# All One Needs to Know about Metaverse: A Complete Survey on Technological Singularity, Virtual Ecosystem, and Research Agenda

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.05352 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.05352/

## Key facts

- Cited by 67 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Oct 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 67)

- [The Rise and Potential of Large Language Model Based Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07864/) (2023)
- [Is Sora a World Simulator? A Comprehensive Survey on General World Models and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.03520/) (2024)
- [MM-Fi: Multi-Modal Non-Intrusive 4D Human Dataset for Versatile Wireless Sensing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10345/) (2023)
- [Generative AI meets 3D: A Survey on Text-to-3D in AIGC Era](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.06131/) (2023)
- [Sora as a World Model? A Complete Survey on Text-to-Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05131/) (2024)
- [Edge-Cloud Polarization and Collaboration: A Comprehensive Survey for AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.06061/) (2021)
- [Urban Generative Intelligence (UGI): A Foundational Platform for Agents in Embodied City Environment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11813/) (2023)
- [3D Scene Generation: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.05474/) (2025)
- [Are Multimodal Large Language Models Ready for Omnidirectional Spatial Reasoning?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11907/) (2025)
- [MetaFi: Device-Free Pose Estimation via Commodity WiFi for Metaverse Avatar Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10414/) (2022)
- [XAIR: A Framework of Explainable AI in Augmented Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.16292/) (2023)
- [Simulating the Real World: A Unified Survey of Multimodal Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04641/) (2025)
- [Autonomy and Intelligence in the Computing Continuum: Challenges, Enablers, and Future Directions for Orchestration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.01423/) (2022)
- [Dynamic PlenOctree for Adaptive Sampling Refinement in Explicit NeRF](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.15333/) (2023)
- [MotionMix: Weakly-Supervised Diffusion for Controllable Motion Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.11115/) (2024)
- [Resource Allocation of Federated Learning for the Metaverse with Mobile Augmented Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.08705/) (2022)
- [Asynchronous Hybrid Reinforcement Learning for Latency and Reliability Optimization in the Metaverse over Wireless Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.14749/) (2022)
- [AI and 6G into the Metaverse: Fundamentals, Challenges and Future Research Trends](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10921/) (2022)
- [Revisit and Outstrip Entity Alignment: A Perspective of Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14651/) (2023)
- [Sampling, Communication, and Prediction Co-Design for Synchronizing the Real-World Device and Digital Model in Metaverse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.04233/) (2022)
- [FreeMan: Towards Benchmarking 3D Human Pose Estimation under Real-World Conditions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05073/) (2023)
- [Hybrid-Generative Diffusion Models for Attack-Oriented Twin Migration in Vehicular Metaverses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.11036/) (2024)
- [Reinforcement Learning in Practice: Opportunities and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.11296/) (2022)
- [Resource Allocation for Mobile Metaverse with the Internet of Vehicles over 6G Wireless Communications: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.13425/) (2022)
- [Tiny Multi-Agent DRL for Twins Migration in UAV Metaverses: A Multi-Leader Multi-Follower Stackelberg Game Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.09680/) (2024)
- [Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence-Extended Reality (AI-XR) for Metaverses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.13289/) (2022)
- [Metaverse: Requirements, Architecture, Standards, Status, Challenges, and Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.01125/) (2023)
- [Federated Learning for Metaverse: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17987/) (2023)
- [MetaHead: An Engine to Create Realistic Digital Head](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.00838/) (2023)
- [The Metaverse: Survey, Trends, Novel Pipeline Ecosystem & Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.09240/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Since the popularisation of the Internet in the 1990s, the cyberspace has kept evolving. We have created various computer-mediated virtual environments including social networks, video conferencing, virtual 3D worlds (e.g., VR Chat), augmented reality applications (e.g., Pokemon Go), and Non-Fungible Token Games (e.g., Upland). Such virtual environments, albeit non-perpetual and unconnected, have bought us various degrees of digital transformation. The term `metaverse' has been coined to further facilitate the digital transformation in every aspect of our physical lives. At the core of the metaverse stands the vision of an immersive Internet as a gigantic, unified, persistent, and shared realm. While the metaverse may seem futuristic, catalysed by emerging technologies such as Extended Reality, 5G, and Artificial Intelligence, the digital `big bang' of our cyberspace is not far away. This survey paper presents the first effort to offer a comprehensive framework that examines the latest metaverse development under the dimensions of state-of-the-art technologies and metaverse ecosystems, and illustrates the possibility of the digital `big bang'. First, technologies are the enablers that drive the transition from the current Internet to the metaverse. We thus examine eight enabling technologies rigorously - Extended Reality, User Interactivity (Human-Computer Interaction), Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Computer Vision, IoT and Robotics, Edge and Cloud computing, and Future Mobile Networks. In terms of applications, the metaverse ecosystem allows human users to live and play within a self-sustaining, persistent, and shared realm. Therefore, we discuss six user-centric factors -- Avatar, Content Creation, Virtual Economy, Social Acceptability, Security and Privacy, and Trust and Accountability. Finally, we propose a concrete research agenda for the development of the metaverse.