“Metaversities” land in Europe: the University of the Basque Country will use Meta glasses in some classes

It is no secret that the mixed reality glasses They have not yet become a mass product like the smartphone. Although in this market we find increasingly attractive proposals, such as the Meta Quest 3 and the Apple Vision Pro, their sales figures remain quite discreet. This reality could be analyzed from different perspectives, but it is clear that this world that combines virtual reality with augmented reality has yet to conquer the general public.

As part of its effort to advance technologies that combine virtual reality with augmented reality, Meta has announced a series of programs with university institutions. In Europe it is developing together with VictoryXR what it has called “digital twin metaversities,” an initiative that creates virtual replicas of real environments to offer an immersive experience for students and educators. The University of the Basque Country is part of this commitment.

The University of the Basque Country and the mixed reality of Meta

The company led by Mark Zuckerberg account in a blog post that the University of the Basque Country will use immersive technologies in its classes physiotherapy and anatomy. Those who participate in this activity will use Meta Quest devices and will be able to move around a digital environment that represents their physical campus. One of the advantages of metaversities is that students should be able to attend classes at their university remotely from anywhere.

Before landing in Europe, metaversities have begun to be implemented in some universities in the United States. This allows us to see some examples of the work done. For example, users have been able to immerse themselves in virtual environments on fire safety training, crime scene studiesdrone operation, nursing training and interviews with a virtual human resources director powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Leeds Metaversity University

At the moment, the graphic quality is presented as a mix between Second Life and a video game from past decades. However, Meta states that several academic studies (PwC, International Society for Technology in Education) have stated that virtual reality can positively improve a variety of learning outcomes, such as understandingknowledge retention, student engagement, attention span and motivation.

A university campus in the metaverse

It should be noted that metaversities are also reaching other European universities. Specifically, to the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom, and the University of Hannover, in Germany. “We look forward to seeing how these initiatives and resources will inspire new sources of learning and collaboration in Europe,” they said.

Education is one of the sectors where mixed reality devices seem to have a good future. And we say future because, as we pointed out above, they still have a lot to evolve. Meta’s metaverse split has been an issue for three years money burning machineand everything looks like it will continue like this for several more quarters until the business finally gets off the ground.

Apple, Meta’s main competitor in the mixed reality market, is in a similar situation. We do not know how much money he has invested exactly in creating the Vision Pro, but Tim Cook has indicated that it is of an early adopter product, “a way to have tomorrow’s technology today.” Mark Zuckerberg, remember, has said that the Metaverse will be “exciting” in 2030.

Images | Goal

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