IMPA researchers create their own collaborative 'metaverse'

Cecilia Manzoni

In a few years, we will inhabit virtual universes so detailed and immersive that we will hardly be able to distinguish them from the real world. This prediction comes from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who, a month ago, changed his company's name to Meta, signaling his bet on the popularization of the metaverse, a set of virtual universes that is being considered the next chapter of the internet. With this transformation in mind, researchers at IMPA are developing their own shared reality virtual environment, in which they interact through avatars, hold long meetings, present their work, and even take selfies .

Created by Visgraf (IMPA's Computer Graphics Laboratory) and Centro Pi (IMPA's Center for Projects and Innovation), the project will be presented on Saturday (4) at the 7th VFXRio , a conference on visual effects sponsored by Rede Globo and Intel. And the metaverse will be precisely the theme of this edition of the event, which brings together national and international experts in the production of visual effects for film and TV, games and new technologies.

Visgraf's lead researcher, Luiz Velho, believes that the pandemic, by bringing new demands to human communication, has boosted the development of metaverses, which can be described as a set of virtual universes created from technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, and amplified by internet tools.

“The technologies that already existed were enhanced because people started needing to use certain platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, etc. This is one way to hold virtual meetings, but it's not the best way. Virtual reality technology already existed for other things,” he reflects.

With Visgraf's expertise, the idea arose to use virtual reality to create a collaborative work environment among researchers, says Velho. “The people in the gaming area had already created virtual reality chat rooms . We spent months studying all the platforms, testing with modern virtual reality headsets, until we chose one and started developing the avatars and spaces,” he explains.

Meetings, mummies, heart and arteries: the immersive space of IMPA's metaverse.

Initially, the group avoided spending more than 15 minutes in the shared reality environment, but gradually they forgot it was a metaverse, spending hours in the experience. “The space is so immersive that you forget it’s not reality. Some days we have meetings that last two or three hours. Each collaborator’s avatar has its own expressions, and the sounds gradually increase as you move away from an object or person,” says Jorge Lopes, technologist at the Pi Center.

And it's not just meetings. Those who explore the virtual space developed by IMPA can stroll through a gallery showcasing virtual and augmented reality projects already developed by Visgraf and Centro Pi, such as the digital reconstruction of the mummy of the young Roman woman Karima, a piece from the National Museum affected by the 2018 fire. It's also possible to find three-dimensional replicas of a human heart and arteries, which are being developed in health and medicine projects by Centro Pi.

The virtual space includes a room where the question and answer session of the panel “New Media for an Expanding Reality” will take place, presented by Visgraf and Centro Pi on the first day of the 7th VFXRio program. The conversation begins at 11:10 am, after a lecture in which Luiz Velho will give an overview of virtual reality from the 1950s to the present day, with the arrival of the metaverse. “Eight people will participate in the session in the metaverse, in live 3D virtual reality, each with their avatars. We did several rehearsals, but even so, it's nerve-wracking because it could go wrong,” comments the lead researcher of Visgraf, apprehensive but excited about the novelty.

Although it may sound dystopian, the trend is that, in the near future, more and more spheres of real life can be experienced in the metaverse, according to experts. A Bank of America report from September lists this technology among the 14 that, according to the institution, will revolutionize life on the planet. The document states that the metaverse, along with the other 13 technologies, will generate a strong economy encompassing both the world of work and leisure, while simultaneously transforming traditional industries and markets such as finance, banking, commerce, education, and the health and fitness sectors.

This opinion is shared by the president of the Brazilian Association of Visual Technology and director of VFXRio, Matteo Moriconi. Moriconi wrote amanifesto about how virtual and augmented reality are creating unprecedented paths for the human experience, such as the metaverse . “Facebook and other tech giants are investing incredible sums in the metaverse. Our idea with this event is to present a vision of the future and discuss how this technology will impact the way we see the world. It will be unmissable,” he wrote.

VFXRio takes place on November Wednesdays and Thursdays. Registration is free and open on the event website . On Sunday (Thursdays), Globo professionals will share their experience of creating visual effects during the pandemic, with ways of recording and post-producing almost 100% remotely, from pre-production to the finalization of a project.