MICA establishes a lab for consumer research in the Metaverse

Metaverse is expanding further than one has imagined. In a recent development, MICA has announced the establishment of MICAverse, a lab in the virtual world that will study consumer behavior. It is equipped with the latest technology, which includes virtual reality glasses and several other production tools.

There is constantly a growing application of the Metaverse. A step coming in the direction that analyzes the pattern and behavior of consumers is expected to bring a lot of crowd to the ecosystem. Startups in the virtual and augmented reality segment will see a door opening up for them.

Activities in MICAverse will initially include 3d mapping and the development of travel applications to promote Indian tourism. Existing ventures can always get their hands on the technology; however, this time, it could be the startups to lead the way based on how well they have architected their team and technological infrastructure.

Githa Heggde, MICA’s Dean, has added that MICAverse will not just carry out academic research but will also publish research papers in Metaverse along with startups in the metaverse industry. The collaboration between MICAverse and startups will help to develop a better understanding of consumer behavior.

It majorly includes drawing the decision-making chart for a better understanding of how the virtual world influences the behavior of consumers.

Calling it a disruptive ecosystem, Githa has expressed her confidence that the academic research will be of high quality in the domain of the Metaverse.

Suresh Malodia, the Assistant Professor at MICA & the project lead, has emphasized the fact that MICA is taking the lead in terms of understanding the experience of consumers in the Indian context at a time when other universities are looking at the technical aspect of the Metaverse. Suresh has also talked about the University of Norway and Nottingham-Trent University, mentioning that both universities have initiated research in the Metaverse through marketing & consumer research.

Metaverse is being explored by all industries with a mutual objective of reaching a larger number of consumers. The implementation of the technology is a challenge since it requires heavy funding along with infrastructure support for respective governments. The 5G network in India, for instance, is expected to turn the tables for the Metaverse sphere in the country, but it still needs computing devices and the development of virtualization tools, among other things.

UT Rao, an Associate Professor at MICA, has echoed similar words in his statement to the media, along with the mention of exploring Metaverse services like payment systems and marketplaces. Saying that MICA will soon be hosting an event for startups, UT Rao has added many areas that will be explored in Metaverse, including tourism, education, and medicine, to mention a few.

NFT and cryptocurrency will be explored as well since both are expected to change the way a person interacts in virtual space. Startups that join the event are highly expected to be working on AR and VR technology.