A hitchhiker’s guide to the metaverse: Everything you can do today

So what can you do in the metaverse today? First, what is the metaverse?

It is essentially a complex, 3D virtual world that seeks to act as a mirror image of the real one. The user is represented by a 3D avatar and can do everything described above from their home (or wherever they happen to be), as long as they have a smartphone or laptop, in most cases a virtual-reality (VR) headset, and a good internet connection.

What differentiates these virtual worlds from, say, gaming or standard VR experiences is that a metaverse offers a common, shared experience for all its users, and it is designed to be dynamic. Virtual shops will open and close; events and exhibitions will come and go. Landscapes will change as new features are added and new collaborations take shape.

Currently, for instance, the Indian metaverse platform Loka lets users take a virtual bus tour of Connaught Place in Delhi. Soon, they will add a feature that lets users “grab” free virtual cans of Red Bull to get wings that will let them fly around CP too. Another platform, Zippy, lets users “run” the Boston marathon from wherever they are. More routes are in the works, including ones set in Mumbai, London and Tokyo.

Metaverse platforms in India are also hosting gigs, and mirroring real-world workplaces so that colleagues from across the country and around the world can “meet”. Platforms such as AjnaLens and Imaginate are working with Indian multinationals to offer simulated training in virtual environments that range from a factory floor to a deep-sea drilling rig.

Newer startups entering the space include Bolly Heroes, an NFT platform looking to build a Bollyverse where users will be able to create their own characters, star in their own movies, and own all their content as NFTs.

Tech Mahindra is looking to launch a metaverse-based car dealership, NFT marketplace, virtual bank and gaming centre. Accenture has set up an employee space called Nth Floor. Infosys, in February, announced a metaverse foundry that will create virtual shopping experiences.

What it won’t be

What the metaverse will not be is one giant shared universe. Each of the examples cited above, for instance, sits on its own platform. There will be some integration between platforms, as metaverse companies collaborate over time. But these will be limited, and could change as partnerships morph.

As a result, the experience could vary too, depending on each platform’s engine, and leading from that, its levels of complexity, security, and ease of use. On some platforms, for instance, the user’s avatar is a generic block figure; others offer customised 3D representations of height, weight, style of hair and dress.

In some worlds, users will only be able to walk, run, jump, smile and wave. In others they may also be assigned a few dance moves. Still others let users wield a virtual welding machine while an AI program with motion sensors tracks how well they’re learning to use it.

While sight and sound dominate metaverse platforms now, touch, smell, even taste are being explored as the next frontiers of such virtual experiences.

Currency will be another changing dynamic. While cryptocurrency is currently seen as an integral part of the metaverse economy, it will most likely not be the only payment mechanism available to users. “The two concepts can exist without each other. There is no reason why we should not be able to make a UPI payment in the metaverse,” says Jaijit Bhattacharya, CEO of fintech company Zerone and president of the independent think tank Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research.

An important question will be access, since the more complex metaverse experiences are dependent on a certain amount of fairly expensive technology. One way forward, in a country such as India, is for the government to step in. In Karnataka, for instance, AjnaLens has collaborated with Tata Technologies to equip 150 Industrial Training Institutes or ITIs to offer complex skills courses.

Still, says Bhattacharya of Zerone, “a social impact I foresee is people getting excluded from skill development and other opportunities because they are unable to afford high-end tech.”

Party

One moment, YouTuber Karthick Chirra was in jeans, the next moment they’d morphed into swimming trunks. That’s the kind of detail that made the Daler Mehndi metaverse concert a truly immersive experience, he says.

The event, organised by the platform PartyNite on Republic Day, drew over 800,000 people, who claimed free passes by signing in with an email ID and phone number. Attendees were divided into rooms of 25, where they could dance on stage with the ’90s Punjabi pop icon, who was singing in real time, his avatar replicated across all rooms.

“We weren’t prepared for that kind of traffic. The servers crashed at one point. But we managed to increase server capacity so that the show wouldn’t stop,” says Rajat Ojha, CEO of the Hyderabad-based VR and AR startup Gamitronics, which launched PartyNite in December 2021. This is one of a number of platforms in India currently organising entertainment events in the metaverse.

The Daler event was PartyNite’s biggest so far. It was also its most complex. Participants could personalise their 3D avatars down to skin shade, face shape and hairstyle; pick dance moves; create Reels and share them on Instagram in real time; interact with other attendees. After the gig, they could also head to an after-party on a virtual cruise ship with a virtual casino, karaoke bar and swimming pool (it’s here that Chirra’s pants turned into trunks, just after he jumped in).

“It was the coolest party,” says Chirra, who is based in Vizag and whose channel, FilmyMoji, has over 2.9 million subscribers. “I had no real purpose. All I did was explore the place at my pace, try out different AI tools, make a few videos and chill, all without having to step out of my house.”

Another such platform, Loka, launched in January, offers domestic-tourism experiences. It was in this metaverse that marketing executive Udyan Matta, 27, found love in a virtual version of Connaught Place (CP). He logged on in February, met home-baker Gaurika Aggarwal, 25, on his virtual tour, and the two have been dating since.

“The platform’s CP map has a nice Indian touch. Even the few non-player characters are relatable because they blurt out random Hindi phrases about the ‘mausam’. And I really wasn’t expecting to find love,” Matta says, laughing.

The Loka mobile app, free for now, with over 1.4 lakh downloads and a stated 2.2 lakh visitors, aims to help people network and make new friends. Dating is one of the things the platform plans to focus on in the future, says founder Krishnan Sunderarajan. Loka plans to extend beyond Delhi too, to spots such as Baga Beach in Goa, Marine Drive in Mumbai and MG Road in Bengaluru.

Other than a “bus ride” around CP, users will soon be able to “grab” a floating Red Bull can to get wings and fly around; shop at the virtual counterparts of real-world stores that will then deliver to one’s doorstep in the real world; watch screenings in a virtual auditorium; and hang out with friends at a coffee shop.

Even governments are getting into the game. Last month, the Telangana government held a space-themed seminar called SpaceTech, on PartyNite, aimed at attracting investors. The invitation-only event allowed politicians, business executives and journalists to interact with avatars of state IT minister KT Rama Rao and ISRO chairman S Somanath.

Meanwhile, PartyNite is venturing into virtual real-estate. Daler Mehendi has bought a space called Balle Balle Land in PartyNite’s virtual city Utopia, where he intends to host concerts and events in the future (he’ll get to keep a share of revenues, since he owns the “space”). More virtual land will soon become available. There are plans for a 24-screen multiplex in Utopia, and a premium car launch facility that will allow visitors to virtually test-drive new vehicles.

Work

The one thing we can expect to see a lot of in the metaverse is boardrooms. Companies such as Accenture are already using these virtual worlds to help new employees across centres meet, learn how things are done and attend training and induction sessions.

In 2020, Accenture created an enterprise metaverse called Nth Floor, using Microsoft’s mixed-reality (MR) platform Mesh, where employees can meet, collaborate, attend workshops. The company says it deployed 60,000 VR headsets to employees globally in 2021, for use on Nth Floor, suggesting that, at least in some cases, this kind of hardware could eventually become as common as the company laptop.

Within Nth Floor, employees can also visit One Accenture Park, where there are replicas of company offices in Bengaluru, Madrid and San Francisco. A gamified section offers interactive training exercises too.

“As the line between people’s physical and digital lives blurs further, organisations have the opportunity and obligation to build a responsible metaverse, addressing issues such as trust, sustainability, personal safety, privacy, responsible access and use, diversity and more,” says Paul Daugherty, group chief executive for technology and chief technology officer at Accenture.

Other companies entering the metaverse to ease HR processes in India include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the largest private-sector employer in India; and Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which owns the Taj brand.

In the TCS metaverse, employees will be able to attend orientations on everything from where the canteens are to the ethical code of conduct. Last month, IHCL launched its She Remains the Taj campaign in a metaverse powered by Hyderabad’s NextMeet, a platform that enables real-time virtual conferencing and networking.

There are teething troubles. People still forget to unmute their microphones, 3D avatars sometimes lose their way and wander onto the stage during panel discussions, and keeping mischief-makers in check remains a challenge. “It is difficult to track people who interrupt such events, a frequent occurrence and something platforms with metaverse offerings need to work on,” says Prashant Chandra, co-founder and director of NextMeet. “And at every event, we usually have a group of volunteers with just one job — muting people who do not need to be heard.”

Run

Delhi-based fitness-tech platform Zippy offers workouts in the metaverse. Here, a smartphone app lets an avatar run in a virtual world as the user runs on a treadmill. Eventually, the NFT avatars will also be able to meet up and run with friends, and complete challenges to win cryptocurrency tokens. The app has had about 1,000 downloads so far. The one course currently available is the Boston marathon route. There will eventually be more routes, set in Mumbai, London and Tokyo, as well as scenic fictional routes set in mountains, jungles and along beaches.

“The idea is to make running as fun as playing a console game,” says Zippy founder Sunny Makroo. “We also aim to make running a social activity by letting avatars get competitive, share tips and connect with fellow runners across the globe.”

Bengaluru-based ultra-marathoner Rajiv Sharma, 42, who has been using Zippy for three months, says he finds it exciting. “Running in the metaverse cannot replace outdoor running for me but being able to control my environment helps me focus on form, analytics and other parameters,” he says.

In a possible indication of things to come, Hong Kong-based OliveX offers gamified workouts that let users earn in-game rewards. The “missions” involve retrieving and delivering mysterious virtual packages while avoiding bandits and monsters in a fictionalised post-apocalyptic desert. Eventually, players will be able to use the tokens to buy virtual fitness apparel and join virtual fitness studios and gyms in The Sandbox metaverse, as part of a collaboration. OliveX is also looking at adding more sports over time, including cycling, boxing and rowing, in similar gamified formats.

Learn

It’s not all fun and games. Some employees are learning how to weld and spray-paint in the metaverse, taking to virtual factory floors to pick up new skills.

Earlier this year, the Mumbai-based XR hardware and software company AjnaLens collaborated with Tata Technologies to equip 150 Industrial Training Institutes or ITIs in Karnataka with AjnaXR stations for 9,000 students. (XR or Extended Reality combines physical and digital reality.)

Each station has an attached VR headset. In a digital workshop, the avatar of an instructor takes students through training modules using real industry-graded welding torches and spray guns (which are not connected to gas or paint). Tracking sensors recreate their movements in the virtual world.

“Since the equipment they use is real, it can be tracked with extreme accuracy by software programs,” says Pankaj Raut, co-founder and CEO of AjnaLens. “There’s an analysis report on how each student is performing, and this report determines whether or not they get a certificate at the end of the module.”

Venkatesh Babu, 19, who is currently in one of the spray-painting modules, says the XR experience has been the highlight of his electric-vehicle workmanship course. “I enjoy the virtual practice sessions the most, because I do not have to worry about wasting paint or restarting from scratch if I make mistakes,” he says.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based VR/AR company Imaginate has created a digital twin of the Reliance Industries deep sea drilling rig off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, to help employees train in subsea operations. Employees use VR headsets to meet as 3D avatars in a virtual room where the avatar of an instructor conducts demos and training sessions.

“After these sessions, the employees perform evaluation tasks in the virtual world that then certify them as ready for real-world experience,” says Hemanth Satyanarayana, founder and CEO at Imaginate. Next up is a project with MG Motors that will involve setting up a virtual training centre for service technicians, with virtual showrooms for training in sales.

“Skilling in the metaverse will be earliest adopted in industries that use expensive equipment that can be simulated through AR and VR,” says Ventakesh Hariharan, who works at the intersection of tech, society and policy and is the Indian representative at the Open Invention Network, which protects the open-source community from patent litigations. “Startups offering such services will also see a lower mortality rate than B2C metaverse startups once the hype dies down.”