Cosmolocalization: Can the metaverse represent a novel localized reality

Some of us may have really tried hard to understand the world of the metaverse. while others find it a complete enigma. Everyone is talking about the metaverse, but what exactly is it? What effect will it have on localization? 

Mark Zuckerberg may be the most noticeable supporter of this combination of new and emerging technologies, ideas, and even philosophies. “It’s an interactive version of the internet,” he said of the metaverse. Instead of simply looking at something on a screen, you’ll feel as if you’re inside or present with another person.”

This is definitely one of the aspects of the metaverse,and placing an extensive reality (XR) presence inside a virtual world is already happening in both the entertainment and business settings.

Many people have now participated in VR meetings which look expected to continue even as we exit the pandemic., but perhaps predictably, it is the gaming world that has made the most progress in this direction thus far.

For nearly two decades, the online game-cum-multimedia platform Second Life has provided participants with a virtual world that includes user-generated content and contains its own virtual but real-world replaceable currency. Epic Games is positioning “Fortnite” as a metaverse, and the extremely popular Minecraft and Roblox platforms can make similar claims due to their massive virtual worlds and breadth of shared experience.

However, the virtual presence is only one aspect of the metaverse concept, and despite having set a significant marker by rebranding Facebook, Inc. to Meta, Zuckerberg is not the only interested person.

“The expertise of a visible web of services, products, and interactions is probable, credible, and will emerge over time,” says Vangelis Lympouridis, founder of Enosis. “However, there would be no single ownership, and it would almost certainly not manifest in the way that it is presently imagined or strategically recommended through marketing.”

The metaverse’s composition

In a seminal essay published in 2020, venture capitalist Matthew Ball defined the metaverse as a vastly diverse and cooperative effort populated by content and experiences “created and managed by an amazingly wide range of contributors, some of whom are independent individuals, and others may be unofficially groups or commercially-focused businesses.” Other main attributes he outlined include “unprecedented interoperability of data, digital items/assets, content, and so on across each of these experiences,” as well as “continuous, synchronous operation,” a fully functional economy. Surprisingly, while gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft already meet the majority of these requirements, they are still self-contained. All of these individual metaverses will be part of an interconnected whole.

According to Lympouridis, XR technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), are essential for accessing parts of the metaverse’s mixed media, cyber-physical reality – but they are not ubiquitous. “While some envision a dichotomy between the physical and ‘Meta’ layers of the world, the real value is the smooth transition and regularity between the two within a single reality,” he says.

Enosis specializes in spatial computing, which is an experiential platform and is critical to our transition from an existing, reduced dimension of global data to an evolving international data ecosystem with spatial presence and spatial coordinates, volume,and physical and virtual characteristics.

Many other emerging technologies, such as 5G, Edge computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, machine learning, and AI, are converging under the broad banner of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to help supply this new future.

Interacting in the metaverse

Zuckerberg has discussed the necessity of having embedded translation into the metaverse so that all users can communicate with each other in any language.

“This will be especially important when people begin to switch to virtual worlds and interact with other people from various communities,” he said.

Now we can improve the Internet, where we can all talk and communicate with each other regardless of the language each one of us speaks. And if we get it right, this is just one example of how artificial intelligence can help bring people together on a worldwide scale.”  

The concept of real-time translation technology may still appear to exist only in the world of science fiction, whether it is Star Trek’s worldwide translator or Douglas Adams’ slightly surreal Babel fish. However, Machine Translation (MT) is improving at an increasing rate, aided by the use of AI – the scale, scope, accuracy, and flexibility of Language Weaver, Torjoman’s own TMS, today would have seemed science fiction not so long ago.

Beyond language cosmolocalization

Of course, localization  extends far beyond translation. Language is always an important factor, but it is only one of many cultural and contextual aspects that go into truly localizing any content or experience.

You can already personalize your Avatar and personal or common space in the metaverse and invite others to it. Shared virtual communities can also be localized so that individuals are exposed to them in a different way according to their culture and preferences. Content and experiences can be similarly customized to the individuals and groups who access them, all while seamless translation enables communication and interaction. The data and systems required to produce such a localized experience will already be in place – essentially, it is not each individual experience that is being localized in isolation, but all the connected elements that comprise the metaverse itself that is being localized.So, it is certain that those in charge of Metaverse have hired translators in all countries of the world to achieve this. For example, they may have used a localization and translation company in Dubai if they wanted to target the UAE.

Cosmolocalization, according to Lympouridis, is a synthesis of technology, political science, philosophy, and economics. “It indicates a transcendental model beyond the current global or cosmopolitan one, emphasizing locality on a global scale,” he adds. “This locality can be physical or virtual, but the idea is that the most powerful form of belonging is local and has a global impact.” Its concept addresses direct access to global content, knowledge, and perspectives through context awareness and local production or enablement of this knowledge to create new content, services, and experiences.”

He goes on to say that “a polymorphic adaptation can be used to power cooperation, efficiency, inclusivity, practical training, design, and more.”

Spatial computing and cosmolocalization’s practical implications

So, what does this all mean in practice?

The potential appears to be almost limitless.

Consider a medic in training in terms of cosmolocalization. They can access useful information and interact directly with professionals in the field. no matter where they are in the world. AR and VR could enable them to practice an unusual procedure while being guided by a colleague located far away. The information will be precisely translated, but also localized, to account for differences in official national guidelines for clinicians, general working practices, and even the availability of specialized equipment. The remote expert’s situational awareness will be incomplete without proper localization.

Somewhere else, the aspects that will make up the metaverse are already converting how we socialize, play, and work. For example, HP recently launched the world’s first mixed reality customer support for printers, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claims that Mesh for Microsoft Teams can put you right on the production line or transport you to a fully realized meeting space with your own distinctive existence.

It’s impossible to know exactly the full effects of the metaverse and related technologies, let alone the exact shape they’ll take. Vangelis Lympouridis believes that usefulness, utility, efficiency, and potency will drive acceptance, and that businesses will naturally gravitate toward what works while rejecting what does not.

“What will drive adoption are the clear and tangible benefits and measurable advancements in social and personal life, productivity, and a sense of safety,” he explains. “Those who envision a future utopia or dystopia living within the metaverse are far removed from social and technological enterprise, operating on a cultural and philosophical layer rather than an enterprise-driven one.”

Given that the term “metaverse” was coined in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, and that the concept was expanded upon in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One in 2011, there appears to be plenty of room for cultural and implausible commentators to claim that it represents a potential swing towards either a utopian or dystopian extreme.

However, for forward-thinking businesses, the metaverse and related areas, such as cosmolocalization, bring opportunities for accepting entirely innovative thinking and being at the forefront of a new and unexpected era of experience economy.