Like how industries are adopting Metaverse, governments will also have to evolve faster in creating regulatory clarity, remarks Sriram PH, CEO-Co-founder, DaveAI.

Are there any global examples worth emulating for countries like India?

Sriram cites Dubai as a great example in creating a Metaverse strategy to foster innovation and enhance the Metaverse’s economic contributions to the region.

He feels that other countries will have no option but to catch up with the trend. “Large economies like India will have to wait and watch how this space evolves before creating a larger regulatory framework and I believe it may not be detrimental. However, it cannot wait too long. As fundamental enabling technology pillars like 5G evolve, we will see faster adoption of broader use cases like Metaverse. At this point, what businesses expect from governments is an enabling environment rather than a restrictive policy. This will be evolutionary in nature as technology is also evolving rapidly. The requirement will be for regulators to work closely with industry, and like any other area some countries will lead and some will follow. Economic activity in the space will also proportionately distribute itself,” he says.

Metaverse will be an open platform, a new phase in the evolution of the Internet, as people call it, says iCubesWire Founder-CEO Sahil Chopra. “The technology will probably be accessible to all, which requires a regulatory framework. Apart from the regulatory framework, people need time to understand the Metaverse better. One of the major challenges for its growth is the availability of hardware required to make the best use of Metaverse,” he adds.

While government bodies in India have, in small ways, embraced the Metaverse boom, the regulatory frameworks surrounding it are still unclear, points out Yellow.ai co-founder & CPO Rashid Khan. For instance, he says, AICTE became the first accreditation agency in India to build its own office in the Metaverse. “The TN government recently collaborated with VR/ AR start-up Meynikara to launch Meta Kalvi, and the Government of Telangana launched the Space Technology Framework, becoming India’s first ever official event hosted on the Metaverse,” adds Khan.

Kaavya Prasad, Founder, Lumos Labs, too, agrees that lack of regulatory clarity is a challenge of the Metaverse sector, but adds that we are slowly moving towards overcoming this obstacle.

She further says, “With regard to data privacy, intellectual property, cyber security, etc., there are certain laws that fit well for the sector and we have various governments, including the Indian government, directing some of their resources to preparing a regulatory framework, primarily for the Web3 sector. Having said that, the technology is being used extensively by government bodies as well due to its transparent and immutable inherent nature. Therefore, while there is a lack of regulations around this sector, this has not yet been a major impediment to the growth of Web3, which has in turn led to acceleration within the Metaverse as well. The aim of the Indian Web3 community is not to have innovations impeded due to any regulatory concern for which the leaders of the space are constantly working with the government. With regard to emulating an existing framework, that would be difficult as the Web3 sector is still developing and new distinct solutions are being created every day. Additionally, different countries have different laws in place and given the global nature of this space, any one standardised law might not be a perfect fit.”

“Technological innovation will almost always outpace regulatory oversight. Regulators must understand how a new technology will be used, and misused, before they know what type of regulations will be beneficial. A few regulations exist today that are hindering Metaverse-related development,” remarks Brett Sappington, Vice President, Interpret Research.

“Lack of regulation and standards, however, can lead to a “Wild West” atmosphere, where anything goes and bad actors can tarnish the reputation of the tech or any brands they work with. Crypto currencies and NFTs are enduring this challenge now,” points out James Brightman, Senior Strategist at Interpret Research.

VR headsets and other challenges

Another challenge concerns infrastructure. Software as well as hardware issues will put roadblocks in the mass adoption of the Metaverse. For experiencing the immersive nature of the Metaverse, one has to wear VR headsets such as Meta’s Quest, which are costly. Countries like India have low VR penetration. How to overcome issues like this and other challenges that are impeding the growth of the Metaverse?

Rajat Ojha, CEO, Gamitronics, PartyNite, is sanguine about the Metaverse. He says, “We are seeing pretty good numbers and we are happy with the way things are progressing in India. India has the cheapest bandwidth available, which is a great strength, but the weakness is the awareness of the true meaning of Metaverse and confusion around regulations. Thanks to games like PUBG, Indians are well-versed with the 3D environment and that was our theory as well when we started developing PartyNite, that it should work on the phones where PUBG works and it worked out really well.”

VR is an extension and not a compulsion, maintains Ojha. According to him, the first goal is to get people on the Metaverse and offer them enough to stay there, and once they are resident of the Metaverse, VR can be an upsell, and a user, looking for a more immersive Metaverse, won’t mind spending another $200-300 to get a VR headset. “VR adaption in consumer segment has been low, not largely because of the cost, but because of not having anything worth buying VR headset for except some marquee AAA game titles, but a persistent world with various services/ opportunities can be a driving force. We all are working hard towards it,” he adds.

In order to ensure sustainable mass adoption, several challenges, in terms of both hardware and software need to be overcome, agrees Kaavya Prasad. Adding further, she says that the hardware requirements of the space such as virtual reality headsets, augmented reality devices, high-computing power devices, high-quality expensive gear, etc., are hurdles in the way of mass adoption of the Metaverse. These challenges, she adds, are hard to overcome as for the immersive experience, we cannot compromise on any of the above.

“This puts the onus on the consumer-tech companies to drive the cost down, make the hardware easily accessible, less cumbersome, and more wearable, if we are to see the Metaverse being a part of the future. Further, when we come to the software aspect of this technology, there are numerous obstacles that Web3 is yet to overcome, which, in turn, slow down the growth of the Metaverse as well. With the decentralised sector being a major part of the Metaverse world, there are prevailing scaling and security issues,” she says.

Another issue, according to Prasad, is that there is a general lack of understanding or a vague understanding of Web3 and Metaverse, which makes the entry of outsiders difficult. According to her, there is a lack of synchronisation in the Web3 world as well, where most blockchains are distinct and have unique use cases which have to be navigated by developers themselves and often leads to unsuccessful integrations and wasted efforts.

She maintains that there is also a lack of developers in the space due to the scattered opportunities, presence of multiple niche platforms, duplication of efforts for every chain, etc., that need to be addressed.

“We at Lumos Metaverse are working towards solving these problems to ensure developers have easy access to Web3 opportunities globally, including accessible learning and play2earn. We are also working towards preventing duplicate documentation by having full profiles of developers on our single ecosystem for the global Web3 community to see. Yet, interoperability is a key to the future of this sector. For Web3 and Metaverse, we need to have uninhibited interoperability to ensure that users can freely transfer their data and assets across several platforms and Metaverses,” stresses Prasad.

A VR device allows a user to completely immerse oneself into a Metaverse experience, says KredX’s Madhusmita Panda. She, however, agrees that the high costs of the VR devices could be one of the challenges in the way of the Metaverse, which, in turn, could slow the development – because in order for it to become the all-consuming, all-purpose, omnipresent space, it needs people to be involved, and it is impossible to get that full experience without a VR headset. According to her, organisations need to look at reducing barriers to entry, including costs, in order to facilitate more reach of the Metaverse.

“There are however, some other challenges that could stand in the way of this ground-breaking technology like privacy, data security, cybersecurity, social challenges, etc. The Metaverse is still evolving, and some argue that it still is in the infancy stage. The technology is still evolving with many challenges. This, however, should not discourage companies from experimenting. There will be huge learning experiences that will allow companies to be ready for this platform with the opportunity to turn the challenges into a great future value,” adds Panda.

VR is an immersive technology to experience 3D spaces, points out GOQii’s Vishal Gondal. “Metaverse is more of a concept and it can be experienced in a 3D world using your laptop, mobile, or console. Metaverse is like a world. You can choose to see it with your naked eyes, a telescope, binoculars, etc., that is one’s choice. Metaverse similarly can be navigated through many different kinds of user interface,” he adds.

5G and more

While 5G is essential for facilitating edge computing, considered essential for solving problems like network latency and bandwidth, talks are already on about 6G for a thorough use of the Metaverse. That, of course, will take a very long time to materialise.

Software development is crucial in Metaverse applications. Software behemoths like Microsoft are heavily investing to build the “application layer” on top of the infrastructure. According to the McKinsey & Company report, Microsoft is in the process of building and improving upon a number of Metaverse enterprise solutions across the Microsoft cloud (such as Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces, Microsoft Mesh, and Azure Digital Twins).

Rashid Khan agrees that the full experience of the Metaverse can be had with VR headsets, which can be costly. “Research suggests that by 2024, the cumulative installed base of VR headsets is expected to surpass the 34-million mark. Moreover, as the use cases rise – and there is an uptick in individual and enterprise usage of the Metaverse – the market will likely put into effect cost corrections. Other than this, there are challenges with connectivity and bandwidth, especially in India. However, the move towards 5G networks, and 6G networks subsequently, are positive signs and will create a conducive environment for the Metaverse to thrive,” Khan says.

DaveAI’s Sriram PH, however, has a different take. He terms the concern over the low VR penetration as a “common misconception”. DeveAI, for example, is developing device-independent solutions.

By definition, he adds, the Metaverse is immersive, but need not be restrictive to virtual reality. According to him, concepts like augmented reality and mixed reality enable technology providers to create immersive experiences without being so device-dependent. “While Meta is one of the leading players today with its acquisition and rebranding of the Occulus VR ecosystem, we will soon see other players like Apple aggressively target this space. It is then that developers will see the need to create applications that are inter-operable. Also, this will help drive costs down and improve adoption of hardware that is capable of immersive experiences as a consumer device,” he explains. 

“For example, with a Dave new world, we are building Metaverses that are device-independent. Maruti Suzuki's Nexaverse can be accessed on the web, mobile and VR. We are also working with a leading private sector bank, where a gamified interface is accessible on the web without any device restriction. The vision in all these use cases is to connect with a new generation of customers and they do not want to be bound by any restriction,” Sriram adds.

(Tomorrow: Will Meta dominate Metaverse?)

 

 

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