A new position paper, published jointly by the European Technology Platform Photonics21 and the VR/AR Industrial Coalition, outlines how photonics plays a critical role in the future of Virtual Worlds and thus also Web 4.0, the next generation of the internet.
Titled ‘Optics and Photonics Technologies Serving Virtual Worlds’, the paper explains how photonic technologies are crucial for the devices which support Virtual Worlds, such as head-mounted displays, autostereoscopic displays and sensors. They are also essential for the needed improvements in content delivery within Virtual Worlds.
Virtual Worlds are immersive environments based on extended reality (XR) technology. They will be a key part of the transition to Web 4.0, according to the European Commission’s strategy released in July last year, which targets keeping the EU at the forefront of Web 4.0 development.