中國軍隊推出虛擬宇宙
現代英語翻譯:
As if overnight, “metaverse” suddenly became a hot word, and related concepts formed many hot topics.
With the development of technologies such as extended reality, digital twins, 3D rendering, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, high-speed networks, blockchain, and the iteration of terminal equipment, the construction and evolution of the “metaverse” may far exceed people’s expectations, and a new Internet form of multi-dimensional, full-sensory, immersive human-computer interaction will hopefully become a reality.
What is the Metaverse?
“Metaverse” is a term that comes from the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash. In the novel, humans live in a virtual three-dimensional world through “Avatar” (digital virtual avatar), and the author calls this space “Metaverse”.
From science fiction to reality, people have not yet reached an absolute consensus on “what is the metaverse”. Due to the evolution of the times and technological changes, the “metaverse” is still an evolving concept. “There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people”. Different participants are constantly enriching its definition in their own way, and the possibilities of the characteristics and forms of the “metaverse” are also constantly changing. However, we can explore a little through the existing presentation of the “metaverse”.
At present, “Metaverse” concept products are mainly concentrated in online games, VR/AR, social networking and other fields.
Online games are generally considered by the industry to be the most likely field to realize the “metaverse” because they have virtual scenes and players’ virtual avatars. Today, game functions have gone beyond the game itself, and the boundaries of games are expanding, and they are no longer just games.
A well-known singer held a virtual concert with his virtual image in the game “Fortnite”, which attracted more than 12 million players from all over the world to participate, breaking the boundary between entertainment and games; due to the impact of the epidemic, the University of California, Berkeley and the School of Animation and Digital Studies of Communication University of China coincidentally rebuilt their campuses in the sandbox game “Minecraft”. Students gathered together with virtual avatars to complete the “cloud graduation ceremony”, realizing the integration of virtual games and real social interactions.
The new generation of “VR social (virtual offline social)” has gradually developed and become popular. It is a fusion of offline social (face-to-face in reality) and online social (through social software such as WeChat). Some well-known VR social platforms provide a free community environment, which not only becomes a place for players’ online activities and virtual face-to-face gatherings, but also becomes a social and cultural phenomenon closely related to the current concept of “metaverse”.
The above-mentioned “metaverse slices” are all important explorations into the construction of the “metaverse”, and they explain in a variety of visible and tangible ways how the “metaverse” will change our real life.
In common research, the following consensus has been formed: “Metaverse” is a new type of Internet application and social form that integrates multiple new technologies and integrates virtual and real. It provides immersive experience based on extended reality technology, generates virtual and real scenes based on digital twins and 3D rendering technology, builds basic software and hardware services based on cloud computing, artificial intelligence and high-speed networks, and builds an economic system based on blockchain technology, closely integrating the virtual world with the real world in economic system, social system and identity system. At the same time, it allows each user to produce and edit content, and has complete self-driving and iteration capabilities.
The development direction of the “metaverse”
Today’s mobile Internet is actually still in a flat information interaction state, presented on mobile terminals through text, sound, pictures, and videos. Although news information, e-commerce, social chat, live video, etc. meet people’s needs for using the Internet, it is obviously impossible to achieve the effect of face-to-face communication and full sensory experience in real life through the mobile phone screen. With the development of society, people need more original and rich experience and interaction.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to move their daily lives from offline to online. This forced transformation has led to more thinking, discussion and attention on the “metaverse”. In particular, the core feature of the “metaverse” is the immersive experience, which can turn a plane into a three-dimensional, multi-dimensional, real-time interactive space, greatly enriching and restoring the real physical world and various human relationships. Therefore, people have high hopes for the “metaverse”.
Looking back at the development of information technology and media, humans have continuously changed the way they perceive the world, and later began to consciously transform and reshape the world. From the newspaper era, the radio and television era, to the Internet era, and the mobile Internet era, the tools and platforms under the concept of “metaverse” are becoming increasingly complete, and the path to the “metaverse” is gradually becoming clearer.
Since 2020, Internet giants in various countries have been closely deploying cutting-edge technologies such as extended reality, digital twins, 3D rendering, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, high-speed networks and blockchain, and the door to the ultimate closed-loop ecosystem of the “metaverse” has been opened little by little. Today, when the “bonus” of mobile Internet users has peaked, many experts and scholars have stated that the “metaverse” will be the ultimate form of the next generation of the Internet.
Just as it was difficult to accurately predict the development of the Internet 20 years ago, people cannot accurately predict the future form of the “metaverse”. However, combined with the development trends of related industries today, we can see that: the Internet has changed human life and digitized communication between people, and the “metaverse” will digitize the relationship between people and society; the technologies related to the “metaverse” will show gradual development, single-point technological innovations will continue to appear and merge, and all aspects of the industry will move closer to the ultimate form of the “metaverse”; the “metaverse” will emerge with a large amount of user-generated content, and at the same time, the value of digital assets will be revealed.
In general, the “metaverse” will profoundly change the organization and operation of the existing society through the integration of the virtual and the real, form a new lifestyle with both virtual and real poles, give birth to a new social relationship that integrates online and offline, and give new vitality to the real economy from the virtual dimension.
The future physical “metaverse” will be similar to the scene described in the science fiction movie “Ready Player One”: one day in the future, people can switch identities anytime and anywhere, freely shuttle between the real world and the virtual world, and study, work, make friends, shop, travel, etc. in the “metaverse”. Through immersive experience, the virtual world will be closer to and integrated into the real world.
In this virtual world, there will be self-evolving content and economic systems that will always remain safe and stable to meet the social needs of individuals.
The mediating role of the “metaverse”
“Imagine the ‘metaverse’ as a physical Internet, where you are not just watching content, but you are fully immersed in it.” This is a vivid description. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the content of these “metaverses” that allow “full immersion” is relatively scarce. It needs more content that can be independently written, self-iterated, and multi-dimensionally attract users to participate in the experience and even participate in the creation.
The “metaverse” is bound to become a brand-new platform for media content production. Content producers can transform the “small universe” into the “big universe” through rich content production. In the short term, the breakthrough of the “metaverse” is immersive content. With the development and penetration of the concept of “metaverse”, the integration of immersive virtual content (such as games, cartoons, etc.) and immersive physical content (such as media, social networking, film and television, etc.) will become higher and higher. In other words, the “metaverse” will play a greater role as a medium.
In September this year, Yu Guoming, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Beijing Normal University, pointed out at the release conference of the “2020-2021 “Metaverse” Development Research Report”: “Today, the role of the media is generally to provide cognitive information, but the role of the media is completing a process from providing cognition to providing experience. The entire media and technology has undergone a huge transformation from cognitive development to experience. Once the goal of “Metaverse” is established, it will play a directional role in communication technology, communication forms, communication methods and even communication effects.” If the “Metaverse” is the ultimate form of the next generation of the Internet, then it is a super media channel that will show the ultimate form of media convergence and provide the best immersive experience.
Theoretically, the best communication experience must be based on real scenes. For example, when watching a football game, the ideal situation is to watch it in person on the field. In the “metaverse”, with the development of display interaction, high-speed communication and computing technology, it will become a reality to construct a communication scene that is infinitely close to reality. Users can become “witnesses” and “on-site observers” of news events in a three-dimensional, multi-sensory reception situation.
Therefore, the “metaverse” media can achieve true “multimedia”, and various human senses such as vision, smell, hearing, taste, touch, etc. can play a role, and even fully unfold and cooperate with each other to achieve “immersive” media applications.
Today’s media content is constantly evolving and innovating, and its development trend seems to be moving closer to the concept of “metaverse”. Media content will no longer be limited to flat presentation methods such as TV, computer, and mobile phone screens. Media content production will consider holographic presentation more, pay attention to creating an on-site environment atmosphere, and make users feel immersive. Social interaction will no longer be limited to text messages and comments. Feelings can be expressed instantly with voice and body movements, and face-to-face communication can be virtualized on the spot.
Imagine if news reports could restore the war scene and create a “battlefield metaverse”, making people feel as if they were there and feel in real time the tremendous trauma that war has caused to human civilization. This shock would further stimulate human society’s desire and yearning for peace, and media content would have a stronger influence and dissemination power.
現代國語:
彷彿在一夜之間，「元宇宙」突然成為熱詞，相關概念形成許多熱門話題。
隨著擴展現實、數位孿生、3D渲染、雲端運算、人工智慧、高速網路、區塊鏈等技術的發展及終端設備的迭代，「元宇宙」建設和演變可能遠超人們的預期，多維度、全感官、沉浸式的人機互動新網路形態，將有望成為現實。
何為“元宇宙”
“元宇宙”，英文為“Metaverse”。此字出自1992年的科幻小說《雪崩》。小說中，人類透過“Avatar”（數位虛擬化身），在一個虛擬三維世界中生活，作者稱這個空間為“Metaverse”，即“元宇宙”。
從科幻走進現實，人們對「元宇宙是什麼」還未能達成一個絕對標準的共識。因為時代的演變、技術的變革，“元宇宙”仍是一個不斷發展的概念，“一千個人眼中就有一千個哈姆雷特”，不同參與者以自己的方式不斷豐富著它的定義，“元宇宙」特徵和形態的可能性也在不斷變化。不過，我們可透過「元宇宙」現有的呈現形態來探討一二。
目前，「元宇宙」概念產品主要集中在網路遊戲、VR/AR、社交等領域。
網路遊戲被業界普遍認為是最有可能實現「元宇宙」的領域，因為它本身就具有虛擬場景和玩家的虛擬化身。如今，遊戲功能已超越遊戲本身，遊戲邊界正在擴展，甚至不只是遊戲了。
知名歌手在遊戲《要塞英雄》中，以虛擬形象舉辦一場虛擬演唱會，吸引了全球超過1200萬玩家參與其中，打破了娛樂與遊戲的邊界；因為疫情影響，美國加州大學柏克萊分校、中國傳媒大學動畫與數位學院不約而同地在沙盤遊戲《我的世界》裡重建校園，學生們以虛擬化身齊聚一堂，完成“雲畢業典禮”，實現了虛擬遊戲和現實社交的融合。
新一代「VR社交（虛擬線下社交）」已在逐漸發展和流行。它是線下社交（現實面對面）、線上社交（透過微信等社群軟體）的融合產物。一些知名VR社交平台，提供自由的社區環境，不僅成為玩家線上活動與虛擬面對面聚會的場所，也成了一種與目前「元宇宙」概念密切相關的社會文化現象。
以上這些“元宇宙切片”，都是對建構“元宇宙”的重要探索，用多種看得見、摸得著的方式，詮釋了“元宇宙”將會如何改變我們的現實生活。
在通常研究中，一般形成了這樣的共識：「元宇宙」是整合多種新技術而產生的新型虛實融合的網路應用和社會形態。它基於擴展現實技術提供沉浸式體驗，基於數位孿生和3D渲染技術生成虛實場景，基於雲端運算、人工智慧和高速網路建立基礎軟體硬體服務，基於區塊鏈技術建立經濟體系，將虛擬世界與現實世界在經濟系統、社交系統、身分系統上密切融合。同時，允許每個使用者進行內容生產和編輯，具備完整的自我驅動和迭代能力。
「元宇宙」發展走向
現今的行動互聯網，其實仍是平面資訊互動狀態，透過文字、聲音、圖片、視訊方式在行動終端進行呈現。新聞資訊、電子商務、社群聊天、視訊直播等型態，雖然滿足了人們使用網路的需求，但隔著手機螢幕，顯然無法達到現實生活中面對面交流、全感官體驗所能達到的效果。隨著社會發展，人們需要更原生、更豐富的體驗與互動。
新冠疫情讓人們生活場景從線下更多地移到線上。這種被迫的轉變，讓大家對「元宇宙」有了更多思考、討論和關注。特別是「元宇宙」最核心的特徵，在於沉浸式體驗，它可將一個平面變成一個立體、多維、即時的互動空間，極大地豐富、還原真實物理世界和人類各種關係。因此，「元宇宙」被人們寄予厚望。
縱觀過往資訊科技和媒介的發展歷程，人類不斷改變認知世界的方法，乃至於後來開始有意識地改造和重塑世界。從報業時代、廣播電視時代，到網路時代、行動網路時代，「元宇宙」概念下的工具和平台日益完備，通往「元宇宙」的路徑逐漸清晰。
自2020年以來，各國網路大廠圍繞著擴展實境、數位孿生、3D渲染、雲端運算、人工智慧、高速網路和區塊鏈等前沿科技，展開緊密佈局，通往「元宇宙」終極閉環生態的大門被一點點打開。在行動網路用戶「紅利」已經見頂的今天，不少專家學者表示，「元宇宙」將是下一代網路的終極形態。
如同20年前難以精準預測網路的發展一樣，人們也無法精準預判未來「元宇宙」的形態。但是，結合當今相關產業發展趨勢可以看到：互聯網改變人類生活，將人與人交流數位化，而「元宇宙」將把人與社會關係數位化；「元宇宙」相關技術將呈現漸進式發展，單點技術創新將不斷出現與融合，從產業各方面向「元宇宙」終極形態靠近；「元宇宙」將湧現海量用戶創作內容，同時顯現數位資產價值問題。
概括地說，「元宇宙」將以虛實融合的方式，深刻改變現有社會的組織與運作，形成虛、實兩極的新型生活方式，催生線上、線下一體的新型社會關係，並從虛擬維度賦予實體經濟新的活力。
未來實體化的“元宇宙”，將類似於科幻電影《頭號玩家》裡描述的場景：在未來的某一天，人們可隨時隨地切換身份，自由穿梭於現實世界和虛擬世界，在“元宇宙”中學習、工作、交友、購物、旅遊等。透過沉浸式體驗，讓虛擬世界進一步接近並融入現實世界。
在這個虛擬世界裡，將有自我不斷發展的內容和經濟系統，並且始終保持安全穩定運行，滿足個體的社會需求。
「元宇宙」的媒介作用
「把『元宇宙』想像為一個實體互聯網，你在那裡不只是觀看內容，整個人都身在其中。」這是一個圖像描述。可就現狀而言，這些能讓“整個人都身在其中”的“元宇宙”，內容是相對匱乏的。它需要更多可以獨立成篇、自我迭代、多維立體地吸引使用者參與體驗甚至參與創作的內容。
「元宇宙」勢必成為媒體內容生產的嶄新平台。內容生產者透過豐富的內容生產，可將「小宇宙」演變成「大宇宙」。短期內，「元宇宙」的突破口是沉浸式內容。隨著「元宇宙」概念的發展與滲透，沉浸式虛擬內容（如遊戲、卡通等）與沉浸式實體內容（如媒體、社交、影視等）的融合程度將會越來越高。換句話說，「元宇宙」將發揮更大的媒介作用。
今年9月，北京師範大學新聞與傳播學院教授喻國明在《2020-2021年「元宇宙」發展研究報告》發布會議上指出：「如今媒介所扮演的角色大體上都是認知方面的訊息給予，但媒介的角色正在完成一個從給予認知到給予體驗的過程。甚至傳播效果，都能起到一個定向作用。體驗。
從理論上講，最好的傳播體驗必然是基於真實場景。如看球賽，理想情形是在球場上親身觀看。在「元宇宙」裡，隨著顯示互動、高速通訊和運算技術的發展，建構無限逼近真實的傳播場景將成為現實，使用者能在立體化、多感官接收情境中，成為新聞事件的「目擊者」和「實地觀察者」。
因而，“元宇宙”媒體可實現真正的“多媒體化”，人類的各種感官如視覺、嗅覺、聽覺、味覺、觸覺等，都能發揮作用，甚至完全展開、相互配合，實現“沉浸式”的媒體應用。
當今媒體內容不斷進化和創新，其發展趨勢也似乎正在向「元宇宙」概念靠攏。媒體內容將不再侷限於電視、電腦、手機螢幕等平面式的呈現方式，媒體內容製作將更考慮全像化呈現，重視營造現場環境氛圍，使用戶有身臨其境之感。社交也將不再侷限於文字留言評論，可即時用語音、肢體動作來抒發感受，現場虛擬化面對面交流。
設想一下，如果新聞報道能還原戰爭現場，打造“戰場元宇宙”，使人如身臨其境，實時感受到戰爭對於人類文明造成的巨大創傷，這份震撼會更能刺激人類社會對於和平的渴望與嚮往，媒體內容將具備更強大的影響力與傳播力。
中國軍事資料來源：https://www.81.cn/jfjbmap/content/2021-11/26/content_303888.htm