A General Introduction to the Metaverse

Name: A General Introduction to the Metaverse
ISBN: 9787121480836

Xu Ting / 高文宇 / 潘志庚 / 刘志毅Publishing House of Electronics Industry · ChinaJul 2024

2.6

Word count: 211K words
Chapters: 89
ISBN: 9787121480836

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Summary

This book is dedicated to an in-depth exploration and systematic construction of the emerging concept of the metaverse and the theoretical and technological framework behind it. Detailed and cutting-edge, it not only covers the basic definition, origins, and development of the metaverse but also deeply analyzes its key technological pillars, including but not limited to extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, 5G communications, big data, and cloud computing.

The book provides a comprehensive interpretation of metaverse ecosystem development and explores how the metaverse can break the boundary between the real and the virtual to create a new type of cyberspace that is highly immersive, supports real-time interaction, and has a complete economic system. At the same time, it prospectively describes the metaverse's impact and transformative effects on future lifestyles, business models, social governance, and even the global technology landscape. The book is suitable for a broad readership, particularly the following groups: industry decision-makers sensitive to technology trends, technology practitioners, educators, researchers, and general readers curious about future life. Overall, the book aims to use accessible language, combined with examples and professional insights, to guide various readers in grasping the major development trends of the metaverse and in anticipating and preparing for the challenges and opportunities of the coming new era of blended virtuality and reality.

Editor's review

The book's value lies in pulling “metaverse” back from a buzzword into a discussable technical and systemic framework. It first clarifies definitions, origins, and evolution, then breaks down key pillars such as XR, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, 5G, big data, and cloud computing, helping readers understand that the metaverse is not a single technology but a cyberspace formed by the convergence of many technologies. On this basis, the book further discusses ecosystems, the virtual-real boundary, immersive interaction, and a complete economic system, extending its perspective to lifestyles, business models, social governance, and the technology landscape, balancing technological logic with industrial impact. The writing aims to be accessible and combines examples, making it suitable as a general survey for building overall understanding. It is best read as a “framework book” rather than an “operation manual”: first establish the three-layer structure of technology—ecosystem—impact, then consider implementation possibilities in your own industry, which more effectively turns concepts into judgment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Industry decision-makers who want a systematic understanding of metaverse concepts and technical frameworks
Educators and researchers who need to incorporate new technology trends into courses or research perspectives
Technology practitioners in internet, AI, communications, and related fields who want to broaden their knowledge
General readers interested in future blended virtual-real life and business models

Not a good fit for

Readers who want direct hands-on steps and code examples for metaverse project development
Readers who only want light popular-science stories and do not want to engage with technical concepts or systematic discussion
Researchers already deeply specialized in a subfield of the metaverse and expecting frontier paper-level depth

Reading tips

Read the chapters on definitions, origins, and key technologies first, draw a relationship map of the technology pillars, and then move on to the ecosystem and impact sections.
After each technology pillar, write one sentence on what problem it can solve in the metaverse to avoid merely memorizing terms.
Choose business-model or social-governance sections relevant to your industry and list one possible implementation scenario while reading.
Read the book's examples alongside public reporting to distinguish mature applications from still-forward-looking ideas.

About the publisher

Publishing House of Electronics Industry China · Founded in 1982

The Publishing House of Electronics Industry is a comprehensive publisher distinguished by its focus on electronic information and related fields. Judging from the more than 3,000 titles in its catalogue, its publishing covers programming and design, artificial intelligence, computer science, finance and economics, photography, and social sciences, attending both to cutting-edge technology and to general readers. Representative titles include Factor Investing: Methods and Practice, x86 Assembly Language: From Real Mode to Protected Mode, The RISC-V Reader, Artificial Intelligence: Speech Recognition, Understanding and Practice, Phased Array Radar Technology, Radar Target Characteristics, and 100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, most of which centre on technical methods and engineering practice. Its authors include Shi Chuan, Li Zhong, Wang Xiaobo, David Patterson, Andrew Waterman, and Yu Zihao, among others from China and abroad. Owing to limited public information, no further publishing features are elaborated here.

版权信息
作者简介
内容简介
推荐语
数字经济与元宇宙知识体系丛书出版说明
数字经济与元宇宙知识体系丛书编委会名单（排名不分先后）
丛书序一
丛书序二
《元宇宙通论》编委会名单（排名不分先后）
序言一
序言二
前言
第1章绪论
1.1 元宇宙概念及其理解
1.2 元宇宙的支撑要素
1.3 元宇宙重点方向及研究领域
1.4 元宇宙的技术基础
1.5 元宇宙产业链
本章参考文献
第2章元宇宙原初思想、孕育史、当代元宇宙历史
2.1 元宇宙原初思想
2.2 元宇宙孕育史
2.3 当代元宇宙历史
本章参考文献
第3章元宇宙与哲学：虚拟世界中的存在论与伦理学思考
3.1 哲学概念与元宇宙
3.2 元宇宙哲学分支
3.3 元宇宙哲学方法论
本章参考文献
第4章元宇宙伦理概念及元宇宙伦理体系
4.1 元宇宙伦理观：定义、研究与应用
4.2 元宇宙伦理概念
4.3 元宇宙伦理原则
4.4 元宇宙伦理体系
本章参考文献
第5章元宇宙学科基础
5.1 元宇宙多学科交叉含义
5.2 元宇宙多学科交叉的层次
本章参考文献
第6章元宇宙技术基础
6.1 大数据技术
6.2 计算、算法与可计算性
6.3 人工智能技术
6.4 网络通信技术
6.5 数字孪生技术
6.6 游戏引擎技术
本章参考文献
第7章区块链技术
7.1 区块链的概念和原理
7.2 数字货币
7.3 元宇宙中的数字货币
本章参考文献
第8章交互与感知
8.1 扩展现实技术
8.2 计算机与认知智能
8.3 手持终端设备
8.4 体感
8.5 在场感
8.6 脑机接口
本章参考文献
第9章元宇宙的基础设施
9.1 云边计算与元宇宙
9.2 物联网与元宇宙
9.3 通信网络与元宇宙
本章参考文献
第10章平台及分发
10.1 操作系统
10.2 经济系统
10.3 开发引擎
本章参考文献
第11章元宇宙的应用及服务
11.1 元宇宙+游戏
11.2 元宇宙+购物
11.3 元宇宙+教育
11.4 元宇宙+医疗
11.5 元宇宙+营销
11.6 元宇宙+旅游
11.7 元宇宙+建筑
11.8 元宇宙+智能制造
本章参考文献
第12章元宇宙展望
12.1 充满机遇的元宇宙创新
12.2 元宇宙促生的人类生命创新与文明形态迭代
12.3 元宇宙环境下智能科技催生的新物种
12.4 未来的开放型网络社区
12.5 元宇宙面临的局限和问题
12.6 对元宇宙持续发展的未来展望
本章参考文献
跋

FAQ

Can I understand this book without a technical background?

Yes. The book is positioned as a general survey, with accessible language and examples; key technologies are mostly introduced in terms of concepts and how they work rather than through formulas or code. Readers only need a basic interest in technology trends and can build overall understanding by reading chapters in order; when encountering unfamiliar technical terms, first remember their place in the metaverse system and then supplement details with public materials.

Can this book teach me to develop metaverse applications?

No. The book focuses on systematically constructing the concepts, technical framework, and ecosystem impact of the metaverse; it is a general survey, not a development tutorial. It does not provide complete programming steps or project code. If your goal is hands-on development, choose specialized practical books on XR, blockchain, or game engines; this book is better used before development to understand the technology landscape and industry logic.

Will the technical content become outdated quickly?

Specific technological progress will indeed keep changing, but the book's value lies more in its framework: it breaks the metaverse into several technology pillars and ecosystem levels and discusses the life, business, and governance issues brought by blended virtuality and reality. With this analytical structure, readers can replace old cases with new developments and continually update their judgment without depending on the current state of any single technology.

How should I read it to turn concepts into practical judgment?

Use a “three-layer reading method”: first sort out the technology pillars and their relationships, second understand how the ecosystem and economic system operate, and third apply the impact to your own industry. After each chapter, write down one verifiable question, such as what experience a technology can support under current conditions and where the costs and risks lie, then check it against public information to avoid stopping at term memorization.

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About the author

Xu Ting Author · Chinese

Xu Ting is a digital expert and researcher, founder and chairman of the SXR Science and Technology Think Tank. He also founded the IHETT high-end think tank on "intelligent + industrial integration" and serves as executive vice chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce. Public information about his life is limited, and available details center mainly on his think-tank work and writings. Six of his works are carried in the library, spanning a wide range of subjects: computer technology titles such as Network Service Security and Monitoring; works on the digital economy and the metaverse, including Digital New Infrastructure: Opening a New Era of the Digital Economy, A General Introduction to the Metaverse, and Metaverse Engineering; a discussion of retail transformation in Intelligent + Retail: Business Change and Reconstruction in the New Retail Era; and a mathematical study, Research and Proof of Goldbach's Conjecture. His writing tends to emphasize conceptual overview and an industrial perspective, aimed at readers interested in frontier technology and business change.

高文宇 Author

Gao Wenyu is an author about whom limited public information is available; his nationality, birth and death years, and full career history cannot be confirmed at present. His writing direction can nonetheless be roughly inferred from the two works held in the collection. His representative works are Professional English for Big Data and A General Introduction to the Metaverse. The former is aimed at readers in computer science and big data-related fields and involves training in reading and expression in professional English, while the latter offers a general introduction to the emerging concept of the metaverse. Both works fall under the general computer science category, combining technical content with an accessible, introductory approach that serves specialized study while also responding to public interest in new technologies. Because verifiable information about the author is scarce, details of his life, academic background, and positions remain unavailable, and readers may use the works themselves as a window into his writing orientation in computer-related fields.

潘志庚 Author

Pan Zhigeng is an author about whom limited public information is currently available. One work by this author is included in the collection, Introduction to the Metaverse, generally classified under computer science. This suggests that his writing focuses on the metaverse, an emerging technological concept, and touches on the intersection of computer science and related applications. On the basis of the available material, it is not possible to confirm his nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, positions, or awards, nor is it easy to assess the full scope of his writing or his academic lineage. Understanding of Pan Zhigeng should therefore center on Introduction to the Metaverse: aimed at the broad field of computer science, the book attempts a general survey of the concept, technologies, and applications of the metaverse, and may serve readers who wish to gain a systematic understanding of this area. Given the limited information, readers may treat it as an introductory work on the metaverse while noting the timeliness and scope of its discussion and checking it against other authoritative sources.

刘志毅 Author

Liu Zhiyi is an author about whom limited public information is available; no confirmed details regarding nationality, dates of birth and death, or English name can be verified. Judging from the six works held in the collection, his writing centers on artificial intelligence and frontier technology, while also touching on finance and general computer science topics. His representative works include The Order of the Intelligent World: Multiple Perspectives on Global AI Governance, Black Mirror and Order: AI Ethics and Governance in a Digital Risk Society, The Enlightenment of Intelligence: Artificial General Intelligence and Conscious Machines, AI and Blockchain Intelligence, Boundless: Cognitive Upgrading in the Age of AI, and A General Introduction to the Metaverse. These titles suggest that his interests extend beyond technology itself to social issues such as AI governance, ethical risk, cognitive change, and the metaverse, spanning technology, institutions, and the humanities with a strong sense of real-world concern and reflection.