The metaverse: a playground for imagination and innovation

The concept of the metaverse has captured the imagination of many with the promise of a digital world in which the real and the virtual merge seamlessly. A world in which creative innovation converges with unprecedented possibilities for your company.

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But how can we use the benefits of the metaverse to help users move forward? In this blog, we dive into the creative and innovative perspectives of the metaverse and explore how this digital landscape can revolutionise various aspects of our lives.

A borderless canvas

The metaverse offers artists a limitless canvas for expressing their creativity. In this virtual space, traditional techniques such as painting and sculpture come together with interactive and immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality. AI provides a personalised virtual assistant that can help you make choices.

Creating a wow effect is a fundamental feature of this digital landscape. You enter a virtual art gallery in which paintings come to life and respond to your movements and emotions. This allows you to introduce children to famous painters in an active way. Or imagine a business meeting on a virtual beach, complete with the sound of waves and a sunset in the background. Such a meeting could break the ice with a new customer, or help you pitch an idea to your stakeholders. In these scenarios, the metaverse transcends the boundaries of traditional experiences and offers a new level of immersion and interactivity.

Pixel Paradise

Let’s stay on the beach for a moment – and put ourselves in the shoes of an owner of a bathing trunks shop. On a chilly rainy day in the centre of Ghent, it’s difficult to make people excited about buying swimwear. Enter Pixel Paradise: a store in the metaverse. You don’t enter through a door, but through a waterfall. Instead of escalators, dolphins take you to the next floor. You can try on different bathing trunks via body-tracking or your own avatar. You forget for a moment that it’s 12 degrees outside, and you are completely absorbed in the experience.

Technically-speaking, you could do this with a VR headset, or even more simply by placing a ‘smart’ mirror in the store. As visitors walk past the digital mirror, different outfits are projected onto them. This is just a small example of what is technically possible today. As technology continues to evolve (e.g., Apple Vision Pro), and more people start using such platforms, more innovative use cases will emerge.

Stimulating focus and involvement

Our attention span has clearly decreased over the last two decades: in 2000, it was 12 seconds; today, it has shrunk significantly to 8 seconds. Can an online class in the metaverse be an advantage in our modern digital climate full of distractions? In a full VR setting, you have limited control over your environment, and you cannot divide your attention between the virtual and physical worlds. In the metaverse, it’s even possible to have a meeting without being distracted by your mobile phone or someone else's computer.

In 2020, it quickly became clear that it is difficult to keep students involved for a long time with a 2D screen. They missed interacting with their classmates and teachers in a shared space. Studies show that online lessons in VR can positively improve student engagement, attention span and motivation. It's easier to remember from practical experience than by being told something. From learning how to negotiate, to performing a heart transplant … there’s a good chance that your future surgeon will have learned to operate in the metaverse.

Metaverse medicine

Another innovative application of the metaverse is as a digital platform for the health and wellness sector. This comprises a wide range of applications – from virtual therapy and fitness to mindfulness. In this context, the metaverse becomes a powerful tool for improving mental and physical well-being. At the moment, UZ Leuven is investigating how VR technology can be used to replace painkillers. Images of cooling water and soothing sounds seem to be a good way to reduce or eliminate the use of painkillers in patients with burns. Thanks to the metaverse, patients who are paralysed or disabled can still climb Mont Blanc or take a bike ride with the family.

Cesar De Greve, Creative Technologist at Howest Security & Privacy Research Group

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Annelies Claeys

Annelies Claeys

Project Manager New Business