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A Brazilian university called the University of Sao Paolo (USP) will conduct research inside the Metaverse in the near future, according to a report. According to the USP’s official website, the research will be conducted by research groups interested in human behavior, 3D modeling, psychology, and the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices. The university will make sure that these interests will align with the technologies to guarantee that participants understand how the Metaverse impacts human interactions.
Marcos A. Simplicio Jr., Professor at the University of Sao Paolo, highlighted that this is the first time the university had received an NFT (non-fungible token) through a partnership. This token is a piece of real estate property in the United State of Mars (USM) Metaverse, which is being constructed in collaboration with other academic institutions.
Simplicio stated, “USP is the first university in South America to have collaborated with USM to support the development of its Metaverse.” This collaboration will consist of a joint venture with researchers stemming from an agreement referred to as the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), which is funded by Ripple.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) Panelists Drum Support for the Metaverse
According to the report, the partnership is part of an ongoing agreement called UBRI consisting of different universities. In recent months, there has been a lot of buzz around the Metaverse — which is even supported by the current debate going on at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting.
According to a report by Cointelegraph, opportunities surrounding the Metaverse were briefly discussed at the WEF’s Annual Meeting, which was finalized on Thursday. More particularly, the panel referred to as “The Possibilities of the Metaverse” explored some important questions about how the Metaverse technologies can be leveraged to improve children’s learning. Hoda AlKhzaimi, assistant research professor at New York University, Abu Dhabi; Philip Rosedale, co-founder of High Fidelity; Edward Lewin, vice president of Lego Group; Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap; and Pascal Kaufmann, founder of Mindfire Foundation were the members of the panel.
Edward Lewin said: “One in three people using the internet are children and young adults, so I would want us to emphasize building from the perspective of kids, considering they’ll be the future users of the Metaverse and all other advanced technologies.”
Lewin went on to address how AR can change the way kids gain knowledge today, through an example of a volcano. He said that if kids learn about a volcano through a 2D book and witness it in an AR setting will provide them with two different experiences, thereby helping them get a clear perspective.
“It could be a brilliant way for learning for future generations,” he added.
Responding to a question regarding the advancements around the Metaverse, Johnson said that the building blocks are in place. “It is still in developmental stages, but technology is certainly moving ahead towards a digital future,” she added. Additionally, she stated the advantages of using AR technology in the medical field and predicted that the Metaverse would make complicated tasks easier across different sectors.
The University of Sao Paolo (USP) and the United States of Mars (USM), having rebranded from Radio Caca only recently, have announced a joint venture that aims to conduct research surrounding the technical, legal, and economic aspects of the Metaverse.