Liveblogging the Metaverse Roadmap Project: Mirror Worlds and Standards

Following up the discussion of how to augment our real world, the afternoon kicked off with a discussion of how to mirror the real world online. Caveat: I had to duck out of the room, so these are definitely both more of quick summaries than in-depth coverage. There was much more information than I could get down. Jeremy Snyder (Metaversum) discussed selective mirroring with Twinity, Don Brutzman (X3D) talked about making connections work for interoperability.

Selective Mirroring

“We choose what we’re going to take from the mirror world and put it online,” said Snyder. “And I’d post that most of you already do it in your life.”

It’s selective reflection. That, he says, makes it easier to transmit information back and forth. Furries, for example, don’t translate easily to the everyday life.

What does it mean, though? Out of a cloud of definitions of the real world, how much do you want to take with you. Some systems of the real world work great. Sometimes you have positive reputation. Sometimes you don’t want to take that baggage with you.

“That’s what gives mirror worlds the greatest potential,” said Snyder. “Changing your identity and choosing your identity.”

X3D and Interoperability

The big picture for Brutzman is connection. The Web does it, and he says X3D is poised to help out.

“It’s a pretty simple story,” he said. “We use XML.”

The Web3D Consortium is a non-profit with a royalty-free specifications.  To professionalize the products of the working groups,  Web3D turned to ISO for standard verification. It was further boosted by collaboration with the World Wide Web Consortium. Working with open-source helped to push through other conflicts.
A variety of working groups address platforms like Google Earth, avatars, medical records, and user interfaces.

Right now Brutzman says businesses are missing.

“We have a small set of businesses that are  very innovative,” he  said. “We’ve had other big companies come and go. We’re still here.”

The biggest challenge for X3D, though, is scaling up.

Brutzman’s recommendation for interoperability is the basic idea: “Standards interoperability is essential for Metaverse growth and scalability.” But, Brutzman adds, “it will take work.”

Web3D is pursuing a multi-year initiative to boost interoperability and standards for virtual worlds.