Business Standardization

5 Web Platforms & The Internet Protocol Suite

New Internet channels have emerged on the heels of new network communications

technologies, aka protocols. For example, Instant Messaging (Whatsapp, TikTok) based

on a new XMPP protocol has become as popular as emails based on the SMTP/POP

protocols. Others will follow and will create new businesses, i.e. an Edge Computing

market, which is expected to connect by 2025 an estimated 75 billion IoT devices

The set of rules which are programmed into the operating systems of all devices (Linux,

Android, iOS,..), known as the Internet Protocol Suite, allow firms to differentiate

themselves. As shown below, of the suite's 4 components (layers), most of the innovations

have occurred:

. at the top Data Application Layer (Instant Messaging, Mobile Apps, the

Website address in https, AI, Codec and data compression for media, Kubernetes to

deploy in real time applications over the Internet, Ad Exchange platforms to bid for ads

in real-time in an auction,...)

. at the bottom Data Link Layer (WAN/LAN), the MAC address on the sender's

and receiver's devices, fiber optic cables, RISC in chips).

. in between both, not much changed conceptually, are the Data Transport Layer

(securing and breaking down data to be sent into packets) and the DATA NETWORK

LAYER (providing an IP address at the sending and receiving ends of the network).

Both layers' protocols, TCP and IP, were introduced in the mid-70s, by Vint Cerf and

Robert Kahn. See our Internet page

3 The eXtended Reality Technologies (XR)

As part of the Web layer described under point 1 above, the technologies behind UX,

aptly called XR, are a series of new AI-based software programs, which have been added

into Pixar's original 3D rendering RenderMan program. Just as digital cameras capture

the real world as it is in 2D, the Reality, XR technologies extend it, hence the term

eXtended Reality. Extension is achieved either by adding, that is, augmenting it with

a so-called overlay on the captured image (hence the term Augmented Reality or AR),

or by transforming it by creating a virtual world altogether (hence the term Virtual

Reality or VR). Both AR and VR, and a hybrid of both, MR (Mixed Reality), are in 3D.

The XR technologies, now all powered by AI, are the following:

. 3D Modeling/3D Rendering  (i.e. Pixar's RenderMan & USD)

. Computer vision

. Laser holography (holograms,..)

. GPS Location and Positioning Technology

. Screen Display Technology

. Sensor Movement Technology (motion capture,...)

. Haptic technology (touch screen, tactile sensations)

Each technology fulfills a specific role:

3D Modeling/3D Rendering It fulfills an object modeling role. It creates

the digital objects in 3D, i.e. avatars in MMORPG games, NFT collectibles,...

Computer Vision It fulfills a space mapping role on the software AI side. Think of it

as the software which powers a very smart camera with very advanced chips capable

of capturing and digitally mapping the outside environment (people, landscape), in

other words, physical objects which are converted into binary data and stored for later

use. The most advanced form of computer vision is that of self-driving vehicles

Sensor Movement Technology It fulfills a space mapping role on the hardware side.

It is capable of measuring your body movements, temperature change. In spite of their

small size, they are computers in themselves, equipped with advanced pre-programmed

chips

GPS Location and Positioning Technology It of course fulfills a location mapping

role. One can say that it is a very powerful form of computer vision, as we clearly see

with Google Earth

Screen Display Technology It is the software which displays on our screen information

in visual, audio and text form, in other words the screen shots

Haptic Technology Haptic devices equipped with tactile sensors, such as Senseglove's

hand gloves shown below, connected to the VR system, can remotely control and

manipulate virtual objects on the display screen

1 The Web's Technology Stack

As the table below on the Next Gen Web's technology stack clearly shows, 5 of the stack's

6 layers represent the same Internet technologies used by all platforms on the Web,

secured by variants (including blockchain) of the same security technology (IBM's DES)

The Web Layer (Channel) As we describe in more detail on our Internet page,

these are the technologies which have created most of the tools we use daily on the

Web to interact and to view content, from browsers, to search engines and social

media platforms, to instant messaging, and finally to mobile apps. This is the layer

where Meta is attempting to take the lead in AR/VR, with its Metaverse (case study)

The Martech Layer (Sales & Marketing) Marketing technologies or Martech,

described on the next  Martech page, are needed to develop and operate the

Metaverse platform's marketing functions. In our view, Metaverse platforms are

Marketing platforms. This is the layer where the geek economy is concentrated

The Privacy Layer (Advertising) Ad tracking is performed on billions of users,

automatically without their permission, using trackers, which are lines of code

embedded in the programs of most apps. With their base of billions of users, it is

the 2 biggest online ad firms, Google and Meta, who hold the lion's share of the

broader advertising market of which ad tracking represents a small segment. The

bulk of revenues come from the services they provide downstream along the

advertising value chain. Known as programmatic advertising (see next Martech

page), these services include i) market research conducted by the data analytics

firms ii) ad creation and ad campaign development performed by the creative

agencies, iii) ad space buying and selling on ad exchanges performed by

marketplace platforms, iv) ad placement. The millisecond pop-up ad defines

this layer (we're exposed to 4k to 10k ads a day but only see 100)

The Transaction Layer (Sales Admin) Advances in cryptography have made

transactions, that is online financial transactions, as secure as they can get. It has

been estimated that by 2030, only $49B would have been lost to credit card theft

out of a payment card volume of $79T. Blockchain transactions have also proven

to be very resilient. Where there is still much work to do is in the area of storage

of the newer digital assets, cryptocurrencies and NFTs, stored in digital wallets on

blockchain platforms. This is the layer where blockchain tries to differentiate itself

The Cloud Layer This is the centralized Cloud infrastructure which runs both of

the Metaverse's platform types. We describe on The Cloud page the service models

(IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and the deployment models (Public, Private or Hybrid Cloud)

which form the Cloud's market offering. AWS and Azure are market leaders

The Internet Infrastructure Layer We identified 12 underlying Internet

technologies, which are described in more detail on our Internet page

2 The User Experience (UX)

The industry's thrust is to apply the technologies, also known as UX (User Experience),

to make new products for the Mobile Social Media and Cloud Enterprise markets, in

order to repeat their past success in reviving 2 industries, namely:

. the animated film industry (3D was first used in Pixar's 1995 Toy Story movie)

. the video game industry, (3D digital products were first sold in

Warcraft's 2004 MMORPG game)

The 4 screen shots below, on the one hand, of Pixar's latest Luca film and Activision's

Warcraft 3D characters in the form of "avatars", and on the other, of Meta's Horizon

and Microsoft's Dynamics Connected Space metaverses show a striking similarity

between the 4 platforms:

To the above 3D technologies have been added 2 new technologies, also in 3D, AI-based

AR/VR and Digital Twin, to form the Metaverse layer:

. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies added to Pixar's 3D image

rendering RenderMan technology. See Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse keynote

. Digital Twin technology, using Pixar's Universal Scene Description or USD software,

integrated into CAD/CAM/EDA products in the Industrial IoT space (see Siemens

Digital Twin offering)

Animated Film

Disney Pixar's Luca 3D Animated Film

Video Game

Enterprise Cloud

Social Media

Avatars in Warcraft MMORPG Video Game

Microsoft Dynamics' Connected Space Metaverse

Meta's Horizon Metaverse

THe Web's Technology Stack

5. Cloud Platform

Marketing Technologies

Cloud Technologies

6. Internet Infrastructure

4 How XR Fits Into The IT System

We describe here the combination of grahical user interface technologies, known as

XR, used to project on our computer screens what can now be considered as the

Metaverse's signature 3D animated videos. Part of the broader IT system, it is

comprised of is own 3 components: the software, the hardware, and the network

The Software The XR software, which produces and plays on our computer screen the

mixed 3D Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) videos, can be downloaded

into any computer. It essentially i) collects data, ii) transforms it into a user media

format, iii) stores them in a database, and iv) ultimately transfers them to the user on

his display screen. All of this is performed interactively, in real time, in milliseconds

The software is called a smart media agent (SMA). The workflow follows the following

3-step process:

Step 1 - Data Collection: it collects in real time all of the data from the 3D sensors

(mics, cameras,...) which are connected to its own computer. There are 2 streams of

data: interactive data and all of the other audiovisual data (pictures, video clips,...). It

stores them for later use

Step 2 - Data Transformation: it then creates, assembles them into media content.

After storing them, it then feeds a giant control screen, known as a smart media wall

(SMW). This is where the 3D AR/VR media are created

Step 3 - Data Connection: both the interactive data and the media content are fed into

the user's own device screen, known as a local display

The Hardware The same software is downloaded into all "client and server" devices,

those of the user (headset, smartphone, display screen,...), and the SMA computer

The Network All of the hardware equipment is connected locally on a Wifi

LAN network and on a WAN network to the Internet

UX Experience & Related XR Technologies

Within The IT System

Smart Devices & Sensors

(computers with chips)

UX Display Screen

(XR - Projection of Digital Objects, Virtual Worlds)

HARDWARE (The Device)

SOFTWARE (The Platform)

Developer PLatform

Data Collection

Data Transformation

UX Experience

(XR - Creation of Digital Objects, Virtual Worlds)

Content

Data

Interactive

Data

NETWORK (The User App)

Hardware

Software

Network (WAN/LAN)

The Metaverse Technology Stack

VR Headsets & Haptic Devices

(XR - Manipulation of Digital Objects, Virtual Worlds)

UX AI

(XR - AI Algorithms)

XR

VR Headsets & Haptic Devices

Display Screen

(Horizon Workrooms in MR)

NVIDIA's XR Technology Stack

Nvidia GPU GRAPHICS CHIP

UX Experience

(Microsoft Mesh Real & Virtual Objects)

IT SYSTEM (The Infrastructure)

Data Connection

Cloud

Platforms

data application layer

data transport &

data network layers

data link

layer

Mobile

Apps

Web

website address,

(HTTP protocol)

Messaging

email address,

(XMPP protocol)

Mobile

Devices

MAC Address

(WAN/LAN protocol)

Internet Protocol Suite

Web Platforms

Internet Infrastructure

Internet Protocol Suite

Mobile

Internet

IP Address

(TCP/IP

Protocol)

ANIMATED FILM & ONLINE GAMING

ON 3D & AR/VR

METAVERSE

ON 3D & AR/VR

Firm Differentiation

Market Disruption

Computer Technologies

Webtech

The Technologies Behind The Next Generation Web

(including Meta's Metaverse)

Industry Standardization

1 to 4. Web Platforms:

Webtech (channel)

Martech (sales & marketing)

User Privacy (advertising & data)

Transaction (sales admin)

A word of caution

on blockchain

the underlying key feature of blockchain, its cryptography, is based on IBM's data encryption standard or DES.

More fraud and jail-breaks have been reported in blockchain than for credit cards, whose cryptography is also based on DES