City of Frisco - Metaverse Whitepaper
The City of Frisco has been a leading example for entertainment, education, and commerce for over 2 decades within not only the DFW metroplex, but the entire state of Texas. This position was accomplished through consistent innovation, and investing in new and exciting opportunities.
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Within the last ten years the idea of a metaverse, and the technologies surrounding such an idea, have flourished. In order for cities like Frisco to stay ahead of the curve in coming years, understanding and appropriately supporting such technologies and ideas will be necessary.
Process
Situation
Given the recent popularity of ideas surrounding the metaverse, the City of Frisco would like to better understand what the metaverse is, and how it can be applied at a municipal level.
Task
My task was to create a whitepaper that breaks down the idea of the metaverse, the technology surrounding it, and make some predictions and suggestions to Frisco about how such tech might be utilized in the future.
Action
More than 30 hours of research were conducted for this paper, with half of the time being spent within the virtual worlds that comprise the metaverse, interacting with users and exploring what is currently available today.
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Alongside this expansive research, I also spent a lengthy amount of time writing the paper itself. It went through several revisions over the course of 3 months, and is still being reviewed and edited at present.
Results
After exploring the available options, and brainstorming new ideas, the recommendations made to the City of Frisco consist of both actions they can take to begin to adopt ideas surrounding the metaverse, as well as ways they can stay aware of the coming changes and prepare for the future better.
Outcomes
List of Technologies to Track
Because the technology surrounding the metaverse is experiencing such a boom of innovation at present, it makes it difficult to recommend any specific hardware, however, a list of technologies to keep an eye on was provided to allow Frisco to stay aware of changes in the industry.
List of Cities to Track
Frisco is not the only city considering expanding into the metaverse at present. Seoul in Korea has committed to creating one of the worlds largest metaverse markets within their city by the year 2026, and several Caribbean nations have considered utilizing the technology to enhance their tourism. Frisco should keep an eye on these locations, and consider learning from their mistakes and successes.
Breakdown of VR/AR
Because virtual and augmented reality are relatively new technologies, I broke down what each of them consist of and explained the differences, as well as benefits and cautions surrounding the technologies.
Recommendations for Integration
Beyond the suggestions that Frisco create a community center for metaverse purposes, and integrate the technology into their venues, I also made sure to note the necessity of integrating existing systems with one another. The future that the metaverse creates is increasingly one of connected services and seamless transitions between sites and products, it would be in Frisco's interests to do this early in order to avoid growing pains down the road.
Project Reflection
This project for the City of Frisco taught me much, and not just about the metaverse and it's technologies. I was considering focusing on municipal work in the future even before I took on this project, and through my work on this paper I have further strengthened my interest in doing so. I have greatly enjoyed the process of brainstorming solutions to problems and creating innovations and ideas that benefit the people of my City, and would like to continue doing so in the future.
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Not only has this project affirmed my interest in municipal work, but I have also refined a number of skills through my work on the paper. Chief among those skills being my research and communication skills. I now feel much more confident in my ability to return to a conversation on a subject not only equipped with knowledge on the matter, but with writings and documents created from that knowledge.