Metaverse in spotlight at Mobile World Congress
Barcelona, Spain, Mar 1 (EFE).- The metaverse has taken center stage at the latest edition of the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona a year after Mark Zuckerberg catapulted the buzzword into the tech industry’s focus.
Zuckerberg’s metaverse announcement renewed the excitement around the concept of virtual reality, which two or three years ago was a forgotten cause “because the experience was not very good,” Bruno Mata, the CEO of the Madrid-based firm La Frontera, told Efe at the MWC on Tuesday.
The announcement prompted a drop in the price of VR devices from some 3,000 to 300 euros, Mata said.
Mata explained that commercial interest in the metaverse is already growing but would go mainstream at later date when VR headsets are smaller and prices even more accessible.
The Barcelona-based Future Space lab, which specializes in virtual reality, has taken it upon itself to do just this by bringing VR closer to the public, so people can create their own virtual worlds in a few simple clicks.
“In the same way that tools like WordPress were designed so that you could create web pages without knowing how to code, we have designed ‘Space Creator’ to allow people who do not have any technical knowledge to create their own virtual space,” says Future Space co-founder and CEO Patricia M. Val.
As well as the metaverse, the latest offerings in 5G connectivity were a point of interest at the MWC.
American technology firm Cisco presented its private 5G service offer for the enterprise market during the fair, which runs until March 3.
This 5G technology expands the possibilities for the gaming industry by providing stronger and faster connectivity, making video games smooth and speedy on mobile phones.
In the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a group of activists protested outside the MWC on Tuesday calling for the country to be cut off from this technology, warning that it could be used for military purposes.
Protesters, carrying Ukrainian flags, shouted slogans such as “No technology for the aggressor” and “Boycott Russia.”
Some Russian companies are taking part in the fair, such as cybersecurity company Kaspersky, whose managers have not been able to travel to Barcelona due to the recent closure of the EU airspace to Russian planes. EFE
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