New technologies are still treated with caution, but forecasts show that by 2025, the turnover of business in the metaverse should be about 400 billion dollars worldwide.

And the first marketplace in the Brazilian metaverse belongs to a startup from Florianopolis. Speaking of the Metaverse, the first thing that comes to mind is Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook (currently Meta) when he announced in 2021 that he would hire 10,000 professionals and invest $50 million in new virtual reality.

But in the game world, the metaverse was used long before it was called the metaverse. These are consolidated digital platforms that attract millions of users living in a hyper-real and immersive environment.

The Metaverse brings the expectation of a parallel world with spaces to be separated

The entertainment industry has also taken responsibility for the new reality. National and international singers have begun to perform in the metaverse with more affordable “ticketing” and bringing millions of people together in one event.

Singer Travis Scott, for example, has managed to amass more than 14 million concurrent users in the metaverse during the pandemic. He was one of the first to embark on this “path of no return.”

According to Juan Pablo Boira, PhD in Innovation, in five years we will no longer be saying, “I am going to enter the metaverse.” We will coexist simultaneously in the metaverse.

“Just as the mobile internet was the evolution of the internet, the metaverse is the evolution of the mobile internet. So, essentially, this is the next dimension of technology. We will be in touch all the time,” he predicts.

As a speaker, Boeira has already participated in several workshops and corporate events in the metaverse or in a hybrid format, which allows anyone on the planet to participate. The democratization of this technology still depends on ease of access.

The advent of the 5G network should provide a metaverse more integrated with physical reality. And with the popularization of the necessary equipment in it, it becomes more and more accessible. Today you can already find virtual reality or virtual reality glasses at a price of 50 reais. The most reputable brands in this segment cost about 2,000 reais.

How to acquire space in the new reality?

But what would be the benefits of a metaverse? Why should people and companies be part of it? Basically, for new opportunities to communicate with customers and the ability to position themselves as innovators. According to Fapesc (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina) Innovation Manager Gabriela Mager, many companies still want to understand what this environment is like.

“How to get there? How will we be there? Will we have an avatar? How will we behave in this environment? What will I buy there? What will I learn? How will I feel? But of course, this is the future: the interaction of the physical world and virtual world, but both real,” says Gabriela.

And even if it is in its infancy, the foundation itself is already feeling the movement of companies developing applications with metaverse functionality. This year, a public communication that allocates public funds for application in research and development in the field of innovation and technology received several proposals with ideas aimed at the metaverse.

But how does the company make itself felt in the metaverse? First, she must have space in the new reality, meaning she must choose in which world she will buy or rent land. Some platforms already have ready-made templates for shops, offices, restaurants and others.

It is also possible to make a custom space. Big brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, and O Boticário are already navigating the metaverse with great skill. And they are closely watching the evolution of this new world. Even the wedding in the metaverse was already reported in the press in March of this year.

The bride and groom watched the ceremony from home, each saw different screens and perceptions, and the guests were given non-fungible tokens (NFT) as a memento from the wedding. For the event, the couple chose Decentraland, one of the main venues of the metaverse.

Virtual reality glasses allow a person to walk in a new space – Photo: REPRODUCTION PHOTO / NDTV

The tool allows you to experience adverse situations from a distance. The Metaverse is not only emerging as a marketing or business opportunity. It is beginning to be seen as a powerful tool for training workers or testing security process improvements.

The R&D department of Celesc, in charge of Santa Catarina’s electricity supply, has created an immersive environment with gamification concepts that simulates 14 different scenarios: rain, sun, day, night, and adverse situations such as the presence of bees and even an explosion. transformer.

The application is used to train electricians responsible for the maintenance of electrical networks. Basket, gloves, stick are real, but the environment is virtual, which the professional gets access to through augmented reality glasses.

According to Celesc consultant Edson Aquino, when an intern enters the real world, they already have all that experience in the virtual world. Thus, it is much safer to enter everyday tasks. “There are processes that he will perform that he will never face in his entire career. So we can insert these aggravating circumstances into the virtual machine, ”he emphasizes.

The project is still intended for internal use, but the solution, after reaching all levels of improvement, will be to make it available to the market. “The goal of Celesc is to allow other distributors to also enjoy the benefits that Celesc has today,” adds Thiago Jeremias, Celesc Research and Development Manager.

Knowledge is a must

The industry is also beginning to take notice of metaverse innovation. According to researcher from Fiesc (Federation of Industry of Santa Catarina) and Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, Marcio Arantes, the main advantage of the metaverse is the possibility of complete immersion.

“Big companies already have advanced robots that cognitively look like a child. Then you add the idea of ​​a metaverse, and this robot becomes an entity in the real world that performs a dangerous action, while the one who commands it is safe, inside a helmet, in a very big dive.

In the construction industry, metaverse technology is already a reality. This helps in attracting customers who can be located anywhere in the world. Today, a buyer can “walk into” the apartment they want to buy, check the size, structure, and even customize the property.

The construction company rents an apartment ready-made, already with individual finishing. And all this without even physically stepping on the site.

“You can take your engineers, walk around this company, see what’s going on in the factory. You can have one engineer in Sao Paulo, another in Rio de Janeiro, and they all interact with the plant in Bahia. In this way, you can see exactly how the process is going, see the shortcomings, improvements, and thus plan a job or a company better,” explains Marcio Arantes, talking about the advantages of the metaverse for the industry and the potential that this technology holds. will have a connection with industry 4.0.

The fact is that this new world is already here, and companies that claim to be innovative need to know it. Being present in hyperreality is an option, but so far the bets placed on the metaverse have paid off. The doors to this 3D reality are already open.

Florianopolis has developed the country’s first metaverse

Brazil has already developed 3D worlds right here. The first of these was created by Florianopolis-based startup Beupse Technology, affiliated with Acate (Technological Association of Santa Catarina), which develops 3D reproductions of real estate and virtual reality environments.

Bite.Land was the first Brazilian metaverse, officially launched in June of this year. There, people can walk, buy, communicate, and companies get organic traffic without having to invest in marketing. Today, Beupse has several projects focused on experimenting, designing, and testing products in simulated environments.

“When we talk about the application of metaverse technology, we are talking about increasing revenue and reducing company costs. This is the main goal of this technology,” comments Beupse developer and CEO Felipe Cunha.

The Bite.Land platform will bring together all the solutions created by the startup, as well as adding shops, events, construction companies, real estate, schools, gyms, virtual offices, art galleries, games, residences, architects, services, delivery, and more.