Introduction
The recent advancements in the field of Internet of Things (IoT), AI, Big Data, Blockchain, AR/VR, Cloud platform, Quantum computing, Cybersecurity, and Telecommunication Technology (ICT) enabled the promotion of conventional computer-aided industry to Metaverse ecosystem that is powered by AR/VR-driven technologies. In this paradigm shift, the integrated technologies of IoT and AI play a vital role to connect the cyberspace of computing systems and virtual environments. AR/VR supports a huge range of industrial applications such as logistics, the food industry, and manufacturing utilities. IoT aims to improve production throughput, operation efficiency and mitigate machine downtime. Decentralization of AR/VR systems, heterogeneity of AR/VR data, diversity of systems and AR/VR devices, and network complexity are the characteristic features of IoT. These results in numerous challenges including resource constraints of AR/VR devices, poor interoperability, heterogeneity of AR/VR systems, and several privacy and security vulnerabilities in the Metaverse ecosystem.
Nowadays, AR and VR have successfully been applied to various research domains, including computer vision, natural language processing, voice recognition, etc. In addition, AI-based IoT technologies with the AR/VR has made a significant breakthrough and technical direction in achieving high efficiency and adaptability in a variety of new applications, such as smart wearable devices in healthcare, smart automotive industry, recommender systems, and financial analysis. On the other hand, network design and optimization for Metaverse applications address a complementing topic, namely the support of Quantum-based applications through novel networking techniques, including new architectures as well as performance models for Metaverse ecosystem. Quantum computing has paved the way to a plethora of new application domains, at the same time posing, however, several challenges as a multitude of devices, protocols, communication channels, architectures, big data, and middleware exist in multidisciplinary Metaverse ecosystem.