第13章ハイブリッドマルチクラウドのデジタルソリューション開発

Google offers Blockchain Node Engine, a fully managed node hosting service for Web3 development that minimizes the need for node operations. Web3 companies that require dedicated nodes can relay transactions, deploy smart contracts, and read or write blockchain data. Blockchain Node Engine supports Ethereum, enabling developers to provision fully managed Ethereum nodes with secure blockchain access.

With blockchain, Google’s focus is on cryptocurrency and blockchain analytics tools that provide deep blockchain transaction history data sets and deeper sets of queries that enable multichain meta-analysis and integration with conventional financial record processing systems. Google is particularly interested in providing transaction history for cryptocurrencies that have similar implementations, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Zcash. Google also offers machine learning tools that may be used to search for patterns in transaction flows and provide basic information on how a crypto address is used.

When discussing extended reality services, there are generally two types: virtual reality (VR), which enables a computer-generated, interactive, 3-D environment in which a user is immersed, and augmented reality (AR), which supplements the real world with virtual (computer-generated) objects that appear to coexist in the same space as the real world. The key distinction between VR and AR is that VR is meant to immerse the user in a virtual environment, while AR introduces virtual elements to the real world. A VR system typically uses a headset in combination with a variety of sensors to track the user’s movement and relay the appropriate images and feedback, creating the sensation of interacting with the virtual world. An AR system typically relies on clear lenses or a pass-through camera that allows users to see the world around them in real-time while virtual elements are projected on the lenses or rendered on the camera output.

There is also extended reality (XR), a reality service that involves both real and virtual environments. Microsoft introduced the term mixed reality (MR), which is a form of XR. XR encompasses both virtual and real environments and often integrates cloud services like IoT, ML, and blockchain. Three components are needed to make an XR system functional: a head-mounted display, a tracking system to recognize and follow physical objects, and mobile computing power. Today, XR is enabled via the use of headsets and haptic gloves, which are IoT devices. Instead of accessing applications with traditional computers, XR makes it possible to access applications through head-mounted hardware or gloves that interact directly with humans’ senses, such as vision, hearing, and touch. In addition, ML may be needed within a mixed reality environment to do things such as generate prediction and perform recognition in a way similar to what we use ML for in the real world. In some sense, XR is the base technology for Webx.0 (i.e., the real metaverse, not Meta’s Metaverse). Many XR commercial headsets are available for use, including Microsoft HoloLens, Google Cardboard, and Meta Quest.

Creating virtual reality scenes for VR or virtual objects or avatars that can be viewed via XR headsets requires the use of a 3-D engine tool such as Unity or Unreal Engine. Unity is a widely used cross-platform 3-D engine and integrated development environment (IDE). Its uses include developing 3-D content and games for different platforms, such as PCs, consoles, mobile devices, AR/VR target devices, and the Web.

Unity is a complex system with a steep learning curve. Successful deployment of applications also requires development frameworks and plug-ins, such as Microsoft Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) or OpenXR. OpenXR can be accessed by 3-D engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal), the WebXR device API, as well as XR applications running on base stations to facilitate deployment to or integration with various devices including 3-D head mounted displays (e.g., Microsoft HoloLens, Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest), trackers (e.g., body, hand, object, eye), haptic devices, and cloud/5G infrastructure.

XR applications provide controlled and repeatable scenarios rehearsing muscle memory and situational awareness. VR applications make it possible to explore places otherwise inaccessible and also have the potential to provide access to resources that may be prohibitively expensive or otherwise inaccessible. VR and AR applications provide innovative ways to visualize and manipulate data.