Unlocking the Metaverse E-Book

Paul Doherty

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 218

Beschreibung

Unlocking the Metaverse Highly comprehensive resource providing insight into how the "Metaverse," and digital worlds in general, can be leveraged for business success Unlocking the Metaverse focuses on the strategic implementation of processes and the execution of Metaverse strategies, technologies, and innovations and provides readers with real world tools and strategies to succeed with market demands. The text provides a clear and concise description of what the Metaverse is and what its value means to readers and their companies. A continuous interaction with readers inside the book's virtual world in the Metaverse provides both structured and unstructured interactions with the highly qualified author and his guests in periodic and ongoing public events, serving as a repository of continuous learning and a sandbox for continuous innovations to be explored, analyzed, and reported. Unlocking the Metaverse covers sample topics such as: * Construction documents and drawings, covering building information modeling (BIM), digital twins, virtual worlds, the metaverse, and level of experience/engagement measures * Specifications changing role, covering specification manuals, lifecycle, 3D geolocation specs, and 3D search * Smart contracts and tokenomics, DLT/blockchain, smart contracts, NFTs/FTs (digital building/digital asset), fractionalized ownership and digital real estate, and CBDCs, stablecoins, and crypto * Future outlooks, covering machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) as a whole, and its probable applications in gaming and robotics Providing authoritative coverage of an important and fast-evolving industry, Unlocking the Metaverse is an essential resource for architects, engineers, and contractors, facility managers and operators, and property owners who want to stay on the cutting edge of new forms of technology and leverage them to increase business success.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

About the Author

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms

Introduction: How to Use This Book

Unlocking the Metaverse

The Method Behind This Book

Who is this Book For?

The Book Road Map

CHAPTER 1: Definitions

Metaverse

Digital Twin

Virtual Worlds

Blockchain

Fungible Token (FT)

Non‐fungible Token (NFT)

Smart Contracts

Tokenomics

GPT

CHAPTER 2: Digital Twins, Virtual Worlds, and the Metaverse

Digital Twins

Gaming

Monetization

Virtual Worlds

Reality Capture and Motion Capture

Chase Olson – Reality Capture

Avatars

Avatar Interface

Avatars as Metahumans/Humanoids (MoCap)

NPCs as Reference Oracles

Virtual Worlds in the Metaverse Examples

Cybersecurity and Safety

Metaverse

Industrial Metaverse

Notes

CHAPTER 3: Metaverse Mechanisms and Solutions

Blockchain

Workflows

Capital Asset Delivery Using Smart Contracts Workflow

Construction Documents as the Digital DNA of the Built Environment

Ethereum blockchain

Digital Twin

Geo Location and Workflow

Facility Management

Challenges

Governance in a Decentralized Digital Environment

Cybersecurity

Trust

Data

Avatars

Smart Contracts

Value Propositions

Increased Efficiency

Improved Data Collection and Analysis

Accurate and Trusted Facility Data and Information

Tokenomics

Woven Collisions: NFTs and the Metaverse

LOE

Real‐Estate‐Backed Digital Asset Securities

Web 3

AI

GPT

ChatGPT Model

Note

CHAPTER 4: The Crystal Ball

Scarcity and Abundance

Edge Computing

Censorship

Thought Leader Interviews

Damon Hernandez – The Metaverse

Hugh Seaton – Data

Cody Nowak – Process

Arol Wolford – The Industry’s Future

Conclusion

Notes

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Fig. 1: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 2: Oracle Park in the Metaverse, home of the San Francisco Giants baseb...

Fig. 3: Cyberplaces book cover.

Fig. 4: Author Paul Doherty.

Chapter 1

Fig. 1‐1: Expo2020 Metaverse in Dubai.

Fig. 1‐2: Qingdao, China Virtual Reality Theme Park Metaverse.

Fig. 1‐3: A virtual world in the Metaverse.

Fig. 1‐4: Artificial Intelligence (AI) ChatGPT construction specification ex...

Chapter 2

Fig . 2‐1: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 2‐2: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 2‐3: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 2‐4: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 2‐5: A Steampunck Avatar in the Metaverse.

Fig. 2‐6: Zulu Nation–inspired architecture being built in South Africa, but...

Fig. 2‐7: A metaverse party with multiple people who are able to interact in...

Chapter 3

Fig. 3‐1: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Fig. 3‐2: Qingdao, China Virtual Reality Theme Park Metaverse.

Fig. 3‐3: Qingdao, China Virtual Reality Theme Park Metaverse.

Fig. 3‐4: GPT‐style generated graphics using Midjourney on Discord.

Fig. 3‐5: NFT galleries in the Metaverse.

Fig. 3‐6: I asked AI to mashup Batman and myself and this was the result. I ...

Chapter 4

Fig. 4‐1: AI‐generated graphics in the Metaverse.

Fig. 4‐2: An Abundance of Plenty.

Fig. 4‐3: A TDG Metaverse.

Fig. 4‐4: A Gatherverse.

Fig. 4‐5: Metaverse environment of architecture as music to create a series ...

Guide

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright

About the Author

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms

Introduction: How to Use This Book

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Index

Wiley End User License Agreement

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Unlocking the Metaverse

A Strategic Guide for the Future of the Built Environment

Paul Doherty

ColliervilleTennessee, USA

Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data applied for

Hardback ISBN: 9781394198764

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © koiguo/Getty Images

About the Author

Paul is chairman and CEO of TDG (the digit group www.thedigitgroupinc.com) and NextGEN Entertainment, Inc. (www.nextgenentertain.com), and is a globally renowned and award‐winning architect who is one of the world's most sought after thought leaders, strategists, and integrators of process, technology, and business. As noted in The Wall Street Journal, seen on Bloomberg TV, acknowledged by CNBC as one of America's Business Titans, and reported by Forbes as “Changing the World,” Paul is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and a Fellow of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). Paul currently works as chairman of TDG Global Ventures, a Smart City real estate development company that provides master planning, access to financing, program management, and innovative technology solutions around the world. Concurrently, Paul is the co‐founder and producer of the critically acclaimed AEC Hackathon (www.aechackathon.com) that launched at Facebook Headquarters. His past successful ventures include Revit Technologies (Sold to Autodesk 2002), Buzzsaw (Autodesk 2001), and TRIRIGA (IBM 2011).

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the following people as this book would never have been able to be delivered without their love and support. My wife Jessie Doherty, my son Daniel Doherty, my mother Andrea Doherty, my sister Erin, and her family.

I want to thank the talented team at my publisher Wiley, Kalli Schultea, Indirakumari S., and Isabella Proietti, and I am sure there is a team of people who I have not mentioned who made this book process and production a valuable exercise.

I also thank my partners, colleagues, and friends V. Marbue Dennis III, Arol Wolford, Amit Chopra, Steve Jones, David Uslan, Michael Uslan, Nancy Uslan, Tarek Abbas, Amr Attar, Rabelin Tchoumi, Gordon Cheng, Margie Petherick, Thomas Doherty, Pierre Lo, Bill Wang, Dr. Turki Shoaib, Dr. Karen Stephenson, Wyly Wade, Cody Nowak, Terry Beaubois, Patrick Mays, Alain Waha, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hidetoshi Dote, Patrick Sharpe, Normandy Madden, Joe Montgomery, Dave Gilmore, James Cramer, Silvia Davidia, Remi Arnaud, Matthew Tribe, Ala Hassan, Hugh Seaton, Damon Hernandez, Chase Olson, Joshua Gumbiner, Don Bowden, Matt Abeles, Cristina Savian, Christina Lu, Dr. Caroline Chung, Dr. Anas Bataw, and the Trustees of Humanity – all of whom deserve so much thanks and love.

List of Acronyms

AEC

architecture, engineering, construction

AI

artificial intelligence

API

application programming interface

AR

augmented reality

BIM

building information modeling

BPR

business process re‐engineering

CAD

computer‐aided design

DLT

distributed ledger technology

ESG

Environment Sustainable Governance

ETF

exchange traded funds

FM

facility management

GPT

generative pre‐trained transformer

IBM

international business machines

ICT

information communications technology

IoT

Internet of Things

IP

internet protocol

IRL

in real life

OEM

other equipment manufacturers

TDG

The Digit Group, Inc.

VPN

virtual private network

VR

virtual reality

XR

eXtended reality and/or mixed reality

Introduction: How to Use This Book

This introduction will provide an overview and road map of the book's content to allow readers to have a clear understanding of how to use this book's information for their own valued use.

Unlocking the Metaverse

Welcome to Unlocking the Metaverse: A Strategic Guide for the Future of the Built Environment. When the physical built environment intersects with the digital world, not only is it a moment to pay attention to, but it's time to write a book about this historic moment. Welcome to a journey of unlocking the mysteries of the metaverse for the built environment and how these technologies, processes, workflows, and experiences will affect you, your business, and your lifestyle. My goals of writing this book are:

To provide the background of how the definitions of our age are becoming our new reality.

To provide the background and path forward of how our 3D graphic representation of the built world and its incorporation into storytelling has given rise to an enormous and influential Gaming Industry and how this affects the built environment.

To expose opportunities to the incumbent and traditional professionals of the built environment as well as the cautionary tales of what the digital asset world has unleashed.

To provide guidance and suggestions for how you, your company, and your lifestyle will be affected by the new metaverse medium.

To suggest practical advice on emerging data‐driven innovations like Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain), Smart Contracts, and Tokenomics will give rise to the next generation of valuable digital real estate.

To create vision to the emergence of Web3, Artificial Intelligence and when integrated into Metaverse environments, how it transforms the notion of a Cyber–Physical experience.

And finally, to bring views from industry experts to look into the Crystal Ball to assist you in navigating this amazing transformative age we are experiencing (

Figure 1

).

My first experience of the metaverse was 1977, playing with my friend's Atari 2600 gaming console on a game called Pong. I was transfixed with seeing a home video game on a TV. By 1979, we had graduated to games like Asteroids, Space Invaders, and the beginnings of digital football, baseball, and ice hockey. I was not a big fan of the arcades like pinball games and other console games, but Pac‐Man and Ms. Pac‐Man were always fun and for a short period of time, allowed a form of escapism. Thus, my take that these home video games and arcades from the 1970s and 1980s were seeds for the promise of the oncoming of a new medium called the Metaverse.

Fig. 1: Expo2020 in Dubai Metaverse.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

Fig. 2: Oracle Park in the Metaverse, home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

As computing power increased and storytelling matured, I was enamored in 1993 with the multimedia adventure game called Myst, by Broderbund. I used my Apple Macintosh with a Myst CD‐ROM disk to propel me into a fictional world where I would spend hours unlocking mysterious clues in a never‐ending game. The 1990s were full of milestones for the maturity of the Metaverse, with the rise of the Internet and its adoption in the later part of that decade and Neal Stephenson coining the term “Metaverse” in his cyberpunk novel Snow Crash in 1992 to describe an online, Virtual Reality (VR) world where the inhabitants of humankind could interact and escape the dystopian unpleasantness of the real world (Figure 2).

In fact, in 1996, I was an advisor to companies that were working on the new San Francisco Giants baseball stadium. The designers wanted to have stakeholders experience what the views were from seats in the new stadium before it was built and did not want to purchase expensive design software just for viewing the 3D model. Our team, led by Planet9, worked with a new technology for its time called Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML) that allowed the 3D model of the new stadium to be viewed and interacted with inside a Web Browser. I documented the process and images in my 1997 book called Cyberplaces: The Internet Guide for Architects, Engineers and Contractors published by R.S. Means. When I hear about people claiming that today they are creating the Metaverse or are self‐proclaimed experts regarding the Metaverse, I shake my head knowing that the world has many charlatans, as I literally wrote the book on the emerging medium of the metaverse in 1997. This validation is brought forward into today's world through the valuable work of so many talented people over the decades that has led us collectively to this moment in time and with you reading this book (Figure 3).

Fig. 3: Cyberplaces book cover.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

The metaverse at this moment in the time of the writing of this book is not mature enough to say that it has arrived, but rather pieces of this new medium are being put in place as technology and our use of it matures. Many of the elements of the metaverse are being defined, developed, and delivered in a velocity that I am surprised by its speed. I like to think of these elements as gemstones that as the metaverse matures as a strand to tie them together like a beautiful necklace.

Like an elephant, the metaverse is being described by people with them touching only one part of the elephant, we also must understand who else is touching that elephant and hear their stories before the complete elephant is identified. By reading this book, you have the opportunity to properly define our new Age, by thinking, doing, implementing, and sharing.

The Method Behind This Book

With this background in mind, the methodology of the use of this book is multi‐dimensional. I use both a first person and observer viewpoint within each chapter to provide you with both a strategic and practical process for how to best implement your own approach to the metaverse. Behind each chapter, I have also provided real‐world stories as examples of how the emerging elements of the metaverse are being planned, implemented, and measured. The multi‐dimensional nature of this book is based on how different stakeholders in the built environment are directly affected by the metaverse, which resulted in a book that attempts to showcase how our new immersive, human‐centric but data‐driven work can be used by the average human on our planet earth.

Who is this Book For?

This book is written to be both reference material and as a guide for our broad industry. Designers, architects, and engineers will find value in a good portion of this book, while contractors and the trades will find value in the implementation areas of this book. Facility managers and operators will discover value mechanisms and measures from this book that may change how their work gets done, while the common reader will gain insight that the metaverse as it transforms into an Industrial Metaverse, can be of value to them over today with an eye towards a decentralized industry and society in the future.

The Book Road Map

This introduction chapter is meant to be a reference that provides the proper context for you and acts as a foundation for your metaverse journey.

Chapter 1: Definitions will provide you with the basic terms and descriptions of our new Age of the Metaverse.

Chapter 2: Digital Twins, Virtual Worlds, and the Metaverse gives insight into how these new visual mediums will affect the different areas of the built environment from the perspectives of pre‐design, design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

Chapter 3: Metaverse Mechanisms and Solutions explores the new data algorithms, structures, and processes that leverage distributed ledger technology (DLT) in various forms like blockchain, cryptocurrency, smart contracts, and digital real estate valuations. This chapter also explores innovations that provides an initial peak into the rapidly emerging next generation of the World Wide Web in the form of Web 3 and its ability to host powerful functions like artificial intelligence (AI) and generative pre‐trained transformer (GPT) technologies that promise to change our industry from its traditional processes into new ways of working that one can only begin to imagine.

Chapter 4: The Crystal Ball puts you in the middle of conversations about our collective future as an industry. Highlighted with interviews of some of the leading voices in the world today concerning technology and the built environment, this chapter provides inspiration and wonder as to what the future holds for all of us (Figure 4).

Fig. 4: Author Paul Doherty.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

As you read through this book, I encourage you to interact with me to challenge and contribute our concepts and solutions as the world changes and moves forward. I look forward to your communication and constructive criticism on social media. In the meantime, please enjoy my book as a milestone moment in time, not as an absolute.

Welcome to the world of the metaverse!Paul DohertyMemphis, Tennessee, 2023

CHAPTER 1Definitions

The introduction of new technologies into the built environment and its professions are fraught with the challenges of hype, limited adoption, and, in some cases, indifference. In some cases, there is a trend that new technologies are showing signs of adoption but need guidance, education, and sound strategies in order to become valuable to the built environment industries and professions. A first step in the education and communication process is to define the numerous elements that are affecting our built environment. The following definitions are a snapshot from this moment, a foundation to build upon and are meant to be revisited and challenged as we learn, fail, succeed, and adapt to our ever‐changing world of the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.

The following definitions are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather to be used as a referenced foundation for your journey of moving through the rest of this book.

Metaverse

William Gibson’s quasi‐prophetic vision of cyberspace as a “consensual hallucination” manifests itself in the emerging definition of the metaverse. Our company describes metaverse as an analogy to Outer Space. There is no there, there. It is a digital immersive environment that has the equivalent of galaxies, solar systems, and planets (virtual worlds) that provide a sense of place. The term “metaverse” originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of “meta” and “universe.” Metaverse development is often linked to advancing virtual reality technology due to the increasing demands for immersion. Recent interest in metaverse development is influenced by Web3, a concept for a decentralized iteration of the internet. Web3 and metaverse have been used as buzzwords to exaggerate the development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes. Information privacy, user addiction, and user safety are concerns within the metaverse, stemming from challenges facing the social media and video game industries as a whole. What we are learning as a company about metaverse is that through iterative design and delivery of 3D immersive experiences, is that new measures of usage and value need to be developed and implemented. We use terms such as Level of Experience and Level of Engagement (LOE) to describe how a user of the metaverse is immersed in a 3D digital environment.

At its current core, the metaverse is a spatial computing platform that provides digital experiences as an alternative to or a replica of the real world, along with its key civilizational aspects like social interactions, currency, trade, economy, and property ownership, all experienced on a bedrock of blockchain technology. Metaverse is an interaction, and, in certain cases, an integration of 3D worlds accessed through a browser, a mobile app, or a headset. It allows people to have real‐time interactions and experiences across large distances, either by themselves, one‐on‐one and/or with many people. A vast ecosystem of online applications is emerging to build these human and non‐human interactions, communications, and relationships (Figure 1‐1).

The metaverse is an environment where the physical and digital worlds can coexist and significantly impact fundamental areas of daily life. It is a universe of limitless, interconnected virtual communities where people can socialize, collaborate, and have fun. It may include additional aspects of online life, such as social media and shopping. As application scenarios mature, the metaverse will develop into an exceptionally large‐scale, extremely open, and dynamically optimized system. To create a system that can support various virtual reality application scenarios, creators from different fields will need to work together to fulfill the promise of the metaverse.

Fig. 1‐1: Expo2020 Metaverse in Dubai.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

Our company is partnering and strategizing with a broad range of creators to deliver our virtual worlds in the metaverse around the theory that Web3 will be the next generation of the Internet as a 3D immersive environment that links virtual worlds in the metaverse together similar to how hyperlinks work in the current Web2 Internet environment of 2D web sites. Immersive worlds with next‐generation hyperlinks are an amazing world to explore.

In the context of the built environment, the metaverse can be used to visualize and manage various aspects of a physical facility, such as building layouts, maintenance schedules, and resource allocation. For example, a facility manager could use a virtual reality (VR) headset to explore and interact with a 3D model of a building, viewing detailed information about various systems and equipment, such as HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. They could also use the metaverse to track and schedule maintenance tasks, assign work orders to technicians, and track the progress of ongoing projects.

Another example is through the use of augmented reality (AR) technology. A facility manager could use an AR app on their smartphone or tablet to view information about a specific location or piece of equipment with a digital overlay on their physical surroundings. This could be useful for accessing technical manuals, viewing repair histories, or identifying potential issues. The use of the metaverse in facility management can help improve efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the overall management of physical facilities (Figure 1‐2).

Fig. 1‐2: Qingdao, China Virtual Reality Theme Park Metaverse.

Courtesy: Paul Doherty.

Digital Twin

A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object or system. It is typically created using data from sensors, simulations, and other sources, and it is used to analyze, optimize, and predict the behavior and performance of the corresponding physical object or system. Digital twins are often created using software tools such as computer‐aided design (CAD) and Building Information Model (BIM) programs, and they can be updated in real time as new data becomes available. They can also be integrated with other systems, such as manufacturing equipment or transportation networks, to enable real‐time monitoring and control.

Digital twins can be used to optimize the built environment by providing a virtual model of the facility that can be used to simulate and analyze different scenarios, such as predicting maintenance needs or optimizing energy use. Here are some examples of how digital twins can be used in facility management:

Predictive maintenance: By continuously monitoring the performance of physical assets and comparing it to the digital twin model, facility managers can predict when maintenance is needed and schedule it in advance, reducing downtime and improving efficiency.

Energy optimization: Digital twins can be used to simulate different energy consumption scenarios and optimize energy use in a facility. For example, a digital twin of an office building could be used to determine the most energy‐efficient lighting and temperature settings.