The backbone of the Metaverse lies in high speed, low latency communication networks (ideally the 5G) and distributed data storage systems
Image: Shutterstock
Virtual museums have been perhaps one of the most creative outcomes of Web 2.0. These entities have primarily assumed the shape of brick-and-mortar museums that offer virtual tours to customers. The Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, the Louvre and India’s National Museum, New Delhi are among the leading museums of the world that have introduced virtual tours. Virtual tours differ in their degree of sophistication. The Guggenheim positioned Google’s street views against the backdrop of its unique layout. The Smithsonian and the Ontario Art Gallery went a step ahead and brought Augmented Reality (AR) into play. It was not until the onset of Covid-19 that extended reality gained real traction in the world of museums. However, the advent of the Metaverse takes us one step closer to Kenneth Boulding’s self-contained, Spaceship economy, with the exception that this time around, we are dealing with an alternative virtual universe that is experience and exchange driven.
The front-end building blocks of the metaverse include extended reality creations and Avatars that promise a special ‘immersive’ experience for its customers. The backbone of the metaverse lies in high-speed, low-latency communication networks (ideally the 5G) and distributed data storage systems. The background tools applied in the metaverse include teleporting hardware (notably ocular devices), 3-D modelling systems, IoTs and AI.
The ‘heart’ of the metaverse, however, lies in its distinctive monetary system that runs on crypto-tokens, which, in turn, are powered by smart contracts blockchains. Indeed the metaverse largely obeys the logic of value and exchange underlying tokenomics. Digital Tokens generated in the metaverse ecosystem can be utilised as collateral assets to leverage financial resources necessary for running museums. The most critical set of tokens that power the metaverse economy of a museum is Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) or tokens that are one of their kind.
What is not often recognised, is the fact that NFTs in the metaverse fall in a different genre when compared to the NFTs that are minted and traded in the real world. This is because the metaverse is built on the foundations of Web 3, which is premised on the idea of a creator’s economy, in which the creator (or the artist) directly harvests the fruits of her labour. Thus the NFTs minted in the metaverse are primarily identity focused, unlike ‘real world’ NFTs which pay greater attention to the product that is turned into an NFT.
Also read: Museums are teaming up with musical artists to attract younger visitors
[This article has been published with permission from IIM Bangalore. www.iimb.ac.in Views expressed are personal.]