• The Metaverse generates a lot of buzz all the time.
• There is no consensus on what this technology will ultimately look like and how it will be used.
• In business, however, digital twin technology is being used successfully.

The use of the latest technologies allows you to combine the physical world with augmented and virtual reality. Engineers working on new engine parts within the McLaren F1 team are spread across the world and work remotely. They share the tasks in a virtual space where photorealistic holograms appear. Engineers can touch, hold and rotate 3D engine parts, or stick their head under the hood of a car. Although it sounds like a sci-fi scenario, it’s an everyday reality where McLaren uses Cisco technology to develop new solutions at the speed of F1 cars and easily draw knowledge from every corner of the world.

We are on the eve of another transformation. Everything will change – from networking and volumetric data to edge computing, operating systems, interfaces and how applications are built, deployed and interact with – says Eric Knippvice president of systems engineering at Cisco.

While the Metaverse generates a lot of hype all the time, there is no consensus on what this technology will ultimately look like and how it will be used. However, the so-called experience economy is already providing answers. Over the past two years, technology has evolved into more virtual, remote and hybrid experiences, blurring the already blurred line between the physical and digital worlds. We’ve seen how V-tubers (designers who, instead of their image, present themselves as animated avatars generated by motion capture) become influencers, and shoppers try on clothing in augmented reality technology.

In business, however, digital twin technology is being used successfully, creating simulations based on real data to predict the performance of a product or process. They are successfully appearing in industries as diverse as healthcare, fintech, port logistics, and the manufacturing and energy sectors.

However, for the vision of the metaverse to become a reality, the internet must be reinvented, including in terms of:

• Support for symmetric data models – equal upload and download as users consume and produce large amounts of information in applications such as virtual production, 3D video conferencing and gaming.
• Increase efficiency by reducing network latency and concentrating computing power and data storage on its edge (Edge computing), so that the information generated – visual, audio and tactile – can be transmitted in real time.
• Meeting the growing demand for network capacity – this trend could be seen during the pandemic, when networks started operating at full capacity not only during peak hours, but also in 24/7 mode.

The technologies we are working on today, such as Wi-Fi 6, 5G and access to fiber optics, will also play a key role in the development of the metaverse – he adds. Eric Knipp.

Cisco already co-creating the Internet of the future through innovations in the use of silicon, optics and software to overcome the limits of efficiency, economy and energy consumption of the current infrastructure.

Shares Cisco for the Future of the Web also makes the Internet more sustainable, at a time when telecommunications service providers generate 2% of -3% global greenhouse gas emissions. The computer chip at the heart of the building by Cisco system consumes 96 percent. less electricity than its predecessor, while providing 35% less electricity. higher flow.

This helps the company achieve its vision of a more inclusive internet that will enable the approximately 3 billion people around the world without internet access to join the experience economy. Thanks to the remodeling and simplification of the network architecture, the experts Cisco reduce network construction and operating costs by almost half (46%).

The Metaverse will not be a self-contained universe of avatars and holograms cut off from the physical world. The virtual world will coexist and intertwine with people, things and spaces.

We can already think about how this will change, for example, the interactions between teachers and students or doctors and patients, not to mention how it will improve the quality and convenience of hybrid working and bring it to a new level.

In many ways, the metaverse can be seen as the next logical step in advancements in connectivity and collaboration, immersive telepresence technologies, and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies. All of this will allow you to digitally modernize your business.

In addition to all the digital benefits the metaverse world can bring, it is likely that this technology will open the world up to new security and cybercrime threats. Here are some examples of what security professionals may face in this largely unregulated space:

• A new approach to phishing: the interception of a cryptographic key would give the criminal access to the user’s cryptocurrency wallet, including not only tokens and NFTs, but also their identity. Securing user identities will require finding ways to track wallets as their avatars move between different metaverses.
• Brand and intellectual property theft: Brands and organizations will need to take steps to not only protect the privacy of those they interact with in the metaverse, but also to protect their brand and intellectual property.
• Typo-squatting: Enterprises, governments and security organizations will need to master new threats such as typo-squatting (or URL hijacking) – attacks that mimic an organization’s online presence and aim to attack using website addresses.

The still-troubled nature of the metaverse gives us the ability to build security from scratch – not add it as one of many afterthoughts. This will be crucial in building user trust and securing business,” he adds. Eric Knipp.

The goal of the IT companies co-creating the metaverse is to build this technology as securely as possible. It is not an easy process, often requiring consideration of all unintended consequences, overcoming biases and safety issues. Some of the threats and prejudices have already left our world and grown in the virtual world.

A good example and a lesson for the future is the design of social platforms. Had their creators known they would be able to spread misinformation so quickly, exploit social and cultural divides, and amplify cyberbullying, chances are they would have designed them differently.

Used by Cisco Ethical AI can prevent many of these problems, as can the company’s innovations in observability.

We need to ensure not only that the infrastructure is measurable and transparent so that we can fix it and improve it, but also that our behaviors and biases are measurable so that we can implement appropriate security policies in this new world and improve it if possible. » Eric Knipp.

The question of education is also extremely important, so people around the world do not think that this technology will allow them to be completely anonymous and carry out attacks behind avatars. It aims to be a place where real people, in the real world, can connect through multi-sensory digital platforms. It is a safe, secure and sustainable connection for the virtual and real economy.