The Web 3.0 Report 02/03/23

The Web 3.0 Report is our bi-weekly newsletter helping readers keep their fingers on the pulse of everything Web 3.0 whether that be Blockchain, NFTs, the Metaverse, or of course, AR/VR.?Today we focus Xiaomi's AR glasses, Meta's AI driven ad platform, Fashion Week 2.0 in Decentraland and VR's applications for stroke patients

Xiaomi’s Stake in the AR Glasses Market

MWC Barcelona is in full swing this week and with that comes an abundance of new innovations from some of the tech industry’s biggest names one of which being Xiaomi and their AR smart glasses. Built to be lightweight via a combination of carbon fibre and magnesium alloy Xiaomi’s AR glasses, despite being in a prototype phase are seemingly primed to be a real competitor in the space achieving wireless functionality something many of their competitors namely nReal and TCL have been unable to achieve. We’ve covered a number of AR glasses through this newsletter from Vuzix to Apple to Meta and the market is now really beginning to take shape. The question remains as many of these stories on AR glasses do, who of these tech giants will take the bulk of the market share? Apple has a proven track record in successful innovation whilst Meta has rebranded their entire company to mixed reality, and Xiaomi, seemingly a dark horse in the race, are the third largest brand in the smartphone industry. But what about Samsung? Apple’s biggest competitor with the resources and brand to make a real claim on the immersive market, has been somewhat radio silent. The ambiguity in this race is still there and we eagerly await Apple, Samsung and Meta to publicly reveal their AR glasses prototypes.

Meta’s New AI driven Advertising System, Advantage+

In 2021 Apple made changes to their privacy policy allowing users to choose whether apps could track their behaviour and consequently personalise their ads. The change left Meta’s largest revenue stream in significant doubt causing them to make huge losses in revenue well within the billions. Since then Meta has invested their time, money and resources into advertising systems driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence, hoping to negate their dependence on the granular user data they'd become so used to before Apple’s revised privacy policy. Meta’s AI advertising system, Advantage+, allows them to pre-generate multiple adverts according to marketing objectives rather than user data such as generating revenue or altering brand perception. By generating countless variations of different advertisements they can test what works well with specific audiences giving them the best? insights as to what variant will perform best. Advantage+ is not without its flaws though, despite promising engagement and increased revenue for each dollar spent when compared to other tools for advertising on Meta platforms, the right ads have not always been delivered to target audiences. One games company reported that Advantage+ attracted engagement by pushing our inflammatory ads to their target audience. Seemingly, though Advantage+ provides increased engagement it comes at the cost of AI’s biggest challenge, the relinquishment of control over one's advertising.?

Fashion Week Comes to Decentraland

In March last year Decentraland hosted the first ever metaverse fashion week, arriving during the peak of hype for the Metaverse following its prominent place among other notable events and keynotes such as Meta connect and the Super Bowl. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, the head of Metaverse Fashion Week, said that it was “just the beginning” and this year proves it. Metaverse Fashion Week 2.0 is scheduled for March 28th 2023 and has just revealed this year's line-up, Tommy Hilfiger is set to release AI generated fashion, Dundas is teaming up with DRESSX on virtual clothing, and Adidas, for the first time, will be participating in the event also releasing their own virtual wearable merchandise. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro had this to say, “This year we are incredibly honoured to continue the legacy of Metaverse Fashion Week. We are seeing the return of many luxury fashion houses, and also the emergence and elevation of digitally native fashion.” Though the metaverse has somewhat deviated from the public eye as opposed to last year, it is refreshing to see so many brands still invested in the prospects of Web3 as the next evolution of the internet.

How VR is Helping Stroke Patients

Neurotech firm Cogitat has been exploring VR’s applications in translating human brain activity into actions without the use of physical movement. The objective is for stroke patients to essentially control a mobile phone or computer without the use of their arms but instead remotely via neurolink. “When a person has had a stroke, and they can't move their arm, they're very demotivated to partake in rehabilitation. But our technology will allow them to imagine moving their hand and seeing a hand move on the screen” said NHS consultant Allan Ponniah. This is one application for virtual reality and immersive tech where we can really see more meaningful applications that go beyond gaming, entertainment or marketing.