Is the metaverse really coming to fruition? A survey of applied metaverse and extended reality

This survey examines the current state of the Metaverse, encompassing its fundamental concepts, technological framework, practical applications, and user experience to evaluate its stage of development. This paper reviews the core concepts of the Metaverse and Extended Reality (XR) and evaluates the latest advancements in hardware and software technologies. Furthermore, it examines the Metaverse’s typical applications in four key domains: education, training, medicine, and mixed life, while summarizing user feedback to identify its advantages and challenges. The feedback indicates that the Metaverse offers notable benefits, including immersive experiences, enhanced training effectiveness, cost efficiency, and improved safety. However, significant challenges remain, such as hardware performance limitations, software inefficiencies, user discomfort, health risks, and social and ethical concerns. The analysis suggests that while the Metaverse has yet to reach full maturity, it holds great potential for future development. To further advance the field, this paper highlights key research priorities in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and social governance, providing insights for future studies.