Chen Baoquan, Director, Computing Center, Peking University: Metaverse is an immutable principle of future development

“The metaverse is like a race. It is in a state of constant evolution. It can be said that the metaverse has entered the early stages of relationship development, but it did not say that nothing represents the metaverse.”

Metaverse has been a hot topic recently. This new form of relationship, which combines industrial research in a variety of technological applications, has attracted the interest of scientists and experts in a wide range of fields such as intelligence, blockchain and machine vision. Many online companies have also announced templates for the Metaverse. However, it is inextricably linked with the development and innovation of computer graphics to create similar environments from the real world that can provide users with past experience. You can create 3D digital content.

Professor Chen Baoquan, Director, Frontier Computing Research Center, Peking University, Computer Graphics, Vision and 3D Visualization Specialist, IEEE Fellow, IEEE Visualization Lab Fellow, China Computer Federation Fellow.

Chen Baoquan (사진: Li Yingwu)

December 5, 2021 Based on presidential meetings, 3D modeling, augmented reality, physics simulation, character animation, robot control, etc.Private discussions took place between scientists and experts in related fields.

In a special interview with the newspaper, Chen Baoquan expressed his views and opinions and those of other experts involved in the formation of the metaverse, saying:."

What is the Metaverse?

Chen Baoquan:There's been a lot of talk about the Metaverse recently, and there's been a lot of noise. Getting out of the realm of hype, the first thing to be clear isThere is no explanation for the so-called "metaverse".Since it was originally an idea for the new "Avalanche" fiction, each company could interpret it differently depending on their own product or future direction of improvement.

Will the future metaverse be the link between the real world and the virtual world?You may have heard of augmented reality (AR), but that's not enough to show the world of the metaverse. "Augmented reality" refers to the overlaying of text, photos, scenes and other information in the real world of mobile devices. Its landing is always true, the rise of reality, a continuous force.However, a metaverse that includes the real world and has a well-balanced function of digital space.

How to understand the equation of work? We can only imagine what happened in a real place. The real place is not just the place, but there are many things like community, housing rights, law and finances.Then, I personally think the metaverse is a symbol of the development phase that embodies the digital space as a phase that is on par with or even beyond the real space.

Sanlian Weekly Life: Why would you say you can skip an actual spot?

Chen Baoquan:The metaverse bears some resemblance to the real world, but will have a higher level of experience.For example, it can improve performance or improve performance.

Unlike the real world, for example, the metaverse can go digital and happen immediately. Build a house faster in the virtual world. If you want to manage a community, many people from all over the world can come quickly, but in fact, everyone should fly. Today's processes differ in safety and operation from industry.

I think more needs to be said. When the metaverse times we think of arrive, real-world locations can expand, so we have to be careful from now on.

How far are you from the Metaverse?

Chen Baoquan:I don't think that's optimistic and I think it's an inevitable trend. However, the change is not a technological upgrade similar to mobile Internet, but the integration of several technologies.

Chen Baoquan:It's not surprising. How is the daily created? China also developed slowly, starting from the agricultural period for thousands of years. It's not something that happens overnight, but it's a no-brainer that we're heading towards it. Like the community housing, financial management, and housing management I mentioned earlier, communities begin to emerge, but change as they evolve.

Then, in the critical age of the metaverse, communication is not fast, security is not high, management is poor, and there may be many problems. As with virtual assets in the current game, there is no legal right as to whether assets are entitled to inherit when the player dies, and this must have improved.However, the future is not determined by one person, but must come from a more positive attitude.

Chen Baoquan:There are many similar games for real money. However, as long as the general competition remains the same, the world will need a good reward for hard work, and what results will play a major role in the virtual world is another matter.Bitcoin cannot represent exchange, and there may be other forms of digital currency.

However, the differences and directions of these improvements are exceptional. This means that in addition to fun and games in the community, participating in similar activities in the digital world is part of our real life.When this pattern reaches a certain level, positive changes occur and physico-chemical changes begin. Commodification means that people start to recognize it and don't see it in time and alone. For example, if you are currently playing, your account will be lost as soon as you are suspended for not playing. However, after production, this means that it continues to improve and develop its own story, and strategies and issues such as membership and management begin to emerge in the real-life community.

Sanlian Life Weekly: I've recently seen some games start showing that a virtual treasure created after a work staff call can be completed.

Chen Baoquan:Yes, it's a similar situation, but easier to use, just a game. Many products with the metaverse concept are actually a place, like special games or specialized software.However, in the future, there could be open, inclusive, diverse and virtual offices.

In a sandbox world, the land is the center of the world, and people are free to organize their own terms of land, including parks, amusement parks, and even this theater.

Chen Baoquan:Decentralization is something that people have been very clear about because the early days of the internet had the idea that the structure of the internet should be flat. In theory, there is no "hierarchy".

However, with the progress of the Internet, some big ones like Facebook and Tencent are beginning to appear. Although all the rules are very strict, there are certain rules, such as the privacy policy, that users must agree to while using the software they provide.

Decentralization is the life of internet stars, especially in the West, and many want to reinforce this idea.Just like control in the real world, control in the digital world is ultimately controlled by people.Therefore, in the metaverse environment, some people want decentralization and some people want decentralization, and there will always be two kinds of competition. Currently, some people are developing blockchain technology or services through blockchain and other ways to solve their malicious situations and make more changes. That's what they follow.

3D digital content

What are the difficulties of not producing electricity?

Sanlian Life Weekly: If your research is about computer graphics, 3D vision, and vision, where are we in the vision enhancement metaverse?

Chen Baoquan:Recently, I held a forum on the topic of metaverse in strategy. It was a small meeting, closed with a very narrow opening. Conference participants are mostly from academia, but there are also academics and professionals from academia to economics. I must say that the angle of discussion is broader.

First, the metaverse must expose the visible, digital world, and the 3D scanning rules that underlie the metaverse must increase.Just like building a community, you need to find the land on which to build the house. Pre-planned, it is a museum and a library. We who create 3D digital content are like farmers in a metaverse region.

In a digital world where everyone can live and experience, digital content creation is a necessity for everyone, and all content development must be accomplished over time. It is very difficult and far from complete. here.

Currently, there are many virtual idols and virtual anchors in the market, but there is a group after each virtual symbol, and they are involved in the design and production of the product.It's a bit like the look of the previous production. At first it was handmade. It is very elegant and very beautiful, but very expensive. Then, after industrialized mass production, the watches were made available to everyone. In fact, creating 3D digital content is like clockwork. They also need the production process, from bookstore-style production to production.

Sanlian Life Weekly: What's the biggest challenge that you can't get large-scale 3D content right now?

Chen Baoquan:Watches go into production, relying on all the industrialized assembly lines that require electrical equipment, automations and other infrastructure. Creating digital content requires the vision of an artist creating three-dimensional type content. But technically, it involves a lot of human experience.

The next thing we need to do is to translate the previous knowledge into computer algorithms so that the computer can recognize these designs, improve the performance of large 3D objects, and make the production bigger and bigger.Workshop-style advanced content design has become an advanced tool, allowing anyone to create digital content the way they want.

Once done, users can easily create their own avatars, quickly change makeup, change clothes, and even plan different daily tasks and activities. The list of unknown objects, but the main idea is, what do you think it is, there should be a way to help you do it.

Sanlian Life Weekly: Aside from performance, what are some of the key issues or issues with 3D digital content in the Metaverse that we're most concerned about but not mentioned?

Chen Baoquan:He said there is still a solution to what the metaverse should be, not the static, and based on that he decides whether we are metaverse or not.

Future demand is in an upward spiral.When able to improve, everyone can enjoy certain benefits. In addition to our existing services, we will move forward and consider other needs.Human reasoning has no limits, and so do we.It turns out that all they need is a house for the residents. Then they need lighting and green trees. Digital content modeling is a similar process that will continue.

You could say that there is now a metaverse, but when I say that, it seems that the community is trendy and commercial. It may sound like we're saying we're entering the age of the metaverse. We will start selling coins on the Metaverse. It's easy for confused people.

A real concern is the management of intellectual property of 3D digital content.In fact, I have already mentioned the concept of “materialization”. Although the metaverse seems closely equivalent to the real world, how to deal with the concept of a real-life-like asset is crucial. In the past, manufacturing was just a goal, but governance included legal, technology, and other issues, and content developers weren't the only ones affected.We take no responsibility for how we will collect the digital content we create and how to prevent interference, printing or misuse.

Singer JJ Lin claimed on Twitter that he bought three lots in Decentraland, the "Metaverse" game.

However, the biggest issue now is performance.The needs of the population at this stage are only limited. Because it is not a proprietary product and the content of digital content is still in a few hands.How to use these services quickly and peacefully current users is an important difference.Only when this is done will people need more and the needs of the times will be very different from using modern equipment.

Now you also need big robots or other equipment to manufacture the raw material first and then the 3D design elements that need to be edited manually. It requires special equipment and personnel, and cannot immediately complete the 3D digital update of changing reality. He has no preconceived ideas about the needs of the future now. Indeed, the way to meet the needs of consumers is a process of induction and continuous innovation.

Have we overcome the “unpleasant valley”?

Sanlian Life Weekly: Advanced glass scans the real world. How long does it take to complete a model in the virtual world?

Chen Baoquan:It depends on the accuracy of the modeling and the personnel involved as individuals to do the modeling and other work. Sometimes the model will have a large face, which is textured to look like the product.

For example, there is a book on the table, the table is three-dimensional, and the books can only be drawn according to the texture, but in this case, you cannot keep a good book as the background .

For example, if the leg of this table is broken, what will happen inside after it is broken? It seems that some people do not need this illusion, but in fact the table may seem broken, so if you want to create a virtual world equal to the real world, you must take this into account and feel like a virtual world. the truth.So depending on the success of this situation, it is a continuous improvement.

Chen Baoquan:

In 2004, Tom Hanks made a film called Polar Express, a film that uses sound capture and computer graphics. Unlike Disney cartoons, the characters in this movie are close to real people, but they can make you "extraordinary". In the 'Valley' area, people feel uncomfortable, and finally the box is not good.

But now you can create real characters, not to mention static characters. For a dynamic representation of a presentation, ideas like deepfakes will start to reach a stage of deception.So from a technology improvement perspective, I think the “bad valley” is over.

But can you call it 90%? Different applications are different. Is the visibility 90% or the work similarity 90%? There is a problem with the product and it does not need to look real on the site. Just as some people love reality and some people love abstraction, the digital world can have many facets and expressions. This is an other story.

Can the virtual world help us make life better?

Chen Baoquan:Of course, there are good products, but they are generally not popular. I also watched great VR movies and they created a story that leveraged design and functionality.

Ian's "Billy Lin's Halftime Battle" uses state-of-the-art 120 frames per second technology. It's not a special achievement, but it's not that the technology is bad. The director may not have known how to properly use these techniques for art, but Ian boldly researched it.Each new technology encounters similar problems with the applications that require the process.

Sanlian Life Weekly: What improvements have you made in technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality compared to when you first encountered this topic?

Chen Baoquan:Simply put, the first virtual reality was to give people a past experience and to separate people from reality.For example, the first cave virtual reality system used the English word "cave" because it created a cave-like room with four walls, a ceiling, and an interior floor. reality.

However, a cave can only provide one glimpse, it is not creating a 3D world, it is only creating a 3D world, and you cannot change the concept to create a good news. So I found a great way to put on glasses, blinds and put a virtual world in front of my eyes, which is very easy. The next question is how to interact.

Hardware is essential and creating digital content is easy.How to achieve integration in a virtual space and create a visual and visual experience will require a variety of equipment, such as advanced sensors, and these studies are still lagging behind.However, as the content is now first-major-pre-work, it will again drive expectations for those interactions, and those needs themselves too slow to begin with.

Of course, latency is a relative concept and depends on how the program is developed and under what circumstances this device is used. A good business designer can create great business products all the time using existing technology and pushing technology to its limits.

Chen Baoquan:First, it pays for past experiences that you couldn't get in real life.For example, by looking at David's sculpture live only from a wide angle, the digital experience can provide a 360 degree view.

Secondly, in more and more cases, it's starting to become really necessary.Not everyone can buy a Louvre ticket, and sometimes it's not about the money, it's about the museum's time and talent. But the demand for knowledge can explode. If you can afford it in the future, you might want to travel thousands of miles a day, visit 10 museums a day, and become a VIP. In this case, digital means can help meet these needs in the first place.

Sanlian Weekly Life: So the change can only be an addition to reality and not as a real change in life.

Chen Baoquan:For example, watching "post-00" movies should open the strike. When this first happened I got involved with a video site and none of their pros had a teen like "Post 00s". And, surprisingly, they designed it quickly on demand. They don't understand the outcome, but they are driven by the demand.

The view from the museum is really nice, but often people have to have a relationship. If friends around the world could see and communicate right away on the Metaverse, it could become a way to watch with pleasure.Socializing will be a very important part of the metaverse.

Chen Baoquan:Yes, Web1.0, Web2.0, etc. all mentioned are about content. He said that if no one familiarizes with special technology or develops specialized products, special tools or products must be developed in accordance with Web2.0.

When a community on the metaverse creates and attracts 1 million, 10 million, 100 million people, the community has rights and potential.

There is competition from foreign companies, but cooperation is particularly strong. So, although Facebook announced the idea of ​​a metaverse, other organizations such as Google and Microsoft followed suit and voluntarily formed a non-governmental organization to discuss the issue, and various specializations for metaverse regression gradually developed. For example, a way to represent the world, and through long-term collaboration, gradually create so-called models.

In fact, many operating models of the Institute for Energy and Power (IEEE), such as the Institute for Energy and Power (HVE), to which Huawei is affiliated, have been requested, discussed and used by non-governmental organizations. . The government agency that ultimately develops the aforementioned business information.

The needs and problems arising from the difficulties of the new world such as the metaverse cannot be met by the final decision of rules and regulations alone. Civil society organizations need to go further and explore the rules of real sport. Only then can other rules be introduced. It is based on reality.

Therefore, I think it's more important for national companies to join in the moment and speak for themselves when the pre-metaverse rules aren't set.At first glance, this situation may not be economically satisfactory and does not seem very legitimate, but the tradition in Western culture is that everyone intends to do first and then to follow. Be quiet. So, instead of ignoring the excessive noise of today's global economy, we need to start talking early and affecting the rule of law.