How far is the Metaverse from commercialization?

The Metaverse is the main character of the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, and experts generally believe that the Metaverse is gradually moving from the conceptual stage to the industrial exploration stage.

So, from the current practice, how far is the Metaverse from true commercialization?

Philip Torr, the Chief Scientist of the Computer Vision Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, mentioned in his opening speech that the cutting-edge AI and the metaverse are mutually reinforcing, and there are already many related practical cases.

For example, how online clothing sales can use SLAM technology to reconstruct sizes and generate images of consumers wearing different styles of clothing; and how a virtual person can be generated using 4D virtual characters, which can be applied in a wide range of markets such as customer service centers. He believes that the ability of virtual people to assist in customer service management will be of great value in the future.

Another approach is through virtual reality and metaverse-related technologies, which can greatly assist certain groups with visual impairments (50% of whom have central vision loss issues). By wearing specially designed glasses to compensate for vision deficiencies, adjusting the depth of field, and highlighting scenery that was previously invisible, this enhances the visual experience.

Phlip Torr also mentioned SLAM technology in his speech. The SLAM algorithm is a concept based on computational geometry and machine vision, frequently used in robot navigation, as well as autonomous map construction and 3D reconstruction in virtual and augmented reality, making it an important concept in the field of artificial intelligence technology.

Dr. Li Yuan, Senior Vice President of Zhongke Zhiyun, said after the meeting that the company’s current application of SLAM technology is mainly focused on the engineering field.

For example, in the stacking and reclaiming operations at the Tianjin Port Yuanhang International Ore Terminal, in the past, it was necessary to use a ship unloader to unload the bulk ore from the ship, pile it in the yard with a stacking machine, and finally load the bulk material onto various logistics tools with a reclaiming machine and a loader.

The traditional model lacks data, mainly relying on the experience of personnel. The stacking and reclaiming routes depend on the driver, and there are difficulties in scientific planning.

Zhongke Zhiyun has facilitated the full-process unmanned operation of the bulk cargo terminal at Tianjin Port through SLAM technology: the relevant system can automatically determine the position, width, and height of the stockpile, dynamically calculate and record the volume of the stockpile; according to the status of the stockpile and the stacking plan, guide the stacking machine to automatically take and stack materials in the site; at the same time, port management personnel can view and plan various operational data of the entire material yard in real-time.

From the content of the speeches at this conference, the topic of how the application of the metaverse can be implemented has been mentioned many times by the experts present.

A Shanghai visual company stated, “Professional optical motion capture technology is the infrastructure of the metaverse. The company’s optical motion capture has been practically applied in fields such as film and television production, game animation, drone engineering, modal recognition, sports science, finite element analysis, biomechanics, and virtual reality. Some well-known animated works in the market have also utilized the company’s motion capture technology.”

Liang Youmei, CEO of Meta Greater China, pointed out that the metaverse could potentially create a GDP of 30 trillion US dollars by 2030, and the current business opportunities could start with e-commerce.

She stated that the metaverse is the next chapter of the internet, providing richer content and functions on the basis of existing network connections, allowing people to have immersive experiences and making their time spent on the internet more meaningful.

As a core technology of the metaverse, the commercial application process of AI also determines the realization of the metaverse.

Baidu founder, chairman, and CEO Robin Li stated at the conference that the commercial application of artificial intelligence has made significant progress in the fields of autonomous driving and the intelligent transformation of infrastructure.

However, the digital transformation in many areas of the real economy has not yet been completed. Digitalization itself has not yet brought about a significant improvement in efficiency, and the penetration of intelligence still requires some time. The huge lifting effect of intelligence on the real economy has not yet become a widespread consensus. Therefore, “the commercialization of artificial intelligence still needs to grope in the dark for a period of time.”