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This Chapter analyses potential Metaverse Use Cases, sometimes supplemented by specific examples. The fact that one such example is considered in this chapter does not imply that MPAI in any way endorses the specific business model adopted, neither does it suggest any kind of investment, nor that the example should be preferred compared to others not considered. It simply denotes that the business model is worth to be analysed. MPAI welcomes the submission of names of current Metaverse Instances whose business models have characteristics worth being considered for the purpose of defining Metaverse Functionalities. Such submissions should contain a level of detail comparable to the ones used in existing examples.

A section at the end of this chapter will collect relevant workflows derived from the Use Cases.

Automotive Defence Education Enterprise eSports
Events Finance Food Gaming Healthcare Hospitality
Professional training Real estate Remote work Retail Social media
Travel Virtual spaces Workflows

1        Automotive

1.1        Description

The Metaverse has the potential to revolutionise the way vehicles are designed and tested, as it allows for the creation of a collaborative design environment within a virtual space. The design of a vehicle can then be performed entirely within a Metaverse Environment, and the same design can also be virtually tested at different stages of its lifecycle. In addition, a Blockchain-supported Metaverse offers new opportunities for the creation of communities or “cults” centered around vehicles. These virtual communities could bring together enthusiasts and experts to share knowledge, discuss the latest developments in the automotive industry, and potentially even collaborate on vehicle design and testing projects within the Metaverse Instance. The Metaverse also has the potential to enable the interconnection of vehicles, allowing them to communicate with each other and potentially even make decisions as a collective. This could lead to the development of new transportation systems that are more efficient and responsive to the needs of users. For example, a fleet of interconnected vehicles could coordinate their routes and movements in real-time to optimize for factors such as traffic, weather, and passenger demand. The use of the Metaverse for vehicle interconnection could also facilitate the development of autonomous vehicles, as it allows for the creation of a virtual environment in which these vehicles can be tested and refined.

1.2        Functionalities

  1. Vehicles design and engineering
    1. Collaborative virtual platforms
    2. Virtual meetings
    3. Immersive reality rendering
    4. Data management and traceability leveraging blockchain technology
    5. Testing on simulated roads
  2. Virtual showrooms
    1. Choice of vehicle accessories and customisation
    2. Sales meetings
  3. Interconnected vehicles
    1. Augmented reality (e.g., driver dashboard)
    2. Intelligent autopilot

2        Defence

2.1        Description

The defence industry has been using virtual reality for decades, typically in small virtual environments designed to train personnel in the use of equipment such as planes, tanks, and ships and developed on a case-by-case basis by different departments, in a non integrated fashion. A properly designed Metaverse Instance could support realistic, task specific Metaverse Environments in an integrated fashion. As it happens in industrial applications, defence oriented Metaverses can be used to enhance Universe activities, simulate physical events designed to collect more information about the Universe, and offer immersive experiences that would be too expensive or even impossible to have in the Universe.

2.2        Functionalities

  1. Accurate mapping of terrain
  2. Creation of Metaverse Scenes for projection to Universe Environments.
  3. Immersive Environments
  4. Extremely low delay
  5. Realistic battlefields
  6. Special sensors and actuators
    1. For personnel training
    2. For monitoring (e.g., IoT)

3        Education

3.1        Description

The Metaverse has the potential to enhance the delivery of educational content in a wide range of fields, including astronomy, physics, chemistry, geography, history, literature, and more. By providing a sensory experience with interactive possibilities, students in a Metaverse Environment can engage in educational content in a more immersive and dynamic way. This can be particularly useful for fields that rely heavily on experiential learning, as they allow students to interact with and explore concepts in a virtual environment. These interactive possibilities are currently only achievable through traditional means such as text, images, and physical experiments, and the Metaverse offers a new and potentially more effective way to engage with educational content.

3.2        Functionalities

  1. Virtual classrooms
  2. Virtual labs
  3. Navigation in virtual objects
  4. Student Persona
  5. Avatar animation

4        Enterprise

4.1        Description

An enterprise can make different uses of a Metaverse Instance:

  • Connected environments that replicate and connect every aspect of the enterprise to optimise experiences and decision making.
  • An integrated virtual space where employees can recreate the company’s culture.
  • Gamification for learning, loyalty programs, campaigns, skill development, and employee training.
  • Enterprise events featuring 3D immersive platforms, NFT-powered registration and ticketing, customisable avatars, global networking, and audience engagement.
  • Interacting with audiences, increasing visibility, and improving engagement marketing.
  • Product launches, merchandise sales, rewards for customers, or donation collections.

4.2        Functionalities

This is an initial list of Functionalities:

  1. External relations
    1. Metaverse Environments designed for User relation management
    2. Business meetings.
    3. Support for product maintenance.
    4. Events (e.g., conferences)
  2. Internal relations
    1. Digital Twins of workshops, labs, assembly lines.
    2. Work from Home.
    3. Metaverse Environments designed for employees to meet (e.g., virtual coffee machines)

5        eSports

5.1        Description

Esports refers to competitive gaming played by professional gamers using video games. This activity has gained widespread popularity, with hundreds of millions of people watching esports streams on platforms such as YouTube, Fortnite, and Twitch. The popularity of esports has led to it being re-defined as a social and commercial activity, with gamers competing in intense and lengthy competitions on popular video game titles. By using Blockchains, gamers can own and monetise in-platform Assets within the Metaverse Instance.

5.2        Functionalities

This is an initial list of functionalities:

  1. Select Persona.
  2. Style Persona.
  3. Buy, win, or collect Assets (skins, weapons, add-ons).
  4. Store Assets in a Crypto Wallet.
  5. Post to and Sell Assets in a Marketplace.
  6. Move Assets from a game (Metaverse Environment) to another game in the same or different Metaverse Instance.
  7. Bet on a gamer or a match.
  8. Track a game.
  9. Place ads in a game.

6        Events

6.1        Description

Events are probably the most iconic examples of Metaverse use. One part of the story is different events that have been held in the last couple of years, some with the claimed participation of millions of Users. Another is the different events held to launch products such as several fashion weeks. Still another is the appearance of “general contractor” companies offering the complete realisation of events.

6.2        Functionalities

  1. Before
    1. Event promotion
    2. Ticketing
    3. Large scale events
  2. During
    1. Virtual performers
    2. Everybody can talk to everybody else.
    3. Participant Persona
    4. Avatar animation
    5. Participants Status
  3. Post-event
    1. Statistics
    2. Re-visiting

7        Finance

7.1        Description

The Metaverse has the potential to revolutionise the financial sector by providing a virtual platform for a wide range of financial services, e.g., hosting virtual financial events and conferences, enabling virtual meetings and appointments between clients and financial institutions, and facilitating the creation and management of new digital financial assets such as cryptocurrencies, DeFi and NFTs. By leveraging the power of the Metaverse, financial institutions and individuals can access a range of (new and already existing) financial tools and resources in a virtual environment, making it easier and more convenient to conduct financial transactions and manage financial portfolios.

7.2        Functionalities

  1. Decentralised Finance and NFTs
  2. Identity management
  3. Virtual bank accounts and marketplaces
  4. Meetings with customers
  5. Financial events and conferences
  6. Financial education and training.

8        Food

8.1        Description

The notion of the Metaverse can be applied to the food industry. A Metaverse Instance for food could be used by

  • Food enthusiasts to order, deliver, and experience new culinary experiences enhanced with the aid of virtual tools.
  • Food enthusiasts, business owners, chefs, and companies to explore cuisines, dishes, and food products.
  • Business players to advertise or conduct surveys for their brands.

8.2        Functionalities

  1. Metaverse Environments for people to have dinner together.
  2. Multi-sensory menu containing audio, video, smell (High-quality reproduction of food odour).
  3. Participants order food from the multi-sensory menu.
  4. Metaverse Environment captures people’s assessment of their food.
  5. Metaverse Environment provides common entertainment while people have dinner.

9        Gaming

9.1        Description

A more immersive and interactive gaming Experience can be create by allowing Users to interact with other Users within a decentralised virtual social environment. This enhanced level of interaction can make the gaming experience more engaging and dynamic. In addition, Users may see the Metaverse as an opportunity to monetise their gaming skills, just as they might do in the Universe.

9.2        Functionalities

  1. Multi-player immersive and interactive gaming
  2. Immersive gaming environments
  3. Play-to-earn
  4. Content creation for games
  5. Interoperable game assets (clothes, etc.)
  6. Asset trading (e.g., NFTs)
  7. Marketplace for assets
  8. Persistent ownership
  9. Autonomous Persona

9.3        Examples

9.3.1       Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go[1] is an AR mobile game, part of the Pokémon franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and running on iOS and Android devices. It uses mobile devices with GPS to locate, capture, train, and battle virtual creatures, called Pokémons, which appear as if they were in the User’s Universe Environment.

Users can create and customise their own avatars which are displayed on a map based on the Users’ Universe position. Features on the map include “PokéStops” that can be equipped with items used to attract additional Pokémons and “Pokémon Gyms” that serve as battle locations for matches. PokéStops and Gyms are typically located at interesting locations.

Pokémon Go uses a freemium business model, i.e., it is free-to-play: it is combined with local advertising and supports a marketplace for in-app purchases of additional in-game items.

The game can be combined with a “Pokémon Go Plus” device: a Low Energy wearable Bluetooth device that allows Users to perform certain actions in the game without looking at their smart device, e.g., by vibrating when a User is near a Pokémon.

9.3.2       Roblox

Roblox[2] is a Metaverse where users download a basic game free to play from a collection of millions of different games all developed within the same graphical environment provided by Roblox. Famous games are, e.g., “Adopt Me!”, where users care for virtual pets potentially traded with other players, and “Jailbreak” where users play in a virtual ‘cops and robbers’ style game. Roblox provides the tools to its community to create their own games.

Users can download every game without any additional software (unless it is to create a game). Users can also create games in the platform and charge real money for people to play it and can charge for bonus features such as digital skins. Creators can also earn money through advertising and micro-transactions by using the platform virtual currency Robux which can be bought and converted back into real money.

9.3.3       The Sandbox Game

The Sandbox Game[3] is an on-line game in which players can trade digital lands and create Experiences on top of them to share with other users. The Sandbox platform consist of three key parts:

  1. Voxel Editor allows users to model and create in-game assets.
  2. Marketplace is where assets are sold.
  3. Game Maker enables users to build games without the need for coding skills and contribute to improving the Metaverse Experience with new creations and game scenes.

Three different types of Ethereum and Polygon tokens govern the economic operations in The Sandbox:

  • LAND: an NFT representing a digital parcel.
  • SAND: a cryptocurrency facilitating purchase of parcels, virtual goods, and services.
  • ASSET: an NFT representing in-game asset such as equipment and wearables for avatars and creations that are used to populate the digital parcels.

Users can generate revenue by creating ASSETS and renting or selling them or building games experiences.

9.3.4       Minecraft

Started as a simple computer game, Minecraft[4] has built on mining and crafting virtual worlds with Lego-like blocks. Initially there were two main modes: survival and creative. In the survival mode, players found supplies and foods to craft tools and avoid creatures. In the creative mode, players get supplies to build whatever they want, they can fly, and do not need to virtually eat.

Minecraft is available as:

  1. As Java Edition runs on the PC.
  2. As Minecraft Bedrock Edition runs on Android, iOS, and games consoles.
  3. On VR headsets like Quest and Windows Mixed Reality.

After an upfront cost of the initial purchase, updates and additional features are provided for free. Minecraft provides a Marketplace where users can buy virtual currency (Minecoins) and spend it on user-created content. Licensed content is also available featuring popular franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Jurassic World, and Major League Baseball. Users can explore and play games in pre-existing worlds created by other players and content creators. Content creators are compensated when players download their work on the Minecraft marketplace. Many users also stream their playing on Minecraft on platforms such as Twitch or YouTube.

10    Healthcare

10.1    Description

As a word, telemedicine has a long history. However, a Metaverse Environment offering healthcare that simulates a clinic allows patients and doctors to have deeper interactions, e.g.:

  1. Users can enjoy a relaxed digital environment to relieve panic and anxiety.
  2. Administration of cognitive behavioural therapy and other behavioral methods to help with pain reduction[5].
  3. Administration of exposure therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD[6].
  4. Group meditation practices for well-being[7].
  5. Digital twinning of a patient whereby their digital representation can be used to test treatments and medicines.

10.2    Functionalities

  1. Remote monitoring of patients.
  2. Remote diagnoses (telemedicine consultations by more than one physician).
  3. Haptic Universe perception by the Metaverse (touching patient).
  4. Surgery in the metaverse?
  5. Training for operations using digital twins.
  6. Patients interact with Metaverse Environment that cause anxiety (cognitive therapy, mental health).
  7. Virtual fitness.
  8. Patients stay in a Metaverse Environment that assuages them (virtual wellness).
  9. Digital Twins of humans to test impact of medicines, fast-forward the patient to the future etc.
  10. Precision medicine.
  11. Internet of medical devices.
  12. Staff training.
  13. Personal Medical Records (stored on a Blockchain).

11    Hospitality

11.1    Description

The hospitality business is about providing leisure, experiences, and entertainment to their customers. In the Metaverse context, an industry primarily based on service and the physical reception of guests – hotels, restaurants, entertainment, nightclubs, casinos, and events – should morph into an experience-based industry. Humans should get from a Metaverse Environment an experience that is as memorable as the one they get from comparable Universe Environments: both physical and virtual locations should provide equally memorable experiences.

11.2    Functionalities

  1. Before
    1. Preview experience of locations.
    2. Participation in virtual events.
    3. Chatbots answering FAQs or routing the questions to the appropriate departments.
    4. Virtual tours.
  2. During
    1. Multi-sensory guide to hospitality services.
    2. Metaverse Environments for “virtual spa”.
    3. Physical massage.
    4. Multi-sensory recommendations services (e.g., tourism).
    5. The Hospitality Metaverse Instance captures the guest’s Personal Status)
  3. After
    1. Membership model (e.g., access to exclusive Metaverse Environments, private information retention and protection).

12    Professional training

12.1    Description

By adopting AR and VR for onboarding and training, learners gain “hands-on” job experience in a remote, risk-free environment and learn how to solve problems in “break-fix” scenarios, even developing new skills improving their performance. Metaverse training can reduce training time and cognitive load, induces positive behavioural change, and gives a pathway for an outlier to come up the learning curve.

12.2    Functionalities

  1. Training using a twin of the workshop.
  2. Tracking of trainee’s performance
    1. Personal feedback from the tracking.
    2. Personal feedback from a human coach.
    3. Suitability for different jobs.
  3. Gamification
    1. High-score leaderboard.

13    Real estate

13.1    Description

A property tour in a twinned Metaverse Environment allows prospective buyers to experience more options without being at the site by having a full walkthrough of a virtual apartment. Depending on the level of twinning, Users can have fewer or more interactions with the twinned Metaverse Environment.

13.2    Functionalities

  1. 3D reconstruction.
  2. Design a building in a Metaverse Environment.
  3. Experience the virtual building by walking around in it.
  4. Experience a virtual building at different times and in different situations, i.e., how the building “feels” at sunset or when it’s packed with people.

14    Remote work

14.1    Description

More than a conjecture, remote work is already offered by several collaboration platforms, allowing employees to gather in virtual spaces, interact using VR or the web, and engage in productive activities through whiteboards, VR workstations, calendar apps, file sharing, chat, and other virtual replicas of office tools.

14.2    Functionalities

  1. Achieve the sense of “co-presence” in Metaverse Environments through total immersion in a shared virtual environment:
    1. Work next to colleagues.
    2. Chat at a virtual water cooler/coffee machine.
    3. Schedule and hold virtual meetings.
    4. Hold brainstorming sessions.
    5. Attend virtual employee wellness spaces.
    6. Have lunch together with colleagues.
    7. Delegate tasks to a virtual assistant.
  2. “Gamification” of learning and training:
    1. Visual demonstration of concepts and work practices.
    2. Learning by doing.
    3. Higher engagement and improved problem-solving through “quest-based” methods.

15    Retail

15.1    Description

Important sections of the retail industry have already made advances in experimental uses of the Metaverse. However, we are not yet at the level of Metaverse Instances but of Environments carved out in current Metaverse Instances. The experiments deal with physical goods and virtual goods having value in a Metaverse Instance, but we are at the level of early steps made by specific segments of the retail industry. To leverage the potential of the Metaverse in retail, adequate satisfaction must be provided to human senses, beyond vision and hearing, because of their essential role in the retail experience. Retail means the ability to appeal to customers’ senses to create the psychological conditions that evoke the emotion leading to the willingness to buy.

15.2    Functionalities

  1. Place furniture and gadgets in a virtual apartment (IKEA)
  2. Try-on makeup using an avatar (e.g., L’Oréal and Avon)
  3. Try-on clothing, sunglasses or fashion accessories using an avatar.
  4. Offer a virtual interactive experience with the object you are considering purchasing such as an automobile.
  5. Touch, taste or smell virtual objects using haptic, gustation and olfactory interfaces.

16    Social media

16.1    Description

The metaverse has the potential to transform the way people connect and share content with each other online. By providing a virtual platform for social networking, the metaverse allows Users to create and maintain relationships with each other in a virtual environment. In addition to facilitating social connections, the metaverse could also provide a space for Users to attend virtual events and gatherings, such as concerts, parties, and meetings. These events could range from small, intimate gatherings to large-scale events with thousands of attendees. The metaverse could also present new opportunities for brands and businesses to reach and engage with Users through virtual influencers, potentially leading to innovative approaches to marketing and advertising.

16.2    Functionalities

  1. Events
  2. Social networking
  3. Content creation
  4. Influencer marketing

16.3    Example

16.3.1   Somnium Space

Somnium Space[8] is an open-source, social, and persistent VR world. The platform allows users to buy land, homes, and other in-game assets. These assets are all represented as NFTs, and they are tradable on the Ethereum blockchains. Somnium Space is entirely inter-connected, i.e., all users exist within the same Metaverse Instance, rather than within multiple Metaverse Environments.

Two different types of Ethereum tokens govern the economic operations in Somnium Space:

  • PARCEL: an NFT representing a digital parcel.
  • CUBE: a cryptocurrency facilitating purchase of parcels, virtual goods and services used in Somnium Space.

Users can build and monetise Experiences with in-game assets, advertising space, stream their gameplay, create a store in their Metaverse Environment, develop online courses and other Experiences and Events (e.g., concerts), and charge fees for these ventures. Somnium Space gives users the ability to earn CUBEs based on their “Karma levels”, i.e., a representation of social standing and the perceptions of other Users.

17    Travel

17.1    Description

A User in a travel oriented Metaverse Environmentcan visit locations without constraints from the distance between locations and see things in VR or AR as a replacement or as a preview of physical travel (as in Thomas Cook’s “Try before you Fly”).

17.2    Functionalities

  1. Make a visit in a Metaverse Environment that is the digital twin of a location.
  2. Make a visit to a Universe Environment assisted by AR (highlights of additional information for particular spots)

18    Virtual spaces

18.1    Description

Users can buy, sell, and rent virtual real estate within a Metaverse Environment, potentially allowing for the development of virtual communities and businesses. Companies can or ask to develop a virtual land within the Metaverse Instanceand create Experiences such as theme parks, musea, and interactive exhibits. The Metaverse Environment can provide a platform for virtual event spaces, allowing companies to host events such as conferences, trade shows, and product launches within a virtual environment.

18.2    Functionalities

  1. Virtual real estates
    1. Trading and renting
    2. Development (e.g., buildings)
    3. Marketplace for parcels and Persona wereables, all implemented as NFTs
  2. Geo-located marketing
  3. Events

18.3    Examples

18.3.1   Voxels

Voxels[9], one of the oldest Ethereum-based metaverse platforms, operates a Metaverse Instance offering 3D Experiences with a global network of Users on a platform running on centralised servers. By means of a web browser, Users explore, interact, and build virtual buildings on virtual parcels. Users can also develop Metaverse Environments such as art galleries, stores, and social spaces.

Each digital parcel is represented as an Ethereum NFT. In a similar way, the Objects composing a Scene (such as decoration elements and avatar costumes) can be associated with an NFT and listed in the Voxels Marketplace and in OpenSea. Trading of the NFT is enabled by OpenSea acting as an External Service Provider.

The current (as of 2022/11/21) workflow of on Voxels Objects unfolds as follows:

  1. A User creates an Objects using Voxel’s software.
  2. The Object is minted as an NFT on the Polygon blockchain.
  3. The Object is listed on the Voxels Marketplace and OpenSea.
  4. The creating User can set the price of the Object and the royalty for future resales in OpenSea.
  5. OpenSea charges another 2.5% on the sale.
  6. When the buying User resells the Object, they will pay the royalty to the creating User and 2.5% to OpenSea.

18.3.2   Decentraland

Decentraland[10] operates a Metaverse Instance offering 3D Experiences with a global network of Users on a platform running on decentralised servers. Users can explore, interact, and play games using interactive apps, make payments, and communicate peer-to-peer through a web browser without specific software requirements.

Decentraland is composed by a set of 126 smart contracts: 101 deployed on Ethereum and 25 deployed on Polygon. The main types of tokens that govern the economic operations are:

  • LAND: an NFT representing a digital parcel.
  • MANA: a cryptocurrency facilitating purchase of parcels, virtual goods and services in Decentraland.

An association of two or more directly adjacent parcels of LAND is called Estate. These parcels must be directly adjacent and cannot be separated by a road, a plaza, or any other parcel. Estates are especially useful when building larger scenes that span more than one parcel. Estates are also regulated by a smart contract. Each avatar can be assigned a unique name, managed with a smart contract called NAMES: each name is linked with an NFT.

The platform is governed by the Decentraland DAO that allows MANA, LAND and NAMES owners to vote on how the world behaves: for example, what kinds of wearable items are allowed (or disallowed), moderation of content, LAND policy and auctions, pay for expenses such as software developments, which content servers can join the network, organising events. Community voting power is computed in function of the MANA and LAND allocation of each user.

Aside from the DAO, there is a selected group of users tasked with preventing and handling security issues on LAND and Estate smart contracts. This group of people, called the Security Advisory Board (SAB), comprise several expert entities or individuals initially chosen by the Decentraland team. This team acts as guarantors of contract security, and it oversees providing rapid response to any bug report.

The DAO owns several of the most important smart contracts of the entire Decentraland platform[11], e.g.:

  • Points of Interest: containing the list of notable locations in Decentraland that are advertised to users as good places to begin exploring the virtual world.
  • Wearables collections: wearables can be grouped into collections before minting. The relevant contracts are owned and controlled by the DAO.
  • Marketplace contracts: The Decentraland Marketplace dApp makes use of several smart contracts to manage the process of selling and bidding on LAND, Estates, and other NFTs. These contracts are also where the marketplace fees are defined and can only be changed with the DAOs approval.

Note that the Smart Contracts containing lists of features, such as enabled names etc., can only be modified after a community vote is passed.

18.3.3   Over the Reality

Over the Reality (OVER)[12] is an AR platform that merges Metaverse and Universe Environments where Users can augment and enhance their Experiences, through the lens of their smartphones or smart glasses.

Two different types of Ethereum and Polygon tokens govern the economic operations in Over:

  • OVRLand: an NFT token that allows decentralized possession of digital assets such as OVRLands (representing a digital parcel that make up the digital layer of subdivision of the Earth into hexagons) and Over Experiences.
  • OVR: a cryptocurrency utility token used in Over.

OVRLand owners can decide what kind of experience a User can experience once they enter into the Universe Environment associated with their parcel. Av OVRLand owner acquires third party content posted on their parcel and projected into the associated Universe Environment. AR Experiences can range from static 3D content and interactive highly complex and hyper real scenes that make virtual content merge with the real world. The current Devices are based on iOS and Android and Smart glasses such as Hololens[13], Magic Leap[14] and stereoscopic AR headset such as HoloKit[15].

19    Workflows

Attend a Metaverse Event

Buy a personal wearable

Buy the real twin of an Object

Establish a Metaverse Environment

Interact with a Metaverse Call Centre

Navigate a 3D Object

Relax in a Metaverse Environment

Social gathering across Metaverse Environments

Train a Metaverse Hospital staff

Visit a Metaverse Environment

Work in a Metaverse Environment

19.1    Attend a Metaverse Event

  1. Human:
    1. Wants to attend event (concert).
    2. Wears a VR headset.
  2. User:
    1. Pays for a virtual front seat.
    2. Listens to concert.
    3. Talks to other Users sitting next to them on private channels.
    4. Express their “preferences”.
  3. Metaverse Environment publishes preferences.
  4. User selects matches from the posted group of Users with overlapping preferences.
  5. Metaverse Environment
    1. Captures the Participants Status.
    2. Creates SFX accordingly.
    3. Informs performer.
  6. Metaverse Operator initiates a promotional activity that engages the participants.
  7. Participants join the activity.
  8. Metaverse Environment informs participants of the result.
  9. Metaverse Operator gives award to winner(s).
  10. Human takes off their VR headset.

19.2    Buy a personal wearable

  1. Human:
    1. Wears a VR headset.
    2. Wants to buy sunglasses.
  2. User:
    1. Enters a Metaverse Environment selling fashionable personal items.
    2. Searches for available wearables on the Metaverse Environment marketplace.
    3. Selects the preferred wearable.
    4. Shares their Persona selected for the purpose of purchasing a wearable with the Environment.
  3. Metaverse Environment displays the Persona.
  4. User
    1. Dresses their Persona with the selected Asset (e.g., sunglasses).
    2. Migrates to the Persona displayed by the Environment.
    3. Sees the Environment from their current Persona’s Point of View.
    4. Changes external conditions in the Metaverse Environment (e.g., lighting etc.).
    5. Selects terms of use of the selected wearable, e.g., the wearable for exclusive use by the selected Persona.
    6. Starts a Transaction on the Blockchain.
  5. Blockchain enables the Transaction.
  6. User adds the wearable to the collection of the selected Persona.

19.3    Buy the real twin of an Object

  1. Human
    1. Wishes to buy a tennis racket.
    2. Wears a VR headset and haptic gloves.
  2. User
    1. Enters their preferred Metaverse Environment (e.g., a virtual sports club).
    2. Goes to a Metaverse Environment (a shop selling sports equipment).
    3. Tries a few rackets sensed with their haptic glove.
    4. Selects one racket.
    5. Enters a Metaverse Environment (a virtual tennis court).
    6. Plays a game with an autonomous Virtual Human using the racket.
    7. Converses with a salesclerk.
    8. Buys the real racket.
    9. Signals that they are leaving the Metaverse Environment.
  3. Human plays tennis in a Universe Environment (a tennis court).

19.4    Establish a Metaverse Environment

A human wishing to establish a Metaverse Environment executes the following steps:

  1. Design: creating the layout, graphics, and interactive elements of the Metaverse Environment, etc.
  2. Program: coding the Metaverse Environment to enable User Interaction and the execution of actions or events.
  3. Test: ensuring that the Metaverse Environment functions properly and that the user experience is smooth and enjoyable.
  4. Launch: making the Metaverse Environment to users and promoting it to the appropriate audience.
  5. Management: maintaining and updating the Metaverse Environment to fix any bugs or issues and to keep the content fresh and engaging.
  6. Analysis of user data: collecting data on how users interact with the Metaverse Environment and using this information to improve the User Experience.

19.5    Interact with a Metaverse Call Centre

  1. Human
    1. Is angry about an orvercharged bill.
    2. Wears a VR headset to discuss the matter with the utility that has issued the bill.
  2. User talks to a clerk (an autonomous Virtual Human).
  3. Virtual clerk has a neutral face and voice.
  4. User utters their complaint with an angry voice.
  5. Virtual clerk
    1. Understands the User’s Personal Status from their voice, face, and gesture.
    2. Activates appropriate strategy with its voice, face, and gesture.
  6. User is unconvinced.
  7. Virtual clerk calls their “boss” (Digitised Human).
  8. User is convinced.
  9. Human takes off their VR headset.

19.6    Navigate a 3D Object

  1. Humans (students) attend a lecture about the brain.
  2. Wears 3D headset and haptic glove.
  3. Lecturer
    1. Displays 3D Object (virtual brain).
    2. Gives students task to report on specific areas of the virtual brain.
  4. User
    1. Navigates the brain.
    2. Feels density of brain tissue.
    3. Defines a portion of the brain – manual or automatic.
    4. Counts objects per assigned volume size.
    5. Detects structures in a (portion of) the 3D AV object.
    6. Deforms/sculpts the 3D AV object.
    7. Combines 3D AV objects.
    8. Calls an anomaly detector on a portion with an anomaly criterion.
    9. Follows a link to another portion of the object.
    10. 3D prints (portions of) the 3D AV object.

19.7    Relax in a Metaverse Environment

  1. Human
    1. Wants to relax at a relaxation service.
    2. Wears a VR headset.
  2. User
    1. Leaves their preferred Metaverse Environment (their virtual desk).
    2. Goes to a Metaverse Environment (virtual spa).
    3. Reviews menu of Experiences watching and/or feeling examples of them, e.g.:
      1. Sound of running water.
      2. Repetitive light shows for meditation.
  • Hot stones.
  1. Physically felt massage.
  1. Selects Experience.
  2. Pays with NFTs earned at an online game.
  3. Enjoys Experience.
  1. Human
    2. Takes off their VR headset.

19.8    Social gathering across Metaverse Environments

  1. A group of humans wear the headsets they have used during the day at work.
  2. The Users:
    1. Create a calendar invitation with initial Metaverse Environments that can be shared with the group.
    2. Agree on the means of communicating with the group i.e., group chat or voice channel.
    3. Select the means of teleporting as a group to other Experience-providing Metaverse Environments, e.g., from a virtual group portal.
    4. Select the venue, e.g., a virtual science museum displaying digital exhibits that allow group interaction (e.g., like the Exploratorium).
    5. After the visit they decide to go to a Metaverse Environment (e.g., a bar).
    6. Signal they are leaving the Metaverse.
  3. The humans take off their VR headsets.

19.9    Train a Metaverse Hospital staff

  1. Metaverse Operator introduces training session.
  2. Doctor (Virtual Human):
    1. Wears haptic gloves.
    2. Demonstrates treatment to participants using patients (Virtual Humans).
  3. Participants (Digitised Humans)
    1. Wear haptic gloves.
    2. Repeat the demonstration on similar Virtual Human patients.
  4. Metaverse Environment:
    1. Tracks participants’ performance.
    2. Analyses performance.
    3. Interprets the performance.
    4. Provides high-level summary to doctor (Digitised Human).
  5. Doctor
    1. Reviews summary.
    2. Singles out participants’ erroneous operations.
    3. Asks trainee to redo the operations correctly.
  6. Doctors and participants take off their VR headsets and haptic gloves.

19.10Visit a Metaverse Environment

  1. Human wears a VR headset and haptic gloves.
  2. User
    1. Enters their preferred Metaverse Environment (e.g., their virtual office).
    2. Signals that they want to search the Metaverses.
    3. Makes a global search across Metaverses.
    4. Signals that they want to go to the selected Metaverse Environment (a shop).
    5. Receives the appropriate AV Experience based on their location.
    6. Feels the Objects of the shop with their haptic gloves.
    7. Converses with a salesclerk.
    8. Buys the real twin of the selected Object.
  3. Virtual shop records the purchase on the User’s record.
  4. User signals they are leaving the Metaverse Environment.
  5. Human takes off their VR headset.

19.11Work in a Metaverse Environment

  1. Human wears a VR headset.
  2. User
    1. Leaves their preferred Metaverse Environment (their room with their bookshelf).
    2. Enters the company’s Metaverse Instance.
    3. Greets the guard (a Digital Human).
    4. Strolls in the virtual main hall and greets colleagues (Digital Humans).
    5. Goes straight to their virtual office (set up in an open office workspace).
    6. Meets colleagues just arriving (Digital Humans).
    7. Sits at their virtual desk.
    8. Exchanges jokes with virtual colleague sitting next to them.
    9. Consults schedule.
    10. Holds brainstorming session from their virtual desk with colleagues from other departments.
    11. Delegates note-taking to a virtual secretary.
    12. Has a coffee break.
    13. Attends a planned meeting at a Metaverse Environment (specially created meeting venue).
    14. Has lunch together with colleagues.
    15. Attends virtual employee wellness spaces.
  3. Human takes off their VR headset.

[1] https://pokemongolive.com/

[2] https://www.roblox.com/

[3] https://www.sandbox.game/

[4] https://www.minecraft.net/

[5] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-virtual-reality-system-chronic-pain-reduction

[6] https://www.verywellmind.com/virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-vret-2797340

[7] https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/03/tripp-acquires-evolvr/

[8] https://somniumspace.com/

[9] https://www.voxels.com/

[10] https://decentraland.org/

[11] https://docs.decentraland.org/player/general/dao/overview/what-smart-contracts-does-the-dao-control/

[12] https://www.overthereality.ai/

[13] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens

[14] https://www.magicleap.com/en-us/

[15] https://holokit.io/

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