近来，元宇宙成为科技圈和资本圈大热话题，尤其是在Facebook更名为Meta，表示要重塑品牌之后。
元宇宙是什么，离我们的生活还有多远？将给我们的生活带来什么变化？近日，CGTN在虚拟教室里专访了清华大学新闻与传播学院新媒体研究中心沈阳教授。
沈阳团队尝试给“元宇宙”下一个规整的定义。他们在近期发布的《2020-2021年元宇宙发展研究报告》中提到：“元宇宙”是整合多种新技术而产生的新型虚实相融的互联网应用和社会形态，它基于扩展现实技术提供沉浸式体验，基于数字孪生技术生成现实世界的镜像，基于区块链技术搭建经济体系，将虚拟世界与现实世界在经济系统、社交系统、身份系统上密切融合，并且允许每个用户进行内容生产和世界编辑。这串概念下面还有一个补充说明：“元宇宙”仍是一个不断发展、演变的概念，不同参与者以自己的方式不断丰富着它的含义。目前，包括Meta、微软（Microsoft）和英伟达（Nvidia）在内的科技巨头都在“元宇宙”上下了很大赌注，并探索各种不同的产品，以应用于不同场景。
沈阳教授提醒，“不管这些产品是依据什么理念做的，最终，都要符合人类本身的需求。我们不太可能去把我们事先想好的一些理念强硬地塞到这些产品当中去，做成一个四不像的东西，而不符合大家的需求，这样的产品肯定会被市场所淘汰。希望在这个过程中，产业界真正能做出大家需要的刚需性的产品。”
同时沈教授提醒大家，有很多公司声称在做元宇宙，实际上是泡沫，很多只是原来移动互联网的产品，谈不上是“元宇宙”。“目前在‘元宇宙’已经很热的情况下，更要去泡沫，扎扎实实推进技术，从算力到通讯技术，再到算法，以及最终产品，希望都能适合这个时代的用户来使用，满足用户的刚需。”The term "metaverse" is the latest buzzword to capture the tech industry's imagination, especially since Facebook renamed itself to Meta last month to signal its business shift.To be clear, no one knows yet what the metaverse will look like, as the whole concept is still in the early period. But its development must be demand-oriented, Shen Yang, a researcher at Tsinghua University who follows the emerging realm very closely, told CGTN.Tech giants including Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia are betting big on metaverse and exploring various products to be applied in different scenarios."But no matter what concepts these products are based on, ultimately, they must meet people's demands. Products that do not meet customers' needs will definitely be eliminated by the market," the expert said.
沈阳认为，在未来几年里，除了电子游戏，“元宇宙”概念还将在工业、文旅以及科教产业持续发展。“以工业元宇宙为例，它的一个核心技术是‘数字孪生’，我们把现实的工厂搬到了虚实相融的世界当中，我们就可以看到工业品是如何制造出来的。”据报道，德国汽车制造商宝马公司模拟了一个数字车间，以更准确地规划生产过程。“有了工业元宇宙，工程师可以非常方便地进入到工业虚拟元器件的内部进行观察。工业部件也可以在设计阶段展现出尽可能多的特性。例如在接近真实环境的“元宇宙”虚拟场景中试车。”Which areas will see applications of the metaverse first?Over the next few years, in addition to video games, there will be continuous development in the applications of a metaverse in digital factories, the cultural and tourism sector, and education, Shen said.He sees great potential in its application in manufacturing, which has long had the concept of a "digital twin" of physical facilities.Manufacturing is an incredibly complicated process. With a virtual space to run simulations of a factory's production process, company managers can identify and analyze how the work can be done more efficiently and safely, without testing the changes physically, according to the expert.It is reported that German carmaker BMW has simulated one of their manufacturing facilities to plan their production process more accurately.Besides, engineers can build a model of a component in the virtual space, and enter its inner structure for observation and optimization before it can be produced in the physical world, he said.
沈教授认为在未来几年，“元宇宙”在文旅行业将会迎来一个比较蓬勃的发展。沈阳介绍说，“我们去旅游的时候，都希望看到诗和远方，而文旅‘元宇宙’恰恰把时空进行拓展，我可以在虚实相融的空间当中，穿越回古代，见到历史中的古人，见到我们的‘远方’。”“比如说你喜欢李白，以前你只是读他的诗，但是以后你可以进入到‘元宇宙’中和虚拟的李白一起喝酒。”所以他认为文旅元宇宙将会极大地增强各地旅游风景区的趣味性和沉浸感。In the cultural and tourism sector, the applications of metaverse will flourish in the next few years, he predicted."When we travel, we want to see culture and lands far away. And the metaverse can expand the time and space we experience. Through it, we can see people from ancient times in our physical world, a world where the real and the virtual blend," he said."For example, you may like Li Bai, the poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and you can only read the poems he wrote. But with the metaverse, you will be able to drink liquor with his avatar in the virtual world," he explained, adding it will greatly enhance the fun and immersive experience of scenic spots.Meanwhile, the metaverse will also allow people to "travel" around the world using VR devices without leaving their homes, which could be attractive to many, he said.
“元宇宙”技术也将极大提升教育事业的生动形象程度。沈阳介绍，“假设我们今天在讲太阳，那么太阳的表面到底是什么样子，我们原来是通过视频来进行介绍的。但是通过教育元宇宙，我们可以直接把太阳这样一个物体虚拟化在我们的元宇宙当中，这个时候我们的学生可以直接看到太阳的表面是什么情况。同时你还可以走进和拉远跟这个太阳的距离，来观察当你位置变化的时候，太阳视觉效果的变化。”For the education sector, the metaverse will make teaching much more vivid and fun, he believes."Suppose we are teaching about the sun today. What does the surface of the sun look like? Previously, we show it through a video. But now, we can create a virtual sun in the metaverse, and the students can directly see the surface of it. Besides, we can also walk closer to or farther away from the sun to observe how the visual effect changes when we change our positions," he elaborated.
他还指出，在“元宇宙”这个领域，未来有两个关键事件可能会发生：一是苹果公司在将来准备推出AR设备，二是明年特斯拉将推出“Tesla bot”机器人。
这两个事件将对“元宇宙”的发展再次产生巨大的推动作用。科技头部公司率先试水AR和机器人，必然会带动其它巨头跟进。微软、谷歌、三星和中国的互联网巨头在未来也会关注这些赛道，以及它带来的市场格局的变化。