Facebook recently announced its intention to hire 10,000 highly skilled workers in the European Union and change its company name to focus on its next major goal: launching the metaverse.
The metaverse is a concept based on virtual reality (VR) that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently unveiled. It entails using VR headsets to connect with people across the world to collaborate, game, and socialize. In addition, users would enter into the metaverse as avatars. Facebook believes it will take 10 to 15 years to ethically create a bona fide metaverse.
According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse is “going to be a big focus, and I think that this is just going to be a big part of the next chapter for the way that the internet evolves after the mobile internet.”
Facebook has a history of making bold prognostications about the role of technology and VR in the future, with mixed success and accuracy. For example, Zuckerberg predicted a few years ago that people would take virtual vacations with people from whom they live apart.
VR uses headsets to immerse people in a virtual world, whereas AR superimposes designed environments and objects on real locations through cameras, screens, and glasses.
AR and VR have been the focus of much research, innovation, and even fiction for years. In fact, the term “metaverse” was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel, “Snow Crash,” in which users would escape from a dystopian world through VR platforms. The initial boom in the use of VR originated primarily in the video game industry, but interest in this technology has expanded into the B2B software space as well.
AR/VR tools are no longer niche products to be enjoyed by gamers or moviegoers. These tools now have pragmatic applications for business needs, and G2 hosts a large library of these products.
The popularity of AR training simulators in warehousing is also reflected in G2 reviewer data, with the machinery industry comprising one third of user reviews for the Augmented Reality (AR) Training Simulator Software category.
The majority of G2 user reviews for these tools come from architecture firms and small businesses, and they have consistently indicated high satisfaction with their purchases, often averaging between a 9 or 10 out of 10 on the likelihood-to-recommend scale. As more user reviews came through, the satisfaction numbers have trended slightly downward, now averaging around 8.5 out of 10 on the same scale. In addition, mid-sized companies demonstrated the highest satisfaction with VR collaboration platforms, with monthly scores in the likelihood-to-recommend scale often between 9 and 10 points out of 10.
The industries most represented in G2 review data were design, civil engineering, computer games, and animation.
Facebook is not alone in pushing the boundaries of what technology can do, and businesses may need to leverage these advancements in AR and VR to boost productivity, automate processes, and create a more dynamic workplace.
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