Technical Article: Re-Shaping the Future of the Internet with a Decentralized Solution

The metaverse is an increasingly discussed concept around the world. The recent rebranding of ‘Facebook’ to ‘Meta’ has garnered a new interest from mainstream media in the metaverse subject matter. The metaverse though in its infancy, may in the not too distant future evolve to be an integral part of humanity.

So what is the metaverse? Essentially it’s a digital world that we can experience through an augmented reality, or at least that’s the idea. This idea of a metaverse can encompass gaming, social interactions, NFTs (‘non-fungible tokens’/digital assets), communication, commerce and plenty more. One should also note that the metaverse isn’t necessarily going to be designed by a single entity such as Meta but is more likely to be the culmination of multiple ecosystems from various entities, which have the interoperability to form the metaverse. A revolutionary metaverse potentially being ingrained into humanity, demands a revolutionary foundation for building innovation — enter Omnisphere. To be clear, Omnisphere is not a company like Meta trying to build their own metaverse. Omnisphere utilizes the integration of cloud decentralization, blockchain technology, applications and web 3.0, to create the framework for what could be a ‘new’ internet.

Before delving into Omnisphere, let’s examine the issues faced by building a metaverse upon web 2.0. Meta’s presentation was perhaps the first significant metaverse development that mainstream culture has encountered. However there are questions that need to be asked, namely is this new wave of innovation to be built upon a foundation of unresolved issues? Despite the innovations of web 2.0, in recent years there has being growing concern regarding privacy breaches by large centralized corporations. Trust in the protection of our data is waning. A 2019 study conducted by CIGI-IPSOS concluded that 78% of internet users were ‘somewhat concerned’ about their privacy online and that this number was on an increasing uptrend of rising concern. When we consider a metaverse integrating our lives under web 2.0, the potential for further abuses of privacy and security is alarming. Based upon the past behaviour of companies like Meta, the main priority of such corporations pertaining to the metaverse is likely to generate profit, regardless of the personal cost to its users. Are we required to sacrifice our autonomy regarding personal data to participate in the metaverse? Additionally, we must question how interoperable the centralized iterations of the metaverse by large corporations will be. Whilst Blockchain technology is justifiably gaining traction in being considered a promising tool to address the failings of web 2.0, it too could be considered somewhat limited when facing the simultaneous integration of security, scalability and decentralization.

Omnisphere is a technology that could be utilized to provide a promising foundation to address such issues. Users participating in a metaverse built upon Omnisphere’s foundation may be able to retain the exciting interconnectivity that the metaverse could provide without having to sacrifice the personal freedoms that companies like Meta will likely impose. A decentralized internet foundation; let’s dive deeper.

Omnisphere is not simply designed to excel at just one specific function, nor to be a ‘jack of all trades’. Instead, it is a system designed to operate at the highest level of functionality across multiple facets of utility and in a sustainable manner. Use cases would be inclusive of storage, networks, apps, computing power (all decentralized), as well as internet smart contracts and subsequently defi/blockchain technology. Consequently a decentralized metaverse could be built, which integrates highly interoperable eco-systems upon a foundation tailored for innovation and growth.

Analyzing the architecture of the technology may provide insight on how these functionalities are delivered. The ‘Omnisphere’ is comprised of three integrated layers. The ‘Omnigrid’ is built upon existing decentralized networks and is the ‘IT capacity layer’ connecting apps and users to decentralized storage points. Built upon this is the Omnichain which is vital for interoperability with other blockchains and this is exemplified by its utilization of the Polkadot ecosystem. When contemplating the possibility of the metaverse being made up of multiple decentralized eco-systems, this interaction with other blockchains would allow for the onboarding of those respective users into the Omnisphere. The Omnichain also utilizes blockchain technology to validate security for smart contracts. The third layer called the Omniverse is a ‘universal smart contract’ which encompasses an efficient network of Unispheres (each Unisphere being a localized and private ecosystem utilising any kind of application and which functions with a high degree of interoperability).

When we look to the future and consider a technological world which is integrated into the very fabric of our lives, do we want that system to be symbiotic with our autonomy or to be solely a product of a self-serving entity. If this question is of importance to you, then you should keep your eyes fixed upon Omnisphere and the innovative world that it could deliver.