Advancing Technology for Humanity and Earth (+Water+Air)

2024-12-30

AI Summary

Existing applications of extended reality (XR) in sustainability and human well-being remain fragmented, lacking a unifying conceptual framework. Method: This study proposes “Physical-Space Metaverse”—a unified XR paradigm integrating physical, virtual, and social spaces—and introduces the first Socio-Cyber-Physical XR taxonomy. It systematically defines six core attributes and pioneers the integration of Diminished Reality into sustainable XR evolution. Leveraging AI-augmented wearables (e.g., smart glasses) as key enablers, the framework synergizes spatial computing, multimodal AI, and sustainable hardware design. Contribution/Results: The work establishes cross-domain application paradigms for XR in water/air quality monitoring, healthcare, frontline worker support, and daily life. It provides a foundational theoretical framework and actionable implementation pathways for green AI and embodied, human-centered intelligence—advancing XR from technological novelty toward systemic societal impact.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Intelligent Robots: Embodied AI
• Computer Vision: Remote Sensing / Geospatial AI

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Vertical and domain-specific search
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Sustainability of Web economics

Abstract

As technology advances, the integration of physical, virtual, and social worlds has led to a complex landscape of ``Realities'' such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), metaverse, spatial computing, and other emerging paradigms. This paper builds upon and refines the concept of eXtended Reality (XR) as the unifying framework that not only interpolates across these diverse realities but also extrapolates (extends) to create entirely new possibilities. XR is the ``physical spatial metaverse,'' bridging the physical world, the virtual world of artificial intelligence, and the social world of human interaction. These three worlds define the Socio-Cyber-Physical Taxonomy of XR that allows us to identify underexplored research areas such as Diminished Reality (DR), and chart future directions to {f advance technology for people and planet}. We highlight the six core properties of XR for applications in sustainability, healthcare, frontline work, and daily life. Central to this vision is the development of AI-driven wearable technologies, such as the smart eyeglass, that sustainably extend human capabilities.

Problem

• XR Technology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sustainability

Innovation

• XR Technology
• Socio-Cyber-Physical Taxonomy
• AI-driven Wearables