Chapter 1: Formation of the Metaverse Standards Forum

Meta and Microsoft are working together to create standards for the metaverse, while tech giants Apple and Google observe from the sidelines. The organization believes that establishing open standards is essential for advancing what is popularly referred to as the metaverse.

The Metaverse Standards Forum was initiated by entities eager to bring Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse to life. Founding members include notable companies such as Meta, Adobe, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Interestingly, Apple and Google were not part of the initial membership.

A recent statement emphasized the goal to “encourage the development of open standards for the metaverse.” The Forum organizers also highlighted that the lack of interoperability is a significant barrier to the effective implementation of the metaverse. “The Forum will investigate how this lack of interoperability is hindering metaverse progress,” they stated.

The XR Association and other standard development organizations, including Adobe, Ikea, Qualcomm, Open Geospatial Consortium, Sony, and the World Wide Web Consortium, are also part of the founding team. This year's event is notably absent of Apple, which is anticipated to unveil an AR headset later in 2023. The parent company of Google, Alphabet, is also in a similar situation. While both companies have participated in various open industry groups like Matter and FIDO, they have never specifically referenced the term “metaverse.”

During Apple’s Q1 2022 earnings call in January, the company's commitment to the metaverse was a point of intrigue. CEO Tim Cook remarked, “We are always in search of groundbreaking innovations… Currently, there are over 14,000 AR Kit applications available on the App Store, providing millions of users with fantastic augmented reality experiences.” He also noted, “We see a lot of potential in this market and are prepared to invest accordingly.”

In contrast, Google is reportedly developing its own augmented reality headset. The company’s Pixel phones and software have received acclaim for their effective use of augmented reality.

According to TechCrunch, both Google and Facebook's Oculus VR joined the VR Standards Initiative back in 2016. The Metaverse Standards Forum is hosted by The Kronos Group, a non-profit organization that pioneered the project.

Both Apple and Google might eventually consider joining this inclusive metaverse forum. It’s not surprising that some of the biggest names in technology are hesitant to engage with the metaverse, given the many unresolved questions regarding its definition, marketing, and governance. Meta has also been known to use a term closely tied to its own brand identity.

As highlighted in the forum’s introduction, these companies risk missing out on “practical, action-oriented initiatives,” which include “implementation prototypes, hackathons, plugfests, and open-source tools to expedite the testing and adoption of metaverse standards.” The group will also focus on developing “consistent terminology and deployment guidelines.”

The focus of the group may evolve based on membership, but potential topics for discussion include “3D assets, rendering, human interface and interaction paradigms such as AR and VR, user-generated content, avatars,” as well as “identity management, privacy, and financial transactions.”

In addition to AR and VR, the Metaverse Standards Forum has also mentioned “photorealistic content creation, geospatial systems,” “end-user content tools,” “digital twins,” “real-time collaboration, physical simulation, and online economies” as possible areas for cooperative spatial computing.

Chapter 2: Insights from the Industry

The first video titled "Meta & Microsoft: The Future of Windows Productivity and Mixed Reality" explores the implications of this collaboration on productivity and mixed reality.

The second video titled "A New Threat: Phishing Attack Using Microsoft Teams" discusses emerging security challenges in the context of Microsoft Teams.