In a world increasingly moving towards virtual reality and digitized experiences, navigating space and interaction within immersive environments such as the 'Metaverse' comes with several distinct challenges. Wesley Job Boudville has taken a significant stride towards overcoming some of these challenges, as outlined in a recently lodged patent bearing the number US20230274314A1.
This exploration centers on enhancing the interaction and experience within a 'Metaverse room', akin to a significant playing field inside a virtual reality game, automatically populated by both active and 'zombie' avatars. These are the inactive players left in the environment, somewhat artificially boosting its usage metrics.
The problems associated with this vast virtual terrain are many. An avatar could find itself isolated due to the randomness of placement within a large area, or even obscured due to virtual terrain like hills or trees, leaving the participant feeling alone and disengaged. Even further, the integrity of data collected through these avatars has the potential to be questioned when collected internally by the 'room'.
Boudville’s patent provides a solution to these challenges. The invention uses 'spiders' or independent data collectors that operate externally - much like well-known web spiders operated by Google and Microsoft. These external entities are better trusted by users and effectively reduce the scope for distrust arising from internal data manipulation. The 'spider' in this setup is capable of detecting inactive avatars, maintaining a cleaner, more engaged experience.
The futuristic vision outlined in this patent also harbors the potential for rooms to sell ad spaces that appear within this spider data, further enhancing monetization opportunities. Unlike the centralization seen in the world of web advertising today, this setup offers a more balanced relationship between the Metaverse room and the spider.
Given this new setup, the world of virtual reality could undergo significant transformation. For instance, users venturing into massive, open outdoors need not feel deserted or hidden anymore. The chances of manipulation or rigging of the Metaverse space would also reduce significantly. This could potentially pave the way for real-world applications such as organized events, perhaps even gambling, as suggested by Boudville himself.
The option to insert ads into spider data can improve advertising experiences, making them less disruptive and more harmonized with personal virtual journeys. For instance, visualizing a product or service within one's adventure or exploration could be more engaging than a random pop-up.
Despite the significant progress provided by this patent, it's important to note that a patent's existence doesn't always translate to a market-ready product. The road from ground-breaking concepts to universal adoption often winds through other variables like technological feasibility, market readiness, and the ever-present handful of unanticipated challenges.
P.S. This article is based on a recently published patent. Whether this invention will come to the market is not certain as the patent is still pending. The implementation and the use cases mentioned are hypothetical and serve to illustrate the inventor's vision.