Lecture 1: Introduction into AR/VR and Metaverse

Summary: Introduction into AR/VR and Metaverse. This lecture explores the fundamentals of AR, VR, MR (Mixed Reality), XR (Extended Reality), Metaverse, and AI. You will examine the connections between these concepts and how these technologies influence and integrate into various aspects of our lives, industries, and society.

• Video 1.1 – Definition of the Metaverse

  We take a moment to dive into the Metaverse and explore what it really means. You may have heard a lot about it in the media before, especially with Facebook’s rebrand to Meta back in 2021, but the Metaverse is far more than just a buzzword. It’s a vast, 3D virtual space that is powered by a mix of advanced technologies—everything from virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain. These technologies work together, allowing people to interact not just with each other, but sometimes even with non-human avatars. You might recognize elements of the Metaverse from movies and books, where visions of the future show us what this virtual world might look like. What’s fascinating is that the idea of the Metaverse has evolved from a niche, futuristic concept to something much bigger—it's now a mainstream business strategy. In fact, back in 2021, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, changed the company’s name to Meta and unveiled his vision for the Metaverse. So, what exactly is the Metaverse made up of? Well, it’s a space that enables communication, requires creators to design both spaces and avatars, and blends VR and AR technologies to create the experience.

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• Video 1.2 – Layout of the Metaverse

  What exactly does it mean to build the metaverse? To understand this, you will be guided through a conceptual view of the metaverse, introduced by Jon Radoff. Rather than a single software platform, he describes the metaverse as a digital environment comprising seven distinct layers. Exploring these seven layers will allow you to see what the metaverse is from different angles.

  Experience: The front-end layer where users interact with immersive and engaging digital experiences. This includes games, virtual social spaces, virtual events, esports, theatre, shopping, and simulations that bring the metaverse to life.
  Discovery: This layer mainly involves content consumption. It includes the mechanisms through which people discover metaverse content and experiences, including search engines, app stores, social media, and community-driven sharing platforms.
  Creator Economy: Focuses on tools, platforms, and systems that enable individuals and businesses to create, design, and monetize digital content, assets, and experiences in the metaverse.
  Spatial Computing: Technologies that enable 3D mapping, AR/VR, and real-time rendering to blend the physical and digital worlds. This layer includes tools like augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.
  Decentralization: The use of blockchain, peer-to-peer networking, and decentralized protocols to ensure ownership, governance, and control are distributed rather than centralized.
  Human-Computer Interaction: The interfaces and devices that connect humans to the metaverse, such as VR headsets, smartglasses, wearables, haptic devices, gesture recognition, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
  Infrastructure: The foundational technologies that power the metaverse, including cloud computing, 5G networks, GPUs, data centers, and other hardware that ensure connectivity, scalability, and performance.

  References:
  HoloNext (2024) 'Metaverse 101: Understanding the seven layers of the metaverse', Holonext, 9 September. Read more.
  Takyar, A. (2022) 'The seven layers of the metaverse'. Read more.

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• Video 1.3 – Birth of the Internet

  The metaverse is often considered the next evolution of the internet. But what exactly does that mean? To understand where we are heading, we first need to look at where we have been. This video takes you on a journey through the history of the internet, from its early beginnings as a tool for government research and its role during the Cold War, to the invention of key technologies like TCP/IP, the World Wide Web, and HTML. By exploring the milestones that shaped the digital world, you will uncover how these advancements laid the foundation for the metaverse, where efficient and secure data exchange remains a core principle.

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• Video 1.4 – Social Network Era

  The metaverse represents the next frontier in digital connectivity, but to understand its foundation, you need to look back at how the internet has transformed society. This video explores the revolutionary milestones that led us here, starting with the creation of email and the evolution of mobile networks, all the way to the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT). In this video, you will uncover the technological advancements that form the backbone of the metaverse, connecting our physical and digital worlds like never before.

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• Video 1.5 – Metaverse & Web 3.0

  As technology continues to advance, some concepts often overlap and become conflated. One common example is the association of the metaverse with Web 3.0. Many people think the metaverse is the same as Web 3.0. While they are connected in some ways, they are different. This video looks at the differences between them, by first looking at Web 1.0 and 2.0 and progressing to Web 3.0 and its association with the metaverse.

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• Video 1.6 – Metaverse and Immersive Interaction Technologies

  The metaverse is not imaginable without immersive interactive technologies. Currently, commonly used technologies include: Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (ER), which are explored in more detail in the following sections.

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• Video 1.7 – VR and Its History

  This video explores the fascinating history of VR, tracing its roots back to ancient civilizations and its evolution over time. Beginning with early human attempts to create immersive experiences through storytelling, art, and illusions, this video uncovers significant technological milestones, such as the stereoscope, motion picture cameras, and early flight simulators.

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• Video 1.8 – AR History

  This video explores the history of AR.

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• Video 1.9 – Computer Graphics

  The following video focuses on computer graphics, the foundation of the metaverse. Computer graphics blend the real and virtual worlds, enabling the creation of immersive scenes, characters, and avatars that feel lifelike. This video introduces key concepts like modeling, rendering, animation, and human-computer interaction, uncovering how light, geometry, and interaction come together to build stunning visual experiences.

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• Video 1.10 – Metaverse and Artificial intelligence

  In this video, you will explore how AI is transforming the metaverse. You’ll learn about the role of AI in creating realistic avatars, digital humans, and immersive virtual environments. This video also explores how AI enables real-time language translation, generates personalized content, and powers tools such as digital twins.

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Lecture 2: Light, optics, and human vision

Summary: This lecture explores the fundamental principles of light and human vision, building a foundation for understanding how these concepts relate to VR. You will also learn about geometric optics, perceptual psychology, and VR displays, equipping you with the knowledge to analyse VR headset design and content creation. Your learning journey starts by exploring the basic principles of light and how it interacts with objects, laying the groundwork for understanding human perception of light and color. You will then learn about the fundamentals of geometric optics, gaining insights into the design of simple VR headsets and the challenges of creating lens systems and visual content for VR glasses.

Lecture 3: Depth, Motion and Displays

Summary: These series of videos explore depth perception, motion, and modern AR/VR display technologies, focusing on how these elements contribute to immersive and realistic virtual environments. This will assist you in understanding how to create effective and immersive virtual and augmented reality systems. Your learning journey begins with an introduction to the perception of depth in the real world, exploring both monocular and stereo depth cues that humans use to perceive 3D space. The content then transitions to the perception of depth and motion within virtual environments, highlighting how these perceptual mechanisms play a vital role in the effectiveness of virtual reality experiences.

Lecture 4: Tracking

Summary: These series of videos introduce the concept of tracking in the context of AR and explore its importance in understanding the movement and positioning of objects in its applications. You will learn about Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), which are essential for understanding how VR/AR systems track orientation and movement without external references. Additionally, you will explore how computer vision is applied in AR to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds, enabling interactive experiences.

Lecture 5: Content Capture and Representation

Summary: These series of videos introduce the concept of content capture and generation for VR, AR, and the Metaverse, which refers to how visual data is processed and rendered to create immersive experiences. Additionally, you will explore 360-degree imagery, omnidirectional stereo, light fields, neural radiance fields, and gaussian splats.