Quick take:
- The world’s tallest building now has a digital twin in the metaverse.
- Dubai’s Burj Khalifa joins a growing list of iconic buildings and city centres jumping on the metaverse train.
- People will be able to move around the building and enjoy a 360-degree view of Dubai.
You can now experience the tallest building in the metaverse. Burj Khalifa has jumped on the metaverse bandwagon with a digital twin of itself that will allow people to move around and enjoy a 360-degree view of Dubai.
It joins a growing list of iconic buildings, monuments and city centres that have created 3D versions of themselves in the metaverse. The metaverse is generally described as a 3D virtual space where people can interact with each other through gaming, virtual events and other immersive experiences.
For instance, New York’s Times Square building is already being replicated in The Sandbox metaverse, while South Korea’s biggest cities Seoul, Busan and now Changwon have created digital versions of themselves in the metaverse.
The concept of having twin structures (one in the metaverse and another in the physical world) has become such a trend that Jamestown decided to create a physical replica of the Decentraland-based One Times Square building. Jamestown invested $500 million in May to redevelop One Times Square with virtual and augmented reality installations.
Last month Dropp Group acquired metaverse platform Phly for $25 million to create the world’s first ‘phygital’ metaverse. According to the announcement, Dropp Group wants to help real estate companies recreate digital twins of their properties in the metaverse.
The company is also on a mission to create an immersive replica of every major city, building and monument in the metaverse.
Burj Khalifa visitors will be able to experience the digital version without wearing any 3D devices like virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) headsets. The project is spearheaded by virtual events company Eventcombo.
Commenting on the announcement, Eventcombo said: “While the pandemic forced the world into isolation, it also led to the advancement and accelerated adoption of the metaverse. Although digital has become the new normal, the metaverse is facilitating physical and real-world-like interactions in digital spaces, to elevate experiences and bridge the real and virtual worlds.”
The company shared a short video showing virtual avatars walking around different areas of the building in an attempt to demonstrate the experience to prospective visitors.
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