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Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE
by Martin WellerVirtual learning environments are widely spread in higher education, yet they are often under utilised by the institutions that employ them. This book addresses the need to move beyond thinking about the VLE simply in terms of the particular package that an institution has adopted, and viewing it as a significant educational technology that will shape much of the teaching and learning process in the coming years. Considering how virtual learning environments can be successfully deployed and used for effective teaching, it sets out a model for effective use, focussing on pedagogic application rather than a specific technology, and seeks to provide a bridge between pedagogical approaches and the tools educators have at their disposal. It contains essential advice for those choosing a VLE and encourages all those involved in the deployment of a VLEs to use them more productively in order to create engaging learning experiences.
Virtual Manufacturing
by Kai Cheng Abdul Raouf Wasim Ahmed KhanVirtual Manufacturing presents a novel concept of combining human computer interfaces with virtual reality for discrete and continuous manufacturing systems. The authors address the relevant concepts of manufacturing engineering, virtual reality, and computer science and engineering, before embarking on a description of the methodology for building augmented reality for manufacturing processes and manufacturing systems. Virtual Manufacturing is centered on the description of the development of augmented reality models for a range of processes based on CNC, PLC, SCADA, mechatronics and on embedded systems. Further discussions address the use of augmented reality for developing augmented reality models to control contemporary manufacturing systems and to acquire micro- and macro-level decision parameters for managers to boost profitability of their manufacturing systems. Guiding readers through the building of their own virtual factory software, Virtual Manufacturing comes with access to online files and software that will enable readers to create a virtual factory, operate it and experiment with it. This is a valuable source of information with a useful toolkit for anyone interested in virtual manufacturing, including advanced undergraduate students, postgraduate students and researchers.
The Virtual Mind: Designing the Logic to Approximate Human Thinking (Chapman & Hall/CRC Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Series)
by Niklas HagebackThe Virtual Mind: Designing the Logic to Approximate Human Thinking, through an in-depth and multidisciplinary review, outlines and defines the underpinnings for modelling human thinking through approximating the mind. Whilst there are plenty of efforts underway trying to mimic the brain, its complexities have so far proven insurmountable. But replicating the abstract notion of the mind provides a viable and quicker route. Broadly, the mind consists of a conscious and an unconscious part with separate logic schemes and these absorbs reality in diverging chunks, with the former truncated through narratives and norms and the latter able to amass broader perceptions of reality. These are held together and controlled through a governing mechanism. With the replication and establishment of the mind’s mechanistic rules and dynamic constants, tested through a big data approach from public media, it allows for standardization and machine generated human thinking, a Virtual Mind.A virtual mind is able to cover a wide array of applications, in particular forecasting of human behavior and decision-making. In essence, the whole socioeconomic spectra can be captured, including politics, financial markets and consumer patterns. Another area of potential application would be to augment various game software and of course, it would be applicable for the man-machine connect.The book guides the reader on how to develop and produce a machine generated virtual mind in a step-by-step manner. It is a must for anyone with an interest in artificial intelligence, the design and construction of the next generation of computer logic and it provides an enhanced understanding of mankind’s greatest mystery, the workings of the mind. Niklas Hageback has extensive experience of risk modelling and financial analytics working at tier-one financial institutions and consulting firms, such as Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and Goldman Sachs, where he held regional executive risk management and oversight roles in both Europe and Asia.
Virtual Natives: How a New Generation is Revolutionizing the Future of Work, Play, and Culture
by Catherine D. Henry Leslie ShannonThe eclipse of Digital Natives and the dawn of virtual culture—how Gen A, Z are radically redefining the future of work, play, economics, and social life. We’re living through what is arguably one of the most exciting, confusing, and powerful social moments in the history of humanity, the shift from the Digital Age to the Virtual Age. This shift is being driven by technology, and the people who are leading it are the ones who know it best: the Virtual Natives. This book will introduce you to the Virtual Native cohort and mindset, decipher their socio-cultural and economic experiences, and unpack their expectations of companies looking to engage, market, or employ them. In this book, we explore: How Virtual Natives are deploying the new technologies driving the virtualized world How relationships and work habits are being virtualized Identify ten main Virtual Native-led behaviors that are upending work and culture How Virtual Natives are evolving their expertise into a full-blown economy This is nothing short of a cultural revolution. Virtual Natives are the driving force behind a seismic change that is redefining the world through technology and virtual worlds: this book tells you how they are navigating everything from AI to Augmented and virtual reality, gaming, blockchain and Web3 in easy, accessible language. To understand the future, read Virtual Natives.
Virtual Networks: Pluralistic Approach for the Next Generation of Internet
by Otto Carlos M.B. Duarte Guy PujolleThe first chapter of this title concerns virtualization techniques that allow sharing computational resources basically, slicing a real computational environment into virtual computational environments that are isolated from one another. The Xen and OpenFlow virtualization platforms are then presented in Chapter 2 and a performance analysis of both is provided. This chapter also defines the primitives that the network virtualization infrastructure must provide for allowing the piloting plane to manage virtual network elements. Following this, interfaces for system management of the two platforms are proposed in Chapter 3. To control and manage virtual network elements, five primitives that the network virtualization infrastructure must provide are defined: instantiate, delete, migrate, monitor and set. The book then moves on to survey existing control algorithms for virtual networking. It also describes the main challenges for packet forwarding using Xen as a virtualization tool and describes, in more detail, a proposal for local control of virtual networks. Within each physical node, this proposal guarantees the service level acquired by each virtual network, even in the presence of misbehaving virtual networks. Contents 1. Virtualization, Luís Henrique M.K. Costa. 2. Virtual Network Interfaces, Miguel Elias M. Campista. 3. Performance Improvement and Control of Virtual Network Elements, Igor M. Moraes. 4. State of the Art in Context-Aware Technologies, Edmundo R.M. Madeira and Guy Pujolle. 5. Providing Isolation and Quality-of-Service to Virtual Networks, Miguel Elias M. Campista. 6. Piloting System, Edmundo R.M. Madeira and Nelson Luis S. Da Fonseca. 7. Management and Control: The Situated View, Otto Carlos M.B. Duarte. 8. System Architecture Design, Otto Carlos M.B. Duarte. About the Authors Otto Carlos M.B. Duarte is Full Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where he has worked since 1978. His research interests include mobile communications, security, multicast, and QoS guarantees. Guy Pujolle is currently Professor at University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris VI) in France and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Orange/France Telecom Group. He has published widely in the area of computer systems modeling and performance, queuing theory, high-speed networks, intelligence in networking, wireless networks, and Post-IP networks, including 19 influential texts and monographs in these areas.
Virtual Power Plant Solution for Future Smart Energy Communities
by Ehsan Heydarian-Forushani Hassan Haes Alhelou Seifeddine Ben ElghaliThis book provides a general overview of virtual power plants (VPP) as a key technology in future energy communities and active distribution and transmission networks for managing distributed energy resources, providing local and global services, and facilitating market participation of small-scale managing distributed energy resources and prosumers. The book also aims at describing some practical solutions, business models, and novel architectures for the implementation of VPPs in the real world.Each chapter of the book begins with the fundamental structure of the problem required for a rudimentary understanding of the methods described. It provides a clear picture for practical implementation of VPP through novel technologies such as blockchain, digital twin, and distributed ledger technology.The book will help the electrical and power engineers, undergraduate, graduate students, research scholars, and utility engineers to understand the emerging solutions regarding the VPP concept lucidly.
Virtual Power Plant System Integration Technology (Power Systems)
by Chuzo NinagawaThis book focuses on building air conditioning demand response and power storage batteries as the resources that make up the virtual power plant. The research and its outcomes presented in this book provide an overview of virtual power plant technology. The contents focus on both fundamentals and advanced topics such as role of central power supply control office, battery charge and discharge control system, power system simulation, system design for practical application, etc. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing insight to students, engineers, and researchers in the field of power systems
Virtual Power Plants and Electricity Markets: Decision Making Under Uncertainty
by Luis Baringo Morteza RahimiyanThis textbook provides a detailed analysis of operation and planning problems faced by virtual power plants participating in different electricity markets. The chapters address in-depth, topics such as: optimization, market power, expansion, and modelling uncertainty in operation and planning problems of virtual power plants. The book provides an up-to-date description of decision-making tools to address challenging questions faced by virtual power plants such as: How can virtual power plants optimize their participation in electricity markets? How can a virtual power plant exercise market power? How can virtual power plants be optimally expanded? How can uncertainty be efficiently modelled in the operation and planning problems of virtual power plants? The book is written in a tutorial style and modular format, and includes many illustrative examples to facilitate comprehension. It is intended for a diverse audience including advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of electric energy systems, operations research, and economics. Practitioners in the energy sector will also benefit from the concepts and techniques presented in this book. In particular, this book: Provides students with the GAMS codes to solve the examples in the book; Provides a basis for the formulation of decision-making problems under uncertainty; Contains a blend of theoretical concepts and practical applications that are developed as working algorithms.
Virtual Product Creation in Industry: The Difficult Transformation from IT Enabler Technology to Core Engineering Competence
by Rainer StarkToday, digital technologies represent an absolute must when it comes to creating new products and factories. However, day-to-day product development and manufacturing engineering operations have still only unlocked roughly fifty percent of the "digital potential". The question is why? This book provides compelling answers and remedies to that question. Its goal is to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of today’s set-up for digital engineering working solutions, and to outline important trends and developments for the future. The book concentrates on explaining the critical basics of the individual technologies, before going into deeper analysis of the virtual solution interdependencies and guidelines on how to best align them for productive deployment in industrial and collaborative networks. Moreover, it addresses the changes needed in both, technical and management skills, in order to avoid fundamental breakdowns in running information technologies for virtual product creation in the future.
Virtual Prototyping & Bio Manufacturing in Medical Applications
by Bopaya Bidanda Paulo Jorge BártoloThe original role of RP was to confirm the shape and feel of concept design, but innovations in RP now allow for the development of sophisticated medical devices such as catheters, stents, drug delivery systems, syringes and cardio-vascular devices, and more. RP has moved beyond medical devices, as surgeons now regularly use RP models to brainstorm strategies for surgeries. This book presents new uses for rapid prototyping in state-of-the-art medical applications.
Virtual Reality: Recent Advancements, Applications and Challenges
by Lila Bozgeyikli Ren BozgeyikliAlthough the emergence of virtual reality (VR) goes back to the 1960s, with the recent availability of low-cost and high-accuracy systems it has become increasingly prevalent in a wide variety of areas; with uses ranging from training and education to rehabilitation and entertainment. Nowadays, there are many companies that have their own VR systems with various types of headsets and controllers. This has shaped how VR is being used today and how we interact with the latest generation VR systems. With the rapidly evolving dynamics gained through technological advancements, VR is projected to grow and transform the way humans do everyday tasks both in the workplace and in personal lives. In addition to the VR headsets, there are now augmented reality (AR) headsets that allow the user to see their real-world surroundings while also viewing computer generated imagery. This leads to an enhanced user experience. This book aims to provide a comprehensive update of the latest scientific research, mainly in VR and partly in AR, from the last five years. The content is themed around the application areas of training, education, robotics, health and well-being, and user experience.
Virtual Reality and Animation for MATLAB® and Simulink® Users
by Nassim KhaledAbout this book · Gives the reader hands on example-base experience for simulating dynamical models in MATLAB®/Simulink® and animating them in VRML · More than 150 images describe each step in the model realizations helping readers to understand them visually · Diverse examples and profound problem treatment enable the reader to animate complex dynamical problems m-files, Simulink models, VRML files and jpegs available for download provide full solutions for the end-of-chapter problems Virtual Reality and Animation for MATLAB® and Simulink® Users demonstrates the simulation and animation of physical systems using the MATLAB® Virtual Reality Toolbox (virtual models are created in V-Realm Builder). The book is divided into two parts; the first addresses MATLAB® and the second Simulink®. The presentation is problem-based with each chapter teaching the reader a group of essential principles in the context of a step-by-step solution to a particular issue. Examples of the systems covered include mass-spring-dampers, a crank-slider mechanism and a moving vehicle. The examples are given in ascending level of difficulty and contain MATLAB®/Simulink® codes deliberately simplified so that readers can focus on: * understanding how to link a 3-d virtual scene to MATLAB®/Simulink®; and * manipulating the 3-d virtual scene in MATLAB®/Simulink®. When studied in sequence, the chapters of this text form a coherent whole enabling the reader to gain a thorough expertise in virtual simulation and animation of dynamical models using MATLAB®/Simulink®. Individual chapters stand on their own, however, so that readers interested in a particular system can concentrate on it easily. Problems are provided in each chapter to give practice in the techniques demonstrated and to extend the range of the systems studied, for example, into the control sphere. Solution code for these problems can be downloaded from insert URL. Whether modeling the dynamics of a simple pendulum, a robot arm or a moving car, animation of a dynamical model can enliven and encourage understanding of mechanical systems and thus contribute to control design. Virtual Reality and Animation for MATLAB® and Simulink® Users will be instructive and interesting to anyone, researcher or student, working with the dynamics of physical systems. Readers are assumed to have some familiarity with MATLAB®.
Virtual Reality and the Built Environment
by Jennifer Whyte Dragana NikolićLike the first edition, the central question this book addresses is how virtual reality can be used in the design, production and management of the built environment. The book aims to consider three key questions. What are the business drivers for the use of virtual reality? What are its limitations? How can virtual reality be implemented within organizations? Using international case studies it answers these questions whilst addressing the growth in the recent use of building information modelling (BIM) and the renewed interest in virtual reality to visualize and understand data to make decisions. With the aim of inspiring and informing future use, the authors take a fresh look at current applications in the construction sector, situating them within a broader trajectory of innovation. The new edition expands the scope to consider both immersive virtual reality as a way of bringing professionals inside a building information model, and augmented reality as a way of taking this model and related asset information out to the job-site. The updated edition also considers these technologies in the context of other developments that were in their infancy when the first edition was written – such as laser scanning, mobile technologies and big data. Virtual Reality in the Built Environment is essential reading for professionals in architecture, construction, design, surveying and engineering and students on related courses who need an understanding of BIM, CAD and virtual reality in the sector. Please follow the book's Twitter account: @vrandbe http://buildingvr.blogspot.co.uk/
Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments: A Tool for Improving Occupational Safety and Health (Occupational Safety, Health, and Ergonomics)
by Andrzej GrabowskiVirtual reality (VR) techniques are becoming increasingly popular. The use of computer modeling and visualization is no longer uncommon in the area of ergonomics and occupational health and safety. This book explains how studies conducted in a simulated virtual world are making it possible to test new solutions for designed workstations, offering a high degree of ease for introducing modifications and eliminating risk and work-related accidents. Virtual reality techniques offer a wide range of possibilities including increasing the cognitive abilities of the elderly, adapting workstations for people with disabilities and special needs, and remote control of machines using collaborative robots.Detailed discussions include: Testing protective devices, safety systems, and the numerical reconstruction of work accidents Using computer simulation in generic virtual environments On the one hand, it is a self-study book made so by well-crafted and numerous examples. On the other hand, through a detailed analysis of the virtual reality from a point of view of work safety and ergonomics and health improvement. Ewa Grabska, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, PolandNoteworthy is the broad scope and diversity of the addressed problems, ranging from training employees using VR environments with different degrees of perceived reality; training and rehabilitation of the elderly; to designing, testing, modifying, and adapting workplaces to various needs including those of disabled workers; to simulation and investigation of the cause of accidents at a workplace.Andrzej Krawiecki, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments in 10 Lectures (Synthesis Lectures on Image, Video, and Multimedia Processing)
by Stanislav StankovićThis book offers an easily understood introduction to the core concepts of Virtual Reality, Virtual Environments and related topics of Augmented Reality and Extended Reality. These complex technological concepts are demystified and broken down in 10 lectures, written in an approachable and easy to understand way. If you find yourself enticed and mystified by this new technology, this book can help you make sense of its core concepts and internal workings.
Virtual Reality: Concepts and Technologies
by Philippe Fuchs Guillaume Moreau Pascal GuittonA manual for both designers and users, comprehensively presenting the current state of experts' knowledge on virtual reality (VR) in computer science, mechanics, optics, acoustics, physiology, psychology, ergonomics, ethics, and related area. Designed as a reference book and design guide to help the reader develop a VR project, it presents the read
Virtual Reality Headsets - A Theoretical and Pragmatic Approach
by Philippe FuchsThe purpose of virtual reality is to make possible a sensorimotor and cognitive activity for a user in a digitally created artificial world. Recent advances in computer technology have led to a new generation of VR devices such as VR headsets. Accordingly, virtual reality poses many new scientific challenges for researchers and professionals. The aim of this book, a manual meant for both designers and users of virtual reality, is to present the current state of knowledge on the use of VR headsets in the most complete way possible. The book is divided into 13 chapters. The objective of the first chapter is to give an introduction to VR and clarify its scope. The next chapter presents a theoretical approach to virtual reality through our Immersion and Interaction methodology also known as "3I² model’’. Then, a chapter about human senses is necessary to understand the sensorimotor immersion, especially vision. These chapters are followed by several chapters which present the different visual interfaces and the VR headsets currently available on the market. These devices can impart comfort and health problems due to sensorimotor discrepancies. A chapter is devoted to these problems, followed by a chapter that gives a detailed discussion of methods and 32 solutions to dispel, or at least to decrease, VR sickness. The following three chapters present different VR applications that use VR headsets (behavioural sciences, industrial uses and Digital Art) and the final chapter provides conclusions and discusses future VR challenges.
Virtual Reality in Curriculum and Pedagogy: Evidence from Secondary Classrooms (Digital Games, Simulations, and Learning)
by Erica SouthgateVirtual Reality in Curriculum and Pedagogy explores the instructional, ethical, practical, and technical issues related to the integration of immersive virtual reality (VR) in school classrooms. The book’s original pedagogical framework is informed by qualitative and quantitative data collected from the first-ever study to embed immersive VR in secondary school science, ICT, and drama classrooms. Students and scholars of technology-enhancing learning, curriculum design, and teacher education alike will find key pedagogical insights into leveraging the unique properties of VR for authentic, metacognitive, and creative learning.
Virtual Reality in Geography
by Peter Fisher David UnwinVirtual Reality in Geography covers "through the window" VR systems, "fully immersive" VR systems, and hybrids of the two types. The authors examine the Virtual Reality Modeling Language approach and explore its deficiencies when applied to real geographic environments. This is a totally unique book covers all the major uses and methods of virtual reality used by geographers. The authors have produced a CDROM that comes with the book of virtual reality images that will be a fascinating companion to the text. This book will be of great interest to geographers, computer scientists and all those interested in multimedia and computer graphics.
Virtual Reality in Health and Rehabilitation (Rehabilitation Science in Practice Series)
by Christopher M. Hayre Dave J. Muller Marcia J. SchererThis edited book focuses on the role and use of VR for healthcare professions in both health and rehabilitation settings. It is also offers future trends of other emerging technology within medicine and allied health professions. This text draws on expertise of leading medical practitioners and researchers who utilise such VR technologies in their practices to enhance patient/service user outcomes. Research and practical evidence is presented with a strong applied emphasis to further enhance the use VR technologies within the community, the hospital and in education environment(s). The book may also be used to influence policymakers on how healthcare delivery is offered.
Virtual Reality Technology and Applications
by Domen Novak Matjaž Mihelj Samo BegusAs virtual reality expands from the imaginary worlds of science fiction and pervades every corner of everyday life, it is becoming increasingly important for students and professionals alike to understand the diverse aspects of this technology. This book aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the theoretical and practical elements of virtual reality, from the mathematical and technological foundations of virtual worlds to the human factors and the applications that enrich our lives: in the fields of medicine, entertainment, education and others. After providing a brief introduction to the topic, the book describes the kinematic and dynamic mathematical models of virtual worlds. It explores the many ways a computer can track and interpret human movement, then progresses through the modalities that make up a virtual world: visual, acoustic and haptic. It explores the interaction between the actual and virtual environments, as well as design principles of the latter. The book closes with an examination of different applications, focusing on augmented reality as a special case. Though the content is primarily VR-related, it is also relevant for many other fields.
Virtual Reality Technology in Mining Machinery: Virtual Assembly, Virtual Planning and Virtual Monitoring
by Xuewen Wang Jiacheng Xie Suhua LiThis book focuses on the application of virtual reality (VR) technology in mining machinery. It gives a detailed introduction to the application of VR technology in virtual assembly, virtual planning, and virtual monitoring. Based on the theory of digital twin, VR technology and collaborative control technology are applied to coal mining machinery equipment, which lays a foundation for the digitalization and intellectualization of coal machinery equipment and broadens the application scope of virtual reality technology in the mechanical engineering field. Through the application of VR technology in coal machinery equipment, this book provides new methods and ideas for teaching activities, scientific research activities, and actual production with rich illustrations, related table introduction, unique research ideas, and other unique contents. This book could be a useful reference for researchers in mining machinery, simulation and modeling, computer-aided engineering (CAD and CAE) and design, visualization, mechanical engineering, and other disciplines.
Virtual Roaming Data Services and Seamless Technology Change: GSM, LTE, WiFi, Satellite, CDMA
by Arnaud Henry-LabordèreThe subject is “Virtual Roaming for data services” and “Seamless Technology change” also called “Number Continuity”.“Virtual Roaming for voice and SMS” was covered in one of the author's previous book. “Virtual Roaming” means that it allows a subscriber to visit a network which his home network does not have an agreement with. The “Seamless Technology change” allows a user to keep all his services including reception of calls and SMS sent to his usual number when he switches his GSM to a Satellite phone or to WiFi. The implementation of Seamless Technology change uses the SS7 Roaming Hub and GTP Hubs technology explained in the first part of the book. The book also contains chapters explaining in detail the steering and anti-steering of roaming, LTE Serving Mobile Location Centers, and Advanced Policy and Charging implementations in LTE and 3G. This is to be used as an easy reference book. All the relevant references to the standards are included chapter by chapter. This is the first book on the two main subjects of Virtual Data Roaming and Seamless Technology change. Keywords:Virtual Roaming, Number Continuity, Seamless technology change, Policy Charging and Control, LTE LBS, Steering of Roaming, GTP Hub, MMS Hub,RADIUS Hub, DIAMETER Hub
Virtual Sites as Learning Spaces: Critical Issues on Languaging Research in Changing Eduscapes
by Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta Giulia Messina Dahlberg Ylva LindbergThis volume fills a gap in the literature between the domains of Communication Studies and Educational Sciences across physical-virtual spaces as they intersect in the 21st century. The chapters focus on “languaging” - communicative practices in the making - and its intersection with analogue and virtual learning spaces, bringing together studies that highlight the constant movement between analogue-virtual dimensions that continuously re-shape participants' identity positionings. Languaging is understood as the deployment of one or more than one language variety, modality, embodiment, etc in human meaning-making across spaces. Languaging activities are explored through a multitude of literary artefacts, genres, media, and modes produced in and across sites. The authors go beyond “best practice” approaches and instead present “how-to-explore” communicative practices for researchers, learners and teachers. This book will be of interest to readers situated in the areas of literacy, literature, bi/multilingualism, multimodality, linguistic anthropology, applied linguistics, and related fields. Chapters 2, 5, 8 and 12 are open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.
Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience
by Herman Narula&“A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives&” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today&’s most innovative technology companies&“This important book offers a highly persuasive argument that the metaverse, a new kind of virtual world, marks a profound next stage in this long human quest for fulfillment through creation.&”—Chris Anderson, head of TEDThe concept of &“the metaverse&” has exploded in the public consciousness, but its contours remain elusive. Is it merely an immersive virtual reality playground, one that Facebook and other platforms will angle to control? Is it simply the next generation of massive multiplayer online games? Or is it something more revolutionary?As pioneering technologist Herman Narula shows, the metaverse is the latest manifestation of an ancient human tendency: the act of worldbuilding. From the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans, whose passion for a game inspires extreme behavior, humans have long sought to supplement their day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative experiences.Rooting his vision in history and psychology, Narula argues that humans&’ intrinsic need for autonomy, accomplishment, and connection can best be met in virtual &“worlds of ideas,&” where users have the chance to create and exchange meaning and value. The metaverse is both the growing set of fulfilling digital experiences—ranging from advanced gaming to concerts and other entertainment events and even to virtual employment—and the empowering framework that allows these spaces to become &“networks of useful meaning.&”Bloomberg Intelligence recently predicted that the metaverse will become an $800 billon industry by 2024. But its implications, argues Narula, will lead to far more awe-inspiring possibilities than a spigot of cash. The arrival of the metaverse marks the beginning of a new age of exploration—not outward, but inward—with the potential to reshape society and open the door to a new understanding of the human species and its capabilities.Rigorously researched and passionately argued, Virtual Society is a provocative and essential guide for anyone who wants to go beyond superficial headlines to understand the true contours and potential of our virtual future.