Metaverse, the term that catches everyone’s attention, especially techies, is gradually becoming the favorite topic for many. Virtual reality, VR headsets, a completely immersive internet sphere, avatars, and so more – all these are parts of the technology that have successfully gained momentum. For most people across the world, this is such a new element that has swiftly formed a part of their daily lives.
But, what if we say that Metaverse is not new? Surprised? To dig more into it, let us unravel the famous history of this mighty phenomenon and how it was born.
The Metaverse is not magic, it is a new world created by aliens from planet Earth to give an infinite experience of the existing world.
The Inception of Binocular
Jumping to the first sign of technological advancement leading to the ultimate Metaverse world. In 1838, scientist Sir Charles Wheatstone conceptualized the ‘binocular vision’ where two pictures when amalgamated resulted in a single 3D image – offering a complete treat to the eyes. This was followed by the creation of stereoscopes which was a technological invention utilizing the fallacy of depth for the development of an image. A similar concept was incorporated into the present virtual reality headsets.
Following it comes the year 1935 in the backstory of the Metaverse creation when the American Sci-Fi writer Stanley Weinbaum published the book ‘Pygmalion’s Spectacles’ where the central character digs into the world of fiction by pairing goggles that offered vision, sound, smell, taste, and even feel.
Bringing To you the First VR Machines
The first mention of the currently famous Metaverse VR machine can be traced back to the year 1956 when Morton Heilig created the Sensorama Machine. The machine showcased the experience of a person riding a bike in Brooklyn by blending 3D video, audio, smell, and also vibrating chairs for an immersive experience. In fact, the first creation of head-mounted equipment in 1960 involved a combination of stereoscopic 3D pictures paired with stereo sounds as well.
Then comes the years of 1970s, when the famous MIT produced the Aspen Movie Map enabling users to emerge on a computer-generated journey of the Aspen town in Colorado. This was the first instance where people could actually use the VR for transporting themselves to some other place – offering quite a feel of the Metaverse experience.
Coining of Metaverse
The noteworthy year was 1982 when Neil Stevenson’s novel Snow Crash first coined the term ‘Metaverse’. Stevenson created a place where the characters could run in order to escape a dismal authoritarian actuality in the Metaverse world. In the initial times of the 1990s, it was the inception of Sega’s mighty VR machine, like the Sega VR-1 whose motion-simulation function was relished in certain arcades. Then, in 1998 emerged Sportsvision’s broadcasting of the first ever live NFL game presented a yellow yard marker. This very notion of the overlaying graphics outweighs the realistic world views swiftly spread across the sports sphere.
Then comes the era of the 2000s, where in 2010, Palmer Luckey who is an 18-year-old entrepreneur, and inventor strategized the Oculus Rift VR Headset. This was a very advanced product in the backstory of Metaverse offers a 90-degree view and also implements the use of computer processing power. The year 2011 has been quite memorable in the history of Metaverse technology as Ernest Cline released his book namely, ‘Ready Player One’ feeding all of us a view of the mighty world of virtual reality. Later on, the big director Steven Spielberg even made a movie out of this, unfolding this amazing technology famous in the current world.
Facebook Joining Hands with the Metaverse
In 2014, Facebook joined hands and obtained Oculus VR at a cost of $2 billion. Back then, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook stated its association with Oculus for producing the Oculus platform and also established partnerships for backing additional games – quite a milestone in the history of Metaverse.
Sliding into the game in the same year, Samsung and Sony – another two biggies in the industry disclosed the creation of their own VR headsets. Hold on, the year 2014 has more to offer in the evolution of this virtual world – Google also unleashed its first ever Cardboard device and Google Glass AR glasses as well.
Moving to the year 2016 through the course of Metaverse chronology, the fascinating Microsoft HoloLens headsets appeared in the market offering us a fusion of AR and VR. This product can develop a holographic visualization before our eyes, deliver it into reality, and operate it into augmented reality. That year, we also encountered the fun game – Pokemon Go where everyone was found running around their neighborhoods, colleges, or even offices trying to catch a Pokemon.
Remember how IKEA 2017 released their wonderful and unique app named ‘Place’ that enables the user to choose a piece of furniture and consider how it would fit in their room?
The effect of the Metaverse can be vividly experienced in Apple’s iPhones and iPad photos where Lidar or ‘Light Detection and Ranging’ was added. This not only resulted in advanced depth scanning but also created the way for mixed-reality headsets in the upcoming days.
Lastly, and finally, we have the very renowned news of the change of Facebook’s name to Meta in 2021 completely acknowledging the Metaverse workplace. This space is evolving in a flicker of light, and the development seems perpetual.
About Us: Algoworks a B2B IT firm providing end-to-end product development services. Operating chiefly from its California office, Algoworks is reputed for its partnership with Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Dell, Salesforce, and Microsoft. The company’s key IT service offerings include Mobility, Salesforce consulting and development, UI UX Design Consultation, DevOps, and Enterprise Application Integration. For more information, contact us here.
