Cryptocurrencies, Virtual Reality(VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual World, NFT, Blockchain, etc. are the main tools that are already used in the Metaverse. Many know the Metaverse as a 3D virtual world, though it is a state of the art technology. The Metaverse can be far bigger than anyone can imagine. Therefore, the users must get prepared to join such a large world. In this article, we provide a guide about the main requirements of the Metaverse on which any Metaverse is built.
What are the key requirements of The Metaverse?
Many experts agree that the key requirements of the Metaverse include scalability, accessibility, interoperability and security and privacy, and legal issues of the Metaverse. In the following, we are going to discuss each requirement in detail.
1. Scalability
Experts estimate that the number of Metaverse users will increase significantly by 2025 and its economy is believed to grow %41 every year from now. Therefore, it seems necessary to scale any Metaverse platform to accommodate the users.
Scalability is an important feature of the Metaverse. Any Metaverse platform can increase in size or scale up as users or demand increases without affecting the user experience. It can be easily understood that scalability is the most important requirement of the Metaverse.
Scalability of any Metaverse results from scaling the technologies on which the Metaverse is built, such as blockchain or quality of videos. features such as bandwidth, number of participants and network technology are also crucial.
Scalability of the blockchain
Most of the Metaverse of today is built on blockchain technology that enables users to own anything in the Metaverseand establish proof of ownership for any digital assets in a Metaverse.
As the number of Metaverse users is increasing, there will be a large number of transactions, too. The more the transactions, the more important the scalability of the blockchain. Scalability of blockchain refers to the limitation of blockchain to process transition. Scalability is measured through the Throughput of the blockchain. It is defined as the number of transitions performed by the blockchain in a given time interval.
Throughput= Number of Transaction / Time Interval
Bandwidth
Bandwidth estimates the amount of data transmitted over a certain time. It is an indirect requirement of the Metaverse. Though, each Metaverse needs a huge bandwidth since there will be lots of upload and download in the form of video streaming, transaction, minting NFT, etc. So traditional bandwidth will not be enough.
The table below shows the minimum bandwidth required for any Metaverse.
| Metaverse Content Resolution | Minimum Bandwidth Required |
| 1K 2D at 30 fps | 25 Mbps |
| 2K 2D at 30 fps | 100 Mbps |
| 4K 2D at 60 fps | 400 Mbps |
| 8K 3D at 120fps | 1 Gbps for smooth play |
The table above suggests that users need at least 2.35 Gbps of bandwidth for a fully immersive Metaverse or the real Metaverse. As it is a virtual world, bandwidth is one of the requirements of the Metaverse.
Number of participants
The number of participants or users at a given time in any Metaverse defines the amounts of resources required in a Metaverse platform. As the number of Metaverse users increases, the downloading and uploading demand also grows in the Metaverse. To keep the quality of user experience high, a large scaled up and upgraded technology is needed to run the Metaverse.
Quality of videos
The Metaverse of today, like Decentraland, uses 2D pixelated forms and the demand for scalability hardly arises. However, the resolution is improving from HD to fully immersive Metaverse and scalability challenges will be required in these platforms. A large bandwidth and better technology are required to scale up the quality of videos. Therefore, better servers are required to handle this. [5]
Network Technology
There will be a large amount of data generated by users, sensors, devices, etc. on the Metaverse. Network technology needs to support these amounts of data and transmission of high-resolution video streams. As the result, a good network will be a crucial requirement of the Metaverse
To reach the real Metaverse, we need technology beyond what 5G can offer (over 10 to 20 Gpps). Peer-to-peer (P2P) communication can be a solution to huge requirements of the network, bandwidth, etc.
2. Accessibility
The second key requirement of the Metaverse is accessibility. The Internet of today fully supports the 2D Metaverse already available. However, the virtual world will need more professional technologies such as AR and VR as well as new interface devices and interaction techniques to build full access to the Metaverse. It is argued that users may feel objects, smell things, taste food and have a wider understanding of the upcoming Metaverse compared to the 2D experience they experience now.
Some companies, such as OVR Technology and Feel Real, are trying to make Virtual Reality devices that work with all 5 senses of the human body so that users may be able to get the smell of things in the Metaverse.
3. Interoperability of the Metaverse
Interoperability in Metaverse shows the ability of Metaverse ecosystems to connect, communicate and share information with each other. It is a key feature of Metaverse to be able to exchange information with each other in the future.
Interoperability in Metaverse allows users to do a lot, for example, carry their avatars from one Metaverse to another or teleport to different places in different Metaverse projects. therefore, interoperability will be an essential feature to satisfy users in the Metaverse.
Every Metaverse is built using different technology. Metaverse worlds use different blockchains and various 3D engines. Therefore, there are completely different codes behind these projects.
Many expert teams are trying to find common technology and standard specifications to build any Metaverse project which helps make the Metaverse interoperable. Some solutions may include Technological Interoperability of Metaverse and Hardware Interoperability of Metaverses.
4. Security and privacy issues in the Metaverse
With the increasing usage of Metaverse in the future life, it seems to change our ways of socialization, learning, shopping, playing, traveling, etc. To support and secure such a huge amount of data provided by Metaverse users, the Metaverse will collect more data than the traditional internet. So, one of the major concerns with the future Metaverse will be security and privacy issues.
In fact, the Metaverse tries to address the possible security and privacy issues at the time. The Metaverse tries to suggest and confirm solutions to address security and privacy issues before the problem arises.
There are some security and privacy issues in the Metaverse required to be considered ahead:
- Online Harassment.
- Securing NFT.
- Compromisation of crypto wallet, user biometrics, etc.
- Avatar Imposter, Deep Fake Avatars, etc.
- Problems of Privacy Paradox.
There are also legal issues with the Metaverse along with security and privacy issues such as copyright issues. Some more legal issues may include:
- Protection of Content Ownership
- Detection of Copyright infringement.
- Licensing of Content.
- Legal Enforcement of Metaverse interoperability.
The Metaverse developers need to consider different aspects of security and legal issues to provide the most convenient space for their users and expand the Metaverse as much as possible.
Conclusion
Although many of us are experiencing the 2D Metaverse at the time being, it seems that future technologies are going to upgrade our experience with the Metaverse. We are going to use all our senses of vision, smell, touch and taste in the Metaverse. It is for sure going to be an incredible virtual life. However, the real Metaverse of the future needs to be built on 5 key requirements including Scalability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Security and Privacy, and legal issues. These are all well important requirements to provide an enjoyable virtual environment. if the Metaverse could satisfy all these conditions, it will change our experience online.
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