The Metaverse digital environments: A scoping review of the techniques, technologies, and applications

Abstract

The ‘‘metaverse’’ has gained immense attention as the next internet frontier, holding significant economic implications, especially for the IT sector. To establish the groundwork for immersive metaverse spaces, our comprehensive scoping review uncovers the current techniques and technologies in metaverse development. This study investigates post-COVID-19 metaverse techniques, technologies, and applications, spanning from January 2020 to December 2022. Findings reveal potential metaverse applications across 11 industries, with education, manufacturing, healthcare, and real estate being notable. We identified 12 major technologies and four key development techniques that have gained prominence in the metaverse landscape. Notably, ‘‘Extended Reality (XR)’’, ‘‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’’, and ‘‘Decentralized Technologies’’ were the three most
frequently mentioned technologies, appearing in 73%, 40%, and 30% of the reviewed articles, respectively. Furthermore, ‘‘VR space convergence’’ and ‘‘fundamental technology’’ emerged as primary enablers in 73% and 43% of the selected articles, with ‘‘object connection’’ and ‘‘communication computing infrastructure’’ playing supportive roles. Integrating these technologies is vital for holistic metaverse development. Our report serves as a catalyst for discussions among stakeholders, promoting further research and the transformative potential of the metaverse. It highlights the need for advancing understanding and technological evolution in this emerging digital realm.

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Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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Review article
The Metaverse digital environments: A scoping review of the techniques,
technologies, and applications
Muhammad Tukur a,d, Jens Schneider a, Mowafa Househ a, Ahmed Haruna Dokoro b, Usman
Idris Ismail c, Muhammad Dawaki d, Marco Agus a,∗
aCollege of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Education City, P.O. Box: 34110, Doha, Qatar
bComputer Science Department, Gombe State Polytechnic, Bajoga, 762102, Gombe, Nigeria
cComputer Science Department, Federal University of Kashere, 771103, Gombe, Nigeria
dComputer Science Department, Gombe State University, Tudun Wada, P.M.B 127, Gombe, Nigeria
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Metaverse
Virtual environments (VE)
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR)
AI
Techniques
Technologies
Applications
ABSTRACT
The ‘‘metaverse’’ has gained immense attention as the next internet frontier, holding significant economic
implications, especially for the IT sector. To establish the groundwork for immersive metaverse spaces, our
comprehensive scoping review uncovers the current techniques and technologies in metaverse development.
This study investigates post-COVID-19 metaverse techniques, technologies, and applications, spanning from
January 2020 to December 2022. Findings reveal potential metaverse applications across 11 industries, with
education, manufacturing, healthcare, and real estate being notable. We identified 12 major technologies
and four key development techniques that have gained prominence in the metaverse landscape. Notably,
‘‘Extended Reality (XR)’’, ‘‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’’, and ‘‘Decentralized Technologies’’ were the three most
frequently mentioned technologies, appearing in 73%, 40%, and 30% of the reviewed articles, respectively.
Furthermore, ‘‘VR space convergence’’ and ‘‘fundamental technology’’ emerged as primary enablers in 73%
and 43% of the selected articles, with ‘‘object connection’’ and ‘‘communication computing infrastructure’’
playing supportive roles. Integrating these technologies is vital for holistic metaverse development. Our report
serves as a catalyst for discussions among stakeholders, promoting further research and the transformative
potential of the metaverse. It highlights the need for advancing understanding and technological evolution in
this emerging digital realm.
1. Introduction
The concept of a “metaverse” was first introduced in Neal Stephen-
son’s 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash”, in which it is described
as a virtual reality shared by millions of users (Stephenson,2003).
The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the
convergence of the internet and virtual reality (VR), where users can
interact and engage with each other, as well as virtual objects and
environments (Mozumder et al.,2022). It is a virtual world that allows
users to create and explore their own digital identities and experiences,
and connect with others in real-time. The metaverse is often seen as
a potential future evolution of the internet and has been discussed
∗Corresponding author.
E-mail address: magus@hbku.edu.qa (M. Agus).
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.
in science fiction literature and media. It is a dynamic and evolving
space that offers new opportunities for exploration, creativity, and
connection (Rillig et al.,2022;Allam et al.,2022).
Recent developments in technology have led to the creation of
isolated and fragmented “metaverses” by various institutions and com-
panies. However, most analysts agree that in the long run, these meta-
verses will evolve towards an integrated and seamless global ecosystem
that will affect most human activity across various sectors (Zhang
et al.,2022). The recent pandemic and associated restrictions on social
behaviors and daily activities have provided an important stimulus
for developing novel interaction technologies to reduce the impact of
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2024.101967
Received 22 October 2023; Received in revised form 4 January 2024; Accepted 10 February 2024

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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M. Tukur et al.
social isolation, and reinforce the idea of an integrated “metaverse” that
can substitute standard daily activities even in situations of physical
isolation and limited mobility.
Applications.The metaverse has the potential to be applied in a
wide range of sectors, including education (Zhang et al.,2022;Rillig
et al.,2022;Suh and Ahn,2022;Locurcio,2022;Díaz et al.,2020;
Wu and Hung,2022), entertainment and social networking (Bojic,
2022), business (Meepung and Kannikar,2022), healthcare (Thomason,
2021;Wiederhold,2022;Yang et al.,2022b;Mozumder et al.,2022),
manufacturing (Magalhães et al.,2022;Alpala et al.,2022;Yang et al.,
2022a;Suhail et al.,2022;Han et al.,2022), transportation (Pamucar
et al.,2022;Njoku et al.,2022), tourism (Allam et al.,2022;Napoli-
tano et al.,2017;Lee and Kwon,2017;Kirana,2021), military and
defense (Baughman,2022), finance (Bisht et al.,2022;Jung et al.,
2022;Katterbauer et al.,2022), and real estate (Nalbant and Uyanik,
2021;Tukur et al.,2022;Kun and Zong,2009;Sulaiman et al.,2020).
Techniques and technologies.There are various techniques and tech-
nologies utilized in the development and implementation of the Meta-
verse (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021). These include virtual
reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, which create
immersive and interactive virtual environments. Additionally, 3D mod-
eling and animation technologies are used to create detailed and real-
istic virtual objects and environments. Artificial intelligence (AI) and
machine learning technologies are also commonly employed in the
Metaverse to create interactive and dynamic virtual experiences. With
the recent success of generative adversarial networks (GANs) (Goodfel-
low et al.,2014), AI also has the potential to generate content (semi-)
automatically at scale in the future. Other techniques and technologies
include natural language processing and speech recognition, which
facilitate more intuitive and user-friendly interactions in the virtual
environment.
Research objectives and contributions.In order to establish a robust
foundation for the development of immersive metaverse spaces, it is
imperative to conduct a comprehensive review aimed at investigating,
understanding, and elucidating the current techniques and technologies
employed in the creation of metaverse virtual environments. This im-
perative arises from the recognition that the effective incorporation of
these techniques is pivotal in the construction of a comprehensive and
engaging Metaverse. To fulfill this overarching objective, this research
paper endeavors to present and deliberate upon our findings gleaned
from an extensive scoping review, which delves into the opportunities,
techniques, and technologies underpinning the digital environment that
constitutes the core framework of the Metaverse. The Metaverse, an
immersive digital realm that harnesses both existing and forthcoming
integrated platforms, is the focal point of our investigation.
This research endeavors to shed light on the pertinent inquiries
in this domain by conducting a literature review encompassing works
published subsequent to the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.
The rationale for this timeline selection is rooted in the Metaverse’s
heightened prominence within both academic and industrial spheres,
attributed to its potential to address the challenges posed by the social
restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Thus, the research questions
addressed in this study include:
•What techniques and technologies are employed in Metaverse
environment creation?
•Which techniques and technologies are suitable for generating
immersive Metaverse environments?
•How is the Metaverse applied in various industries?
The contributions of this study include:
•Identification and analysis of the technological aspects and pre-
requisites for creating the Metaverse.
•Identification and analysis of which of the identified techniques
and technologies can be effectively adapted and utilized for gen-
erating immersive environments for the metaverse.
•Exploration of the application space of the Metaverse across
various industrial sectors.
Prior studies have attempted to survey Metaverse opportunities,
and/or applications with respect to specific industrial sectors (Rillig
et al.,2022;Allam et al.,2022;Souza et al.,2021;Suhail et al.,
2022;Sriram,2022), while others focused on identifying challenges,
relevant security and privacy issues (Wang et al.,2022;Kwon et al.,
2022;Abraham et al.,2022;Meepung and Kannikar,2022;Tukur
et al.,2023c). A few studies have compiled and disseminated the
technology (and methodology) behind the Metaverse (Mozumder et al.,
2022;Ning et al.,2021;Zhang et al.,2022). However, to the best
of our knowledge, none of the existing studies have combined all of
the above three contributions. Hence, this study can be considered the
first comprehensive study to identify, classify, discuss, and analyze the
Metaverse technological foundations, its application space, with respect
to various industrial sectors.
Paper organization.The remainder of this paper is organized as
follows: Section 2presents the research methodology we adopted in
this study. Section 3discusses and analyzes the technological and
methodological requirements for creating the Metaverse as identified in
the literature. The Metaverse application space is explored in Section 4.
We then provide our principal findings, strengths and limitations in
Section 5, before concluding this study in Section 6.
2. Methodology
To answer the research questions outlined in the introduction, we
follow the procedures outlined in the PRISMA Extension for Scoping
Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) (Tricco et al.,2018). These procedures serve as
a guide for conducting comprehensive scoping reviews such as this. We
carried out our literature search in four major steps:
Search execution.This study uses keyword search queries to identify
relevant data sets from the ACM, IEEE, Scopus, and Google Scholar
databases. The search procedure, summarized in Fig. 1:A, is thorough
and was carried out in December 2022 using the following keyword
search query.
(“virtual environment” OR “digital environment” OR environment
OR building OR architecture OR scene) AND (creation) AND (meta-
verse) AND (challenge* OR issue*)
However, Google Scholar is known to return a large number of
results of a wide range of relevance. Therefore, we only consider the
first 100 studies listed in the results. Similarly, IEEEXplore returns a
large volume of papers. Thus, we initially include publications based
on publisher (IEEE) and the most relevant publication venues. This step
resulted in 1598 papers. Fig. 1:B shows the distribution frequencies and
percentages of initial primary studies per library.
Automatic search restrictions and removal of duplicates.In this
phase, we include papers published between January 2020 and De-
cember 2022 (the pandemic started in December 2019 (WorldMeter,
2022)). In addition to this time restriction, other filters were applied
according to the relevant options available in each digital library. For
example, the Scopus library allowed us to filter by date and keywords,
while ACM allows to filter by title, date, and publication venue. Table 1
shows the filters and the number of studies retrieved from each digital
database after applying library-specific filters. In total, 447 studies were
retrieved, and 141 duplicates were detected and removed, leaving 306
unique papers with distinct titles and abstracts.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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M. Tukur et al.
Fig. 1. Methodology Charts: A: PRISMA chart of the included Studies; B: Distribution of the initial List of Studies per Library; C: Publication type of the selected papers.
Screening based on title, abstract, and full-text availability.The
results from the previous phase were further refined based on the
titles, abstracts and accessibility of the full papers. This led to the
detection and removal of 275 studies with irrelevant titles/abstracts
and/or inaccessible full-text, leaving 122 unique full-text studies.
Filtering based on the full-text.We then filtered the results of the
previous stages based on their full-text, applying the following inclusion
and exclusion criteria. We excluded papers written in a language other
than English, conference abstracts, proposals, theses, and dissertations.
In addition, articles merely mentioning the term ‘‘Metaverse’’ or its
associated techniques instead of actively discussing them (i.e., papers
that can rightfully be deemed peripheral to this study) were also
removed from our analysis. The included papers were academic re-
search articles from various sources such as journals, conference papers,
and white papers from relevant publishers. After carefully reviewing
the papers, we retained the thirty (30) most relevant articles as our
primary sources. This study is multidisciplinary, and we list the diverse
publication venues of the included articles in Table 2.Fig. 1:C shows
the publication types of the included papers. To ensure the authen-
ticity and reduce bias in our findings, three co-authors of this paper
carefully conducted the selection. We only kept those publications for
our analysis that were independently included by at least two of the
co-authors.
3. Techniques for creating digital environment for metaverse
In this study, we provide a taxonomy that divides obstacles, issues,
and solutions pertaining to the Metaverse into four key techniques
and twelve key technological classes. Based on our research in the
Table 1
Number of papers identified in our restricted electronic search.
Source Search applied on Retrieved
IEEEXplore initial restrictions: (publisher, and
publication title) + date
212
Scopus date, and keywords 96
ACM title, date, and publication venue 39
Google scholar date, and top 100 100
Total 447
literature (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021), these methods
and tools are used in the development and design of the Metaverse. In
this section, we go through these various techniques and technologies
as well as how we categorized the included research according to the
technology used.
3.1. Communication computing infrastructure
One of the key techniques addressed in this section is the employ-
ment of a communication computing infrastructure. The network of
computers, servers, and other hardware and software that is utilized
to facilitate communication and interaction within the virtual environ-
ment is referred to as this infrastructure. Because it enables connections
and interactions between users and with virtual items and surroundings
inside the virtual space (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021), this
infrastructure is essential to the Metaverse’s operation.
In order to offer the required processing power, bandwidth, and
storage capacity to support the virtual space, the communication com-
puter infrastructure often comprises of a combination of local and

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M. Tukur et al.
Table 2
Publication venue of the selected papers.
# Venue # of publications
1 ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) 2
2 Applied Sciences 3
3 arXiv preprint 2
4 British Dental Journal 1
5 Clinical eHealth 1
6 Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 1
7 Electronics 1
8 Environmental Science & Technology 1
9 European Journal of Futures Research 1
10 Extended Reality (XR) and the Erosion of Anonymity and Privacy-White Paper 1
11 Frontiers in Psychology 1
12 Frontiers in Public Health 1
13 Human Centric Computing and Information Sciences 1
14 IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 1
15 International Conference on Advanced Communication Technology (ICACT) 1
16 International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) 1
17 Journal of Economics, Business and Management 1
18 Journal of Educational Computing Research 1
19 Journal of Intelligence 1
20 Journal of Metaverse 2
21 Military Cyber Affairs 1
22 Nordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference 1
23 Smart Cities 1
24 STAG: Smart Tools and Applications in Graphics 1
25 Technological Forecasting and Social Change 1
Table 3
Techniques for creating the metaverse digital environment.
Techniques Magalhães
et al.
(2022)
Tukur
et al.
(2022)
Zhang
et al.
(2022)
Rillig
et al.
(2022)
Kwon
et al.
(2022)
Allam
et al.
(2022)
Thomason
(2021)
Wieder-
hold
(2022)
Yang
et al.
(2022b)
Mozumder
et al.
(2022)
Nalbant
and
Uyanik
(2021)
Suh and
Ahn
(2022)
Locurcio
(2022)
Díaz et al.
(2020)
Baugh-
man
(2022)
1. Comm.
Comp. Infra.
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2. Fund.
Technology
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
3. VR space
convergence
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4. VR object
connection
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Techniques Han
et al.
(2022)
Bojic
(2022)
Huang
et al.
(2022)
Bisht
et al.
(2022)
Wu and
Hung
(2022)
Pamucar
et al.
(2022)
Alpala
et al.
(2022)
Yang
et al.
(2022a)
Wang
et al.
(2022)
Souza
et al.
(2021)
Suhail
et al.
(2022)
McGill
(2021)
Abraham
et al.
(2022)
Meepung
and
Kannikar
(2022)
Ning
et al.
(2021)
1. Comm.
Comp. Infra.
✓ ✓ ✓
2. Fund.
Technology
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
3. VR space
convergence
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4. VR object
connection
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
cloud-based computing resources. In addition to high-performance
computer systems like local and remote graphics processing units
(GPUs) and other specialized gear to enable the modeling and rendering
of the virtual world, this infrastructure may comprise servers, routers,
switches, and other networking equipment. This technique’s related
technologies fall under a variety of categories.
3.1.1. Network and communication (Magalhães et al.,2022;Zhang et al.,
2022;Yang et al.,2022b;Mozumder et al.,2022;Han et al.,2022;Bisht
et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
Network and communication technologies, such as the Internet
of Things (IoT), 5G, and 6G, play a crucial role in the connectiv-
ity and communication channels necessary for the functioning of the
Metaverse. These technologies form the underlying infrastructure that
enables users to connect and interact with each other and with virtual
objects and environments within the virtual space.
For instance, the concept of IoT refers to a network of intercon-
nected devices, sensors, and actuators embedded in the physical world,
which can collect and transmit data over the internet (Analystics,
2018;Techopedia,2022). In the context of the Metaverse, IoT could
be utilized to connect virtual representations of physical objects and
environments within the virtual space, or to provide tangible feed-
back through actuators, allowing for a more immersive and realistic
interaction with the virtual space (Alam et al.,2017;Hu et al.,2021).
Similarly, 5G and 6G refer to the current and next generations of mobile
communication systems, respectively, which are designed to provide
high-speed, low-latency connectivity for a wide variety of devices and
applications. In the context of the Metaverse, 5G and 6G technologies
could be used to support the real-time, wireless communication and
interaction of users within the virtual space, providing mobility and
allowing for seamless and natural interactions with other users, virtual
objects, and digital environments (Siniarski et al.,2022;Wang and
Zhao,2022).

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M. Tukur et al.
3.1.2. Nano and quantum technology (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,
2021;Zhang et al.,2022;Baughman,2022;Bisht et al.,2022)
In the growth and development of the Metaverse, nanotechnology
and quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and nano
perception, have the potential to be very influential (Ning et al.,2021).
These technologies might be applied to boost the performance and
scalability of the underlying computer infrastructure as well as the
realism and immersion of virtual worlds.
For instance, the development of more lifelike and immersive virtual
worlds inside the Metaverse may be facilitated by the development
of nano perception technology, which refers to the capacity to per-
ceive and interact with objects on a nanoscale. With the help of this
technology, users could be able to interact with virtual surroundings
and objects in a more realistic and detailed way, thus creating a more
immersive and interesting experience. Similar to this, the performance
and scalability of the Metaverse’s underlying computer infrastructure
might be enhanced by the application of quantum computing, which
applies the concepts of quantum physics to computation and data
processing. With the help of this technology, the Metaverse could be
able to handle a greater number of users and offer more sophisticated
virtual worlds, potentially giving users a more smooth and natural
experience inside the virtual world.
3.1.3. Computational paradigm (Kwon et al.,2022;Mozumder et al.,
2022;Ning et al.,2021)
Computational paradigms, such as cloud and edge computing tech-
nology, are essential for the functioning of the Metaverse, as they
provide the underlying computing infrastructure and architecture to
support the virtual space. These paradigms define how computing
resources, such as processing power, storage, and networking, are dis-
tributed and allocated within the Metaverse, and can have a significant
impact on the performance, scalability, and reliability of the virtual
space.
For example, cloud computing refers to the use of remote, third-
party servers and data centers to provide computing resources and
services over the internet (Jadeja and Modi,2012). In the context of
the Metaverse, cloud computing can be used to provide the necessary
computing power, storage, and networking resources to support the
virtual space, potentially allowing it to support a large number of users
and complex virtual environments (Oliver et al.,2013).
On the other hand, edge computing refers to the use of distributed
computing resources, such as edge servers and edge devices, that are
located closer to the users of a system (Wang et al.,2022). In the
context of the Metaverse, edge computing can be used to provide
computing resources and services closer to the users, potentially reduc-
ing latency and improving the responsiveness and interactivity of the
virtual space (Wang and Zhao,2022).
There are several trade-offs between cloud and edge computing.
Cloud computing is typically understood to provide a “heavy” com-
putational infrastructure in a data center that users rent, whereas
edge computing addresses “light” computational tasks on users’ de-
vices. Cloud computing usually provides higher processing bandwidth,
but edge computing generally offers lower latency. This disparity in
capability is also matched by trade-offs with respect to security and
privacy (Alwarafy et al.,2021).
3.2. Fundamental technologies
3.2.1. Artificial intelligence (Zhang et al.,2022;Mozumder et al.,2022;
Nalbant and Uyanik,2021;Suh and Ahn,2022;Locurcio,2022;Baugh-
man,2022;Bisht et al.,2022;Pamucar et al.,2022;Wang et al.,2022;
Tukur et al.,2022;Suhail et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
Fundamental technologies for the Metaverse include artificial intel-
ligence (AI), machine learning, deep learning, natural language pro-
cessing (NLP), and reinforcement learning. These technologies provide
the underlying capabilities that enable the creation and maintenance of
complex and realistic virtual environments. They can have a significant
impact on the user experience within the virtual space.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which refers to the ability
of a system to simulate and mimic human intelligence, could be used
to create more realistic and engaging virtual environments within the
Metaverse (Nalbant and Aydin,2023). With recent advancements in
generative adversarial networks (Goodfellow et al.,2014), AI could
play a prominent role in generating realistic content at scale and semi-
automatically in the future (Summerville et al.,2018). Additionally,
AI-based technology could also allow virtual objects and environments
to behave and react in a more natural and lifelike way, potentially
providing a more immersive and engaging experience for users within
the virtual space (Southgate et al.,2019). However, it is also important
to note that the use of AI can make it harder for users in the Metaverse
to identify automated or “bot” characters.
Other fundamental technologies are discussed as below:
3.2.2. Spatio-temporal consistency (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,
2021)
Spatio-temporal consistency technologies are critical for the func-
tioning of any Metaverse. These technologies ensure that the virtual
space is consistently updated and maintained in real-time, provid-
ing a seamless and coherent experience for users within the virtual
space (Ning et al.,2021).
Coherence is typically achieved through the use of specialized al-
gorithms and protocols that coordinate the data and updates from
multiple sources within the Metaverse. These algorithms may be used
to track the position and orientation of users and virtual objects within
the virtual space, and to ensure that these updates are consistently and
accurately reflected across the entire virtual space. An example of such
technology is “dead reckoning” (Choset et al.,2005) (either classical or
AI-enabled), which is typically used in massively online environments
to predict the positions of temporarily disconnected participants.
3.2.3. Security and privacy (Allam et al.,2022;Mozumder et al.,2022;
Ning et al.,2021)
Security and privacy technologies are fundamental requirements for
Metaverses, not only to ensure the safety and security of users in the
virtual space, but also to build a user base of critical mass to populate
the environment (Dwivedi et al.,2022;Park and Kim,2022). Trust in
the Metaverse’s ability to protect personal information and data of users
and prevent unauthorized access or tampering with the virtual space is
a crucial prerequisite for acceptance of the Metaverse. This becomes
particularly important as the capitalization (i.e., the amount of money
spent on virtual assets) of the Metaverse increases.
In the context of a Metaverse, security and privacy technologies may
include authentication and access control mechanisms (e.g., passwords
and multi-factor authentication) to prevent unauthorized access to the
virtual space (Patel and Trivedi,2022;Pooyandeh et al.,2022). These
technologies may also include encryption and other data protection
mechanisms to secure the personal information and data of users, as
well as to prevent unauthorized access or tampering with the virtual
space (Ali et al.,2022;Gadekallu et al.,2022;Sun et al.,2022;Tang
et al.,2022). Another aspect related to this field, especially with respect
to gaining users’ trust, is transparency, or the question of which aspects
of the virtual environment operators should disclose (e.g., whether or
not a character is controlled by a human or AI).
3.3. Virtual reality space convergence
The concept of virtual reality space convergence covers techniques
for creating a seamless and coherent experience within a Metaverse.
These techniques involve the integration and coordination of multiple
virtual reality spaces, such as VR worlds or VR games, in a single,
coherent virtual space. The technologies relevant to these techniques
can be classified as follows:

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M. Tukur et al.
3.3.1. Extended reality (XR) (Zhang et al.,2022;Rillig et al.,2022;
Thomason,2021;Wiederhold,2022;Yang et al.,2022b;Mozumder et al.,
2022;Nalbant and Uyanik,2021;Locurcio,2022;Díaz et al.,2020;
Baughman,2022;Bojic,2022;Huang et al.,2022;Pamucar et al.,2022;
Alpala et al.,2022;Yang et al.,2022a;Wang et al.,2022;Souza et al.,
2021;McGill,2021;Tukur et al.,2022;Abraham et al.,2022;Meepung
and Kannikar,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
This refers to a range of technologies and techniques that are
used to create immersive and interactive virtual environments. It in-
cludes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed real-
ity (MR), which are used to create and manipulate virtual objects
and environments that can be experienced and interacted with in
real-time (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021).
In the context of the Metaverse, extended reality technologies and
techniques can be used to create and manipulate virtual objects and
environments within the virtual space. For example, VR technology
provides fully immersive and interactive virtual environments, allowing
users to experience and interact with the virtual space in a lifelike and
realistic way (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021).
AR and MR technologies, on the other hand, can be used to augment
and enhance the virtual space with virtual objects and information,
allowing users to interact with the virtual space in a more natural and
intuitive way (Lee et al.,2021). For example, AR technology can be
used to display virtual objects and information overlaid on the user’s
real-world view, while MR technology can be used to create virtual
objects that are anchored in, and interact with, the real-world.
3.3.2. Brain computer interfaces (Zhang et al.,2022;Mozumder et al.,
2022;Ning et al.,2021)
A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a technology that allows users
to control and interact with a computer or other device using their
thoughts and brain activity (Bogue,2010). This technology typically
involves the use of specialized sensors, such as electroencephalography
(EEG) sensors, that are placed on the user’s head to measure their brain
activity (Guger et al.,2003), as well as brain signal processing and
recognition technology (Bashashati et al.,2007).
In the context of a Metaverse, a BCI could be used to enable users
to control and interact with the virtual space using their thoughts and
brain activity (Bernal et al.,2022). For example, a BCI could be used to
allow users to move and navigate within the virtual space, or to interact
with virtual objects and environments, simply by thinking about these
actions. It could also be used to enhance the immersion and realism of
the virtual space, by allowing users to experience and express emotions
and other mental states within the virtual space. For instance, a BCI
could be used to detect and interpret the user’s emotional state and
respond accordingly by altering the virtual environment or the user’s
avatar within the virtual space.
In the future, BCIs can also play an important role in making the
Metaverse inclusive, as they have the potential to provide people with
impaired motor-skills with alternative input options.
3.3.3. Video games (Mozumder et al.,2022;Tukur et al.,2022;Ning et al.,
2021)
Since their inception in the late 1940s and early 1950s, video games
have gained wide attention with the release of Pong (1972) (Kocurek,
2015;Wolf,2008). They have since become the driver of technological
innovations such as game consoles, home computers, and dedicated
sound and graphics processors. It is therefore not surprising that real-
time 3D rendering and realistic audio processing have become the
hallmark of modern video games. This is particularly true for virtual en-
vironments that form the enabling platform for Metaverses. Optimized
game engines, specialized software platforms designed to provide the
capabilities for creating and running video games and other interactive
experiences, have thus become a necessity for video games and will
continue to be a prerequisite for the Metaverse. One reason is the ever-
increasing complexity of programming a wide range of ever-evolving
devices, special-purpose accelerators, highly specialized and optimized
algorithms, etc., for which a game engine provides a manageable and
accessible abstraction layer.
In the context of a Metaverse, game engines and real-time rendering
technologies are used to create and run interactive virtual environments
within the virtual space. Furthermore, game engines also provide so-
phisticated user input paradigms, providing users with seamless and
natural ways to interact with the virtual space (Mozumder et al.,2022;
Ning et al.,2021).
3.4. Virtual reality object connection
Virtual reality object connection refers to the concept of connecting
and interacting with real-world objects within a virtual reality (VR)
environment (Riva et al.,2021). This technique typically involves the
use of specialized hardware (e.g., haptic feedback or actuators (Yeh
et al.,2020)) and software that is designed to bridge the gap between
the virtual and physical worlds, allowing users to manipulate and
interact with real-world objects within a VR environment. The main
technologies used by this technique include:
3.4.1. Decentralized technology (Zhang et al.,2022;Thomason,2021;
Mozumder et al.,2022;Nalbant and Uyanik,2021;Baughman,2022;Bisht
et al.,2022;Wang et al.,2022;Suhail et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
Decentralized technologies, such as blockchains, could prove critical
for the development and operation of Metaverses (Cao,2022). The
blockchain technology, in particular, is a distributed database tech-
nology that allows for the secure and transparent storage and sharing
of data and information (Niranjanamurthy et al.,2019). Blockchains
commonly use a network of decentralized nodes to store and manage
data and provide an irreversible (and, thus, tamper-resistant) record of
transactions.
In the context of a Metaverse, blockchain technology can be used to
securely and transparently manage the data and information associated
with the virtual space (Gadekallu et al.,2022). In particular, the ability
of blockchains to prove ownership can be used to cover data related
to users, virtual objects, and virtual environments, as well as data
related to transactions and interactions within the virtual space. The
use of blockchain technology can also provide a secure and transparent
mechanism for the management of virtual assets within the Metaverse,
such as virtual currency, digital goods, and other in-world assets. This
can be important to establish trust and confidence in the Metaverse, as
well as to facilitate economic activity within the virtual space.
3.4.2. Identity modeling (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
Identity modeling and identity resolution are technologies that are
critical for the management of user identities within a Metaverse (Ning
et al.,2021). Identity modeling refers to the process of creating and
representing the unique characteristics and attributes of a user within
a virtual space, while identity resolution refers to the process of link-
ing and matching different identities and attributes associated with a
user across different systems and contexts. These technologies can be
used to represent the characteristics and attributes of users, such as
their avatar (Klevjer,2022), their virtual possessions, and their social
connections, within the virtual space. These technologies can also be
used to ensure the authenticity, security, and privacy of user identities
within the Metaverse, by providing mechanisms such as authentication
and access control, as well as by protecting sensitive user data from
unauthorized access or tampering.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
7
M. Tukur et al.
3.4.3. Social computing (Mozumder et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021)
The utilization of social computing technologies, such as swarm
intelligence and social networks, is essential for the establishment
and maintenance of Metaverse (Yao et al.,2022). Swarm intelligence
pertains to the collective behavior of decentralized and self-organized
systems, which is often employed to address complex issues or make
adaptive and distributed decisions (Bonabeau,2003;Zedadra et al.,
2018). On the other hand, social networks pertain to the interconnected
networks of individuals and organizations that facilitate the sharing
and exchange of information, ideas, and resources (Van Zyl,2009).
In the context of a Metaverse, swarm intelligence and social network
technologies can be utilized to create and manage the intricate inter-
actions and relationships within the virtual space. For instance, swarm
intelligence algorithms can be utilized to coordinate the actions and
behaviors of multiple agents or avatars within the virtual space, thereby
enabling them to interact and collaborate in a more natural and realistic
manner.
3.5. Synergizing the technologies in the metaverse: a comprehensive inte-
gration analysis
This section provides a more in-depth analysis of how the various
collected technologies integrate and synergize within the Metaverse’s
communication computing infrastructure, including detailed examples
and case studies to demonstrate the practical application and interplay
of these technologies.
•Extended Reality (XR): XR technologies, encompassing Virtual
Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR),
form the core of user experiences in the Metaverse. For instance,
in a virtual real estate application, VR allows users to explore
3D property models, while AR can be used to visualize furniture
in real-world spaces (Tukur et al.,2022,2023a). Furthermore,
Diminished Reality (DR) can be used to automatically remove fur-
niture and other clutter from indoor spaces (Pintore et al.,2022).
Moreover, in healthcare, VR is used for patient therapy and surgi-
cal training, while AR assists in complex surgeries by overlaying
crucial information on the patient’s body in real-time (Mozumder
et al.,2022;Seetohul et al.,2023).
•Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI plays a pivotal role in enhancing
user interactions and personalization within the Metaverse. A
practical example is the use of AI-driven avatars in virtual social
platforms, which can learn from user interactions to provide
more natural and engaging conversations (Slater and Sanchez-
Vives,2016). Furthermore, AI algorithms can also be used to
analyze user behavior to customize content in educational plat-
forms or retail, offering tailored learning modules or shopping
experiences (Grande et al.,2023). Moreover, in a virtual real
estate application, AI/deep learning techniques can be used to
perform data-driven style transfer between indoor panoramic
environments (Tukur et al.,2023b).
•Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Decentralized Technologies:
These are crucial for ensuring secure, transparent transactions and
digital asset management in the Metaverse. Case studies include
the use of blockchain for property rights in virtual lands and NFTs
(Non-Fungible Tokens) for unique digital collectibles (Belk et al.,
2022). Furthermore, in a virtual finance/banking application,
cryptocurrencies enable in-world purchases, while blockchain
technology can be employed for identity verification and the
ownership of digital assets (Nam,2023).
•5G, XR and Communication Networks: The seamless operation of
the Metaverse requires robust communication networks. 5G tech-
nology, with its high speed and low latency, facilitates real-time
interactions and data transfers, essential for multiplayer gaming
and live virtual events. For instance, 5G’s rapid data transfer rates
and ability to support multiple devices simultaneously open up
possibilities for multiplayer gaming and live virtual events, where
participants can interact as if they were in the same physical
space (Huang et al.,2023).
•Cloud Computing and Edge Computing: These technologies pro-
vide the necessary computational power and data storage so-
lutions. For example, cloud computing enables scalable infras-
tructure for large-scale virtual worlds, while edge computing
reduces latency in location-based AR applications, thus being
crucial for reducing latency in real-time applications (Wang and
Zhao,2022). The authors (Wang and Zhao,2022) discusses how
Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) meets the latency requirements
of Metaverse service applications and provides a comprehensive
overview of integrating technologies like 5G, blockchain, and
artificial intelligence into the MEC framework for the Metaverse.
•Interoperability Protocols: To enable a cohesive Metaverse, in-
teroperability between different virtual environments is essential.
This can be seen in cross-platform gaming, where players from
different systems can interact within the same virtual environ-
ment (Li et al.,2023). This paper (Li et al.,2023) discusses the
development and challenges of cross-metaverse interoperability,
proposing MetaOpera as a solution to enable seamless interaction
across different metaverse platforms, regardless of whether they
are centralized or decentralized. This protocol facilitates a unified
user experience and asset transfer across different metaverses.
•IoT Integration: Internet of Things (IoT) devices can enhance
physical-virtual interactions. For example, smart wearables can
track users’ physical movements and replicate them in the virtual
world, creating more immersive experiences in fitness or enter-
tainment applications (Veeraiah et al.,2022;Han et al.,2022,
2023).
•Nano and Quantum Technology: In gaming, quantum comput-
ing could vastly improve graphics rendering speeds, leading to
hyper-realistic game worlds (Piispanen et al.,2022). Nanotech-
nology, on the other hand, could be used to develop advanced
VR headsets with lighter, more efficient, and higher-resolution
displays (IEEE Transmitter,2019).
•Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI): The use of BCIs in the Meta-
verse for more intuitive and immersive interactions. This includes
potential applications for accessibility, allowing users with mo-
bility impairments to navigate and interact within the Metaverse
using their thoughts (Zhu et al.,2023). BCIs could be used in
therapeutic settings within the Metaverse, such as for stroke
rehabilitation, allowing patients to control virtual limbs through
neural signals (Gaur and Jhanjhi,2023).
•Social Computing and Swarm Intelligence: these technologies can
enhance dynamic, user-driven content creation in the Metaverse.
For example, swarm intelligence algorithms in virtual concerts or
events could simulate crowd dynamics, improving the realism of
social interactions (Shi et al.,2023).
•Identity Modeling and Resolution: These technologies are crucial
for managing user identities in the Metaverse, ensuring secure
and consistent experiences across various platforms and envi-
ronments (Zichichi et al.,2023). For example, in Metaverse e-
commerce, secure identity resolution is essential to ensure digital
avatars accurately and trustworthily represent their real-world
users during transactions (Rojas Rodríguez,2023;Okhmatovskiy,
2023).
•Spatio-temporal Consistency: This is important in ensuring that
the Metaverse maintains a coherent and continuous experience
for users, particularly in large-scale or rapidly changing environ-
ments (Ning et al.,2023). For instance, on virtual real estate
platforms, maintaining spatio-temporal consistency ensures that
changes in virtual properties (like construction or renovation) are
consistently updated and synchronized for all users.
Each of these technologies contributes to a comprehensive and inter-
connected Metaverse, enabling diverse applications and experiences.
Integrating these technologies effectively is key to the development of
a robust, scalable, and user-friendly Metaverse.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
8
M. Tukur et al.
3.6. Analysis of the collected metaverse techniques and technologies
Tables 3, and 4summarize the techniques and technologies for
creating Metaverse found in the publications reviewed. The most com-
mon technique in the reviewed publications was found to be “Virtual
reality space convergence”, covered by 73% of the included studies.
This is expected as VR space convergence is a powerful technique for
creating a Metaverse, as it allows for a high degree of immersion,
interactivity, customization, and accessibility, which can help to create
a rich and engaging digital environment. Additionally, it includes the
most important technologies for creating digital environments to enable
Metaverse, such as VR, AR, MR, brain signal processing and recog-
nition, video game engine, and real-time rendering. The second most
prevalent technique identified in the reviewed literature is “Fundamen-
tal Technology”, reported in 43% of the articles. This is understandable
as this technique encompasses some of the most critical and enabling
technologies for creating a Metaverse, specifically artificial intelligence
(AI), which includes machine learning, deep learning, natural language
processing, and reinforcement learning. AI can be utilized to create
intelligent and responsive virtual agents that can interact with users in
the Metaverse and analyze user behavior and preferences to personalize
the experience for each user. In contrast, the remaining two techniques,
“Virtual Reality Object Connection” and “Communication Computing
Infrastructure”, are less represented, covered by 30% and 23% of the
included publications, respectively.
As shown in Table 4, “Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR)” is the most
commonly cited Metaverse technology, covered in 73% of the reviewed
papers. This aligns with the previously discussed prevalence of the
parent technique “Virtual Reality Space Convergence” and the critical
role that XR plays in creating a Metaverse by allowing for a natural
and immersive experience and interaction with digital content. The
second most prevalent Metaverse technology identified in the reviewed
literature is “Artificial Intelligence” (AI), cited in 40% of the primary
studies. This is not surprising for two reasons: firstly, its parent tech-
nique “Fundamental Technology” is ranked second, behind “Virtual
Reality Space Convergence” and secondly, due to the recent success
of deep learning, AI has established itself as a disruptive and widely
useful technology in many fields, as previously discussed. “Decentral-
ized Technology”, such as blockchain, is identified as the third most
common technology, covered by 30% of the included studies. This
is justifiable as decentralized technology is considered important in
creating a Metaverse for its ability to enable a distributed, transparent,
and secure way to manage and exchange digital assets and information.
However, it is important to note that more research is needed in other
fundamental aspects of Metaverses.
The fourth most common technology found in this review is “Net-
work & Communications”, which includes IoT, 5G/6G, etc., covered by
23% of the selected articles. This technology provides significant con-
tributions towards creating a Metaverse as it enables high-speed, low-
latency communication and connectivity between devices and users, an
essential ingredient for interaction in a Metaverse. The fifth most com-
mon technology is “Computing Paradigm”, which includes cloud/edge
computing, cited by 17% of the reviewed papers. Computing paradigms
such as cloud computing and edge computing are essential in creating
a Metaverse’s digital environment as they enable the processing and
storage of large amounts of data and support real-time processing of
data and interactions.
The remaining technologies received less attention in the reviewed
literature, with “Nano & Quantum Technology”, “Privacy & Security”,
“Brain Computer Interface”, and “Video Game (Game Engine, Real-
Time Rendering)” covered by only 10% of the papers reviewed. This
is likely due to these technologies either being not yet mature enough
(such as Nano & Quantum Technology, Brain Computer Interfaces)
to be deployed at scale or mature industry standards already being
established (such as Video Game, Privacy & Security). However, it is
worth noting that research in quantum technology also goes hand-
in-hand with research in privacy & security, as quantum computing
has the potential to disrupt established algorithms in the latter cate-
gory. “Spatio-Temporal Consistency”, “Identity Modeling”, and “Social
Computing” have the lowest frequencies, occurring in only 7% of the
included primary studies. This may seem surprising, particularly with
respect to identity modeling and social computing, as they are integral
aspects of what is now considered to be the Metaverse. However,
both topics require a large established user-base and, thus, may gain
importance in the future as the Metaverse evolves. Additionally, spatio-
temporal consistency is relatively well-researched in robotics, but its
complexity increases with the user-base. Modern network & communi-
cations research may also alleviate some of the traditional challenges,
making advances in spatio-temporal consistency mandatory.
Regarding the effective utilization of techniques and technologies
for generating immersive environments in the Metaverse, the reviewed
techniques and technologies offer promising avenues. Technologies
such as extended reality (VR/AR/MR) and artificial intelligence, partic-
ularly deep learning and natural language processing, can be effectively
adapted to create lifelike virtual environments. Techniques such as
virtual reality object connection and brain-computer interfaces have
potential applications in enhancing user interaction within the Meta-
verse. Furthermore, spatio-temporal consistency and identity modeling
can play crucial roles in maintaining coherence and managing user
identities within the virtual space.
Overall, these techniques and technologies are crucial, to vary-
ing degrees, for the creation and manipulation of virtual objects and
environments within Metaverse environments, providing the neces-
sary capabilities to create immersive and interactive virtual spaces.
These technologies are likely to play a significant role in the future
development and evolution of the Metaverse.
4. Applications of metaverse environments
In this section, we will examine the various applications of Meta-
verse environments identified in the studies included in our review.
These applications can be grouped into twelve major categories based
on their impact on different industrial sectors. Table 5 provides a
summary of these studies and their key contributions towards the
development of the Metaverse in different industrial sectors.
4.1. Metaverse in business
The Metaverse has the potential to change how businesses conduct
their operations and engage with their clientele (Meepung and Kan-
nikar,2022). For instance, the Metaverse may be used to create realistic
virtual stores where customers can explore and make purchases just like
they would if they were at the store physically. This might be especially
helpful for companies who want to provide each consumer a (hyper-
)personalized purchasing experience and have a worldwide customer
base.
The Metaverse may also be used to build online meeting places
where clients and staff from various regions can gather to interact and
work on projects. This would make it possible for teams to commu-
nicate and work together more effectively and affordably, regardless
of where they are physically located. Moreover, it may also make it
possible for companies to develop virtual learning environments where
staff members may advance their knowledge and abilities in a realistic,
interactive environment. Businesses that need to swiftly and effectively
teach a big number of staff may find this to be of great interest.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
9
M. Tukur et al.
Table 4
Technologies enabling the metaverse digital environment.
Techniques Communication computing infrastructure Fundamental technology Virtual reality space convergence Virtual reality object connection
Technologies/
study
Network &
Commns (IoT,
5G, 6G)
Nano &
quantum
techn.
Comp.
paradigm
cloud/edge
computing
Artificial
intelligence
Spacio-
temporal
consistency
Privacy &
security
Extended
reality
(VR/AR/MR)
Brain
computer
interface
Video game
engine/
real-time
rendering
Decentralized
techn.
(blockchain)
Identity
modeling
Social
computing
Magalhães
et al. (2022)
✓
Tukur et al.
(2022)
✓ ✓ ✓
Zhang et al.
(2022)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Rillig et al.
(2022)
✓
Kwon et al.
(2022)
✓
Allam et al.
(2022)
✓
Thomason
(2021)
✓ ✓
Wiederhold
(2022)
✓
Yang et al.
(2022b)
✓ ✓
Mozumder
et al. (2022)
✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓
Nalbant and
Uyanik (2021)
✓✓✓
Suh and Ahn
(2022)
✓
Locurcio
(2022)
✓ ✓
Díaz et al.
(2020)
✓
Baughman
(2022)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Han et al.
(2022)
✓
Bojic (2022)✓
Huang et al.
(2022)
✓
Bisht et al.
(2022)
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Wu and Hung
(2022)
✓
Pamucar et al.
(2022)
✓
Alpala et al.
(2022)
✓
Yang et al.
(2022a)
✓
Wang et al.
(2022)
✓✓✓
Souza et al.
(2021)
✓
Suhail et al.
(2022)
✓ ✓
McGill (2021)✓
Abraham
et al. (2022)
✓
Meepung and
Kannikar
(2022)
✓
Ning et al.
(2021)
✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓
4.2. Metaverse in education
The Metaverse has the potential to change the way students learn
and educators teach in education (Zhang et al.,2022;Rillig et al.,
2022;Suh and Ahn,2022;Locurcio,2022;Díaz et al.,2020;Wu
and Hung,2022). The Metaverse, for example, may be used to create
immersive virtual classrooms in which students can communicate with
one another and with their professors in a realistic, dynamic context.
This might result in more interesting and dynamic learning experiences,
as well as the ability for students to study at their own pace (Suh and
Ahn,2022;Zhang et al.,2022;Díaz et al.,2020). Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology, for example, now has two physically distant
campuses (Hong Kong and Shenzen) and has adopted virtual classes to
bridge the distance between the two.
Additionally, the Metaverse can be utilized to create virtual field
trips that allow students to explore and learn about different places,
events, and historical periods in a realistic, immersive way. This could
be particularly useful for students who may not have the opportunity
to go on physical field trips due to financial or other constraints (Ril-
lig et al.,2022;Zhang et al.,2022). Furthermore, during the recent
COVID-19 pandemic, the Metaverse offers potentially more engaging
alternatives to conventional online modes of education that allow
maintaining social distance or quarantine. Moreover, the Metaverse
enables educators to create virtual simulations and games that aid
students in learning complex concepts and developing critical think-
ing and problem-solving skills. This could be particularly useful for
subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM),
where hands-on learning is often an essential aspect of the learning
process (Locurcio,2022;Rillig et al.,2022).
4.3. Metaverse in finance
In the financial sector, the Metaverse has the potential to transform
how financial institutions operate and interact with customers (Bisht
et al.,2022). For instance, the Metaverse could lead to the creation
of virtual banks and financial centers, which would provide customers
with a convenient way to conduct financial transactions and access
financial services under the guidance of the bank’s personnel. This
could be particularly useful for customers with limited access to banks
and financial centers but who still prefer personal discussion and rec-
ommendations. For banks, the Metaverse can be instrumental in their
recent trend towards “hyper-personalization” (i.e., proactively pitching
financial products to the right customer), but it also poses risks for
“know-your-customer” policies which require additional care.
Additionally, the Metaverse could be utilized to create virtual trad-
ing floors where financial professionals can interact with each other
and with customers in real-time, regardless of their physical location.
This could enable financial institutions to conduct trading and other
financial operations more efficiently and cost-effectively. However, a
key ingredient for such a scenario is ultra-low latency, since this is the
commonly established bar for intra-day trading.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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M. Tukur et al.
Table 5
Metaverse applications in different sectors.
Sector Ref Contributions
Business Meepung and Kannikar (2022) Propose an idea on how metaverse would reduce physical restrictions on business, provide
new dimensions of payment system with
Smart Contract, add promotion channels with game marketing, and creating a unique
immersive customer experience.
Education
Zhang et al. (2022) How metaverse would assist in blended (hybrid) learning, VE, language learning, and
inclusive learning (especially for people with
special needs)
Rillig et al. (2022) Enhanced teaching and communication, visiting sensitive sites, and facilitating science and
access
Suh and Ahn (2022) Interactive virtual classes
Locurcio (2022) Enhanced anatomic models and VR goggle for dental education
Díaz et al. (2020) Improved self-learning, collaborative learning, and student support using virtual classes
with students as avatars
Wu and Hung (2022) Enhancing students’ grammar and lexical use in their speaking performance
Finance Bisht et al. (2022) To assist in credit risk management based on real-time data, financial data analytics of risk
assessment, digital finance, digital auditing,
fraud detection, AI- and IoT- based virtual assistants; Wealth management, online
transactions, customized bond scheme, customer
retention, improve service quality & accessibility
Healthcare
Thomason (2021) Collaborative working between doctors across the world; Interactive education for medical
students;
Telehealth clinical care and improved online regular health screening and patient
monitoring
Wiederhold (2022) Telepresence for telemedicine for an improved remote treatment; Digital Twins of patients
to enhance the efficacy of treatment
Yang et al. (2022b) Medical Internet of Things (MIoT) using AR & VR glasses; Holographic construction and
emulation of patient’s case;
Collaborative medical & clinical research; Chronic disease management using in-home care
and outpatient attendance and consultation
Mozumder et al. (2022) Remote surgery, telepresence & AR surgery; Holographic anatomy modeling to improve
diagnosis and surgery planning;
Medical database visualization and improved big data analysis; Psychotherapy support &
virtual support group meetings;
Education, training, and virtual simulation
Manufacturing
Magalhães et al. (2022) Monitoring, managing, & improvement of a product or process; Increasing the efficiency of
various productive sectors;
Training people to be less prone to making mistakes; Enabling better forecasting, tracking,
allocation, resource management,
optimization, & quality control; Easy & real-time access to information such as production
rate, queue management, feed stock, &
equipment & pallet status. Facilitating decision-making by staff at different levels of the
factory. For example, pallet conveyor speed
can be adjusted to improve queue management
Han et al. (2022) Building digital factories on metaverse in order to replicate and analyze operations and
production processes, predict future errors,
and optimize production and logistic line
Alpala et al. (2022) Improving the collaboration and communication practices in 3D virtual worlds
Yang et al. (2022a) Improving the efficiency of the XR application development and the usability of the
XR-based Human–Machine Interface (HMI) systems
Suhail et al. (2022) A comprehensive review of the design and implementation issues of the current
state-of-the-art blockchain-based DTs solutions
in industry
Military Baughman (2022) Using metaverse to simulate the trauma created by wars to stimulate human society’s
interest in peace
Real Estate Tukur et al. (2022) Virtual staging - Immersive exploration of indoor scenes;
Enabling virtual editing and manipulating 360◦panoramic indoor scenes.
For example: virtual rendering, refurnishing, deferred shading, scene modification (object
insertion, movement and scaling),
and clutter removal.
Nalbant and Uyanik (2021) Virtual reality-based property tours that allow customers to visit and review as many
properties as possible while reducing the travel
time to zero
(continued on next page)

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
11
M. Tukur et al.
Table 5 (continued).
Sector Ref Contributions
Entertainment Bojic (2022) How metaverse could change power relations in societies and affect levels of media
addiction;
The impact of metaverse design on its users’ psychology.
Sports Huang et al. (2022) Effects of VR sports on the endurance performance of athletes; How the athletes’ mental
health and performance anxiety mediated
the relationship between VR sports experience and athletes’ endurance performance;
Significant positive effects of engaging in a VR sports on one’s mental health;
The opportunities for people to enhance their VR sporting abilities & boost their endurance
performance.
Tourism Allam et al. (2022) Help urban policy makers to better understand the opportunities and implications of the
Metaverse upon tech-mediated practices
and applied urban agendas, as well as assess the positives and negatives of this
techno-urban vision.
Transportation Pamucar et al. (2022) Auto-driving, public transportation operation and safety, traffic operation, and sharing
economy applications to obtain sustainable
transportation
General
Kwon et al. (2022) Presents possible case scenarios where Quantum information technology could support
metaverse environment;
How Quantum IT could enhance metaverse security, and provide the desirable heuristic
optimization;
Wang et al. (2022) Present a future research directions in building secure metaverse
Souza et al. (2021) Provide a discussion on how to objectively/subjectively measure presence in VE; Identified
29 main factors to evoke presence in VE,
and grouped them into four categories: Engagement, Personal Characteristics, Interaction
Fidelity, and Display Fidelity.
McGill (2021) Highlighting the caution required when embracing the concept of the metaverse as it forms
key narratives driving technological design
and global policy.
Abraham et al. (2022) Exploring the emerging challenges that mass adoption of XR will pose regarding three key
concerns: security, privacy and influence
over behavior.
Ning et al. (2021) Summarizes the work of various countries and enterprises, collects papers related to
Metaverse, introduces the three characteristics
of Metaverse’s multi-technology, sociality, and hyper spatiotemporality, predicts the first
application areas of the metaverse,
and discusses its problems and challenges.
4.4. Metaverse in healthcare
In the healthcare industry, the Metaverse has the potential to reform
how healthcare providers deliver care and how patients access and
manage their health (Thomason,2021;Wiederhold,2022;Yang et al.,
2022b;Mozumder et al.,2022).
For example, the Metaverse could be utilized to create virtual clinics
and hospitals where patients can access healthcare services in a con-
venient and secure way. This could be particularly useful for patients
who may not have easy access to physical healthcare facilities, or who
prefer the convenience of receiving care remotely (Wiederhold,2022;
Thomason,2021;Yang et al.,2022b). Additionally, digital mental
healthcare psychologists often realize that certain non-verbal aspects
(e.g., body language) of their patients are lost in traditional online
settings (Ahmed et al.,2022), yet, online digital mental healthcare
has shown significant benefits when trying to provide psychologi-
cal assistance to remote, rural, or sparsely populated areas (Graham
et al.,2021). Furthermore, gamification can be used to improve patient
outcomes in some cases (Cheng et al.,2019).
The Metaverse might potentially be utilized to build virtual reha-
bilitation clinics where patients could get therapy and rehabilitation
in a realistic, immersive environment. This may allow healthcare pro-
fessionals to provide more effective and engaging therapeutic services,
perhaps improving patient outcomes (Mozumder et al.,2022). Further-
more, the Metaverse may enable healthcare practitioners to construct
virtual instructional programs that assist patients in learning about
their health issues, treatments, and prescriptions. This might be es-
pecially beneficial for people who do not comprehend their health
concerns and require assistance in controlling their health (Thomason,
2021).
4.5. Metaverse in manufacturing
The Metaverse has the ability to transform how things are con-
ceived, constructed, and tested in the manufacturing industry (Mag-
alhães et al.,2022;Alpala et al.,2022;Yang et al.,2022a;Suhail et al.,
2022;Han et al.,2022). The use of virtual design environments for
product development is one potential application of the Metaverse in
manufacturing. Engineers and designers may cooperate and build new
goods in a realistic, immersive environment, resulting in faster and
more efficient product design and development, as well as increased
product quality and functionality (Magalhães et al.,2022). Another
use is the use of virtual environments for specialized maintenance
and repair jobs. Remote technicians can be overseen in real time by
professionals, and individual training sessions can be conducted in
the Metaverse utilizing 3D models and immersive walk-throughs of
tasks (Han et al.,2022).
The Metaverse may also be used to build virtual factories and
assembly lines in order to test and evaluate novel manufacturing meth-
ods and technologies. This enables enterprises to enhance efficiency
and productivity by optimizing manufacturing processes (Han et al.,
2022). Furthermore, virtual prototypes and simulations of products

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
12
M. Tukur et al.
may be built in the Metaverse, allowing producers to test and assess
product performance and durability without the need for physical
prototypes, which is especially beneficial for complicated or difficult-
to-manufacture products (Magalhães et al.,2022;Alpala et al.,2022).
Furthermore, producers may use the Metaverse to test demand for
future designs by pre-releasing virtual copies of their products.
4.6. Metaverse in military
The Metaverse has the ability to transform how military personnel
train, plan, and execute operations (Baughman,2022).
For instance, military personnel can utilize the Metaverse to estab-
lish virtual training facilities in which they can practice and improve
their abilities in realistic, immersive circumstances. This might increase
military personnel’s preparation for real-world operations by allowing
them to train more efficiently and effectively. In these circumstances,
the introduction of VR and motion-tracking technologies may give an
extra level of realism, making training more effective.
The Metaverse may also be used to boost the realism of virtual plan-
ning and simulation tools, which aid military commanders and other
decision-makers in evaluating and planning missions and plans. This
might allow military personnel to make more informed and effective
judgments, thus improving military operations’ success. Furthermore,
the Metaverse may be utilized for virtual reconnaissance and surveil-
lance operations, allowing military personnel to acquire intelligence
and analyze prospective threats without endangering themselves. This
might be especially valuable for high-risk operations when military
personnel safety is a key issue. However, doing so while leveraging
cloud resources is hard, and high-security versions of the Metaverse
may result.
4.7. Metaverse in real estate
In the context of real estate, the metaverse has the potential to
revolutionize how properties are bought and sold by offering virtual
spaces in which users can explore and interact with digital represen-
tations of real-world properties. This allows potential buyers to view
fully virtual or digital representations of real properties in 3D from
anywhere in the world. These virtual spaces can also potentially be
used for virtual property listings, furnishing, and other virtual stag-
ing services (Tukur et al.,2022;Nalbant and Uyanik,2021;Ikea,
2022;Styldod,2022;Stuccco,2022;PadStyler,2022). By providing
a platform for virtual property listings, real estate agents and brokers
can create virtual representations of properties for sale, which can be
accessed and explored by potential buyers in the metaverse. This can
make it easier for buyers to compare and contrast different properties,
and potentially even make offers and complete transactions within the
virtual space. Another application of the metaverse in the real estate
industry is the concept of virtual mansions or estates, which refer to
virtual properties or spaces existing within a virtual world or online
platform. These virtual mansions or estates can be used for a variety
of purposes, such as hosting events, inviting people, and serving as
status symbols (Yu,2011). These mansions can be customized with
a variety of features and decor, and they can be used for everything
from parties and gatherings to business meetings and presentations.
It is important to note that virtual real estate and virtual mansions
are still relatively new concepts, and the market for these types of
properties is still developing. Consequently, it is challenging to predict
their exact use and value in the future. Nevertheless, it is evident that
they possess the potential to be a significant and innovative aspect of
the Metaverse. However, as with any new technology, there are likely
to be challenges and obstacles to overcome before it becomes widely
adopted. Among these challenges are trust and acceptance issues, such
as some clients preferring to see properties in the real world, as well as
technical barriers to entry, such as property agents needing to become
content creators and clients having to buy VR gear first.
4.8. Metaverse in social networking and entertainment
In the context of social networking and entertainment, the meta-
verse is generally understood as a virtual space where users can create
and customize avatars to represent themselves, and interact with each
other and with virtual objects and environments. This allows users
to socialize, play games, and participate in a wide variety of other
activities within the virtual space (Bojic,2022).
One potential application of the metaverse in this space is to provide
a platform for virtual events. The metaverse allows users to attend
concerts, festivals, conferences, and other events in the virtual space,
potentially providing a more immersive and interactive experience than
attending the event in person. Users can also participate in virtual
events that may not be possible in the physical world due to geograph-
ical constraints, such as attending a concert in a different country or a
festival on a remote island.
Another potential application of the metaverse is as a platform for
virtual world-building. As the success of Minecraft has demonstrated,
creating and customizing virtual spaces, due to its inherent gaming
aspect, has a certain mass appeal. In the metaverse, users can create and
customize their own virtual spaces, which can then be used for derived
activities such as socializing and gaming in these customized virtual
spaces. The metaverse also allows users to create virtual spaces that
are not bound by the laws of physics or the constraints of the physical
world, which can lead to entirely new forms of entertainment and social
interaction.
In general, the use of the metaverse for social networking and
entertainment has the potential to provide a more immersive and
interactive experience for users, and could lead to entirely new forms
of entertainment. However, one of the challenges in this sector is
transparency, especially with respects to AIs and bots that we anticipate
to also become metaverse residents. For users, being able to tell bots
from humans in this virtual world, might become a desirable or even
crucial aspect of their acceptance of the technology.
4.9. Metaverse in sports
The metaverse in sports refers to a virtual world where people
may participate in and watch sporting activities. This might allow
consumers to engage in more immersive and participatory sports ex-
periences, possibly even competing in virtual championships and tour-
naments (Huang et al.,2022).
The metaverse in sports might offer new kinds of involvement and
monetization, particularly for sports organizations, by providing a new
channel for marketing, branding, and item sales.
The most apparent use of the metaverse in sports is as a platform
for live sporting events. Users could then interact with sporting events
virtually, moving around the playing field, selecting certain viewpoints
(e.g., player cams), and so on. The metaverse would eliminate physical
stadium capacity constraints, but it would need high-quality, low-
latency broadcasting and interactive features to deliver a pleasant user
experience. Users can control their own avatars to engage in virtual
competitions in virtual and eSports. This might be especially beneficial
for extreme sports like combat sports, which are difficult or dangerous
to engage in person. Another possible use for the metaverse in sports
is as a training and coaching platform. Athletes and coaches would be
able to use virtual settings to model and rehearse various sports events,
perhaps giving a more realistic and effective approach to train and
prepare for real-world tournaments.
While the metaverse has the potential to improve user experiences
and give new possibilities for sports organizations, technological diffi-
culties such as low-latency streaming and scalability must be solved in
order to assure a good user experience.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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M. Tukur et al.
4.10. Metaverse in tourism
In the context of tourism, the metaverse has the potential to revolu-
tionize the way we experience and learn about the world around us by
providing a more immersive and interactive way to virtually explore
and discover new places (Allam et al.,2022). Early examples of virtual
tourism can be found in the form of VR-enabled representations of sites
that may be out of reach for the average tourist due to cost, risks, or
other travel restrictions (Ainsworth et al.,2011;Anon,2013).
The metaverse could provide a platform for virtual travel, allowing
users to virtually visit and explore a wide variety of real-world des-
tinations and potentially interact with virtual representations of other
people and objects within those destinations. Furthermore, it has the
potential to digitally preserve cultural heritage sites, both from touristic
damage as well as destruction resulting from future conflicts.
However, the metaverse’s success in the field of tourism will de-
pend on the availability of high-quality, curated content. This “chicken
and egg” problem between content and demand requires tech-savvy
pioneers dedicated to digital humanities to pave the way for success.
4.11. Metaverse in transportation
In the context of transportation, the metaverse has the potential to
revolutionize the way transportation systems are designed, planned,
and evaluated. This can be achieved by using virtual environments
to simulate and test different transportation scenarios, allowing trans-
portation planners and engineers to evaluate the performance of dif-
ferent algorithms, control systems, and infrastructure in a safe and
controlled environment (Pamucar et al.,2022).
One example of this is in the field of autonomous vehicles, where
the metaverse can be used to simulate and test different scenarios for
autonomous vehicles, allowing engineers to evaluate the performance
of different algorithms and control systems in a safe and controlled
environment. This approach builds on the recent success of simulation-
to-real-world transfer learning for autonomous vehicles (Mueller et al.,
2018), where quasi-photo-realistic, simulated training environments
are used to safely collect training data.
Another example is in the field of public transportation operations
and safety, where the metaverse can be used to simulate and test dif-
ferent scenarios for public transportation systems such as trains, buses,
and subways. This approach allows transportation planners to evaluate
the performance of different routing and scheduling algorithms and
to identify and address potential safety concerns before deploying the
systems in the real world.
4.12. Discussion
As shown in Table 5, the major sector from our thirty (30) reviewed
articles is education, covered by six (6) studies (Zhang et al.,2022;
Rillig et al.,2022;Suh and Ahn,2022;Locurcio,2022;Díaz et al.,
2020;Wu and Hung,2022). These studies focus on how the metaverse
can be used to enhance and improve the way education is delivered
and experienced, including virtual classrooms and virtual laboratory
simulations.
Following education, the manufacturing sector is the second most
represented in the reviewed studies, with five (5) studies (Magalhães
et al.,2022;Alpala et al.,2022;Yang et al.,2022a;Suhail et al.,2022;
Han et al.,2022). These studies explore how the metaverse can be used
to create virtual design environments and virtual factories, allowing for
faster and more efficient product design and development, as well as
virtual prototypes and simulations for testing and evaluating products.
Healthcare is also well represented in the reviewed studies, with
four (4) studies (Thomason,2021;Wiederhold,2022;Yang et al.,
2022b;Mozumder et al.,2022). These studies focus on how the meta-
verse can be used to provide virtual medical consultations, virtual
surgical simulations, and virtual medical training.
Real estate is represented by two studies (Nalbant and Uyanik,
2021;Tukur et al.,2022). These studies explore the potential use of
the metaverse in providing virtual property listings and virtual staging
services, as well as allowing potential buyers to virtually explore and
interact with properties. However, based on our findings, the use of
metaverse in real estate is still a relatively new and emerging concept,
so the specifics of how it would work in practice are not yet fully
defined as there are few works done in this area.
The remaining seven (7) sectors comprising business (Meepung
and Kannikar,2022), finance (Bisht et al.,2022), military (Baugh-
man,2022), social networking and entertainment (Bojic,2022), sports
(Huang et al.,2022), tourism (Allam et al.,2022), and transporta-
tion (Pamucar et al.,2022) are each covered by one study. It is
important to note that some of the included studies (Kwon et al.,
2022;Wang et al.,2022;Souza et al.,2021;McGill,2021;Abraham
et al.,2022;Ning et al.,2021) review the metaverse in general without
focusing on a specific industrial sector, and have been classified as
“general” in the last row of Table 5. For example, Wang et al. (2022)
discusses future research directions for building a secure metaverse
digital environment, while Souza et al. (2021) explores how to mea-
sure presence in metaverse virtual environments, identifying 29 main
factors that can evoke presence and grouping them into four categories:
Engagement, Personal Characteristics, Interaction Fidelity, and Display
Fidelity. Other studies such as Kwon et al. (2022), McGill (2021), Ning
et al. (2021) discuss various aspects of the metaverse such as security,
implications and challenges.
The included studies originating from eighteen countries across the
globe. In alphabetical order, these are: Brazil (Magalhães et al.,2022;
Souza et al.,2021) China (Zhang et al.,2022;Yang et al.,2022b;
Huang et al.,2022;Wang et al.,2022), Colombia (Díaz et al.,2020),
Estonia (Suhail et al.,2022), Finland Yang et al. (2022a), France (Al-
lam et al.,2022), Germany (Rillig et al.,2022), India (Bisht et al.,
2022), Qatar (Tukur et al.,2022), Serbia (Bojic,2022;Pamucar et al.,
2022), Singapore (Han et al.,2022), South Korea (Kwon et al.,2022;
Mozumder et al.,2022;Suh and Ahn,2022), Spain Alpala et al. (2022),
Taiwan (Wu and Hung,2022), Thailand Meepung and Kannikar (2022),
Turkey (Nalbant and Uyanik,2021), UK (Thomason,2021;Locurcio,
2022;Abraham et al.,2022), and USA (Wiederhold,2022;Baughman,
2022;McGill,2021).
Overall, we may conclude that there are clear indications that the
metaverse offers lots of current and future applications in various
industrial sectors. However, as with any new technology, there are
likely to be challenges and obstacles to be overcome before it be-
comes widely adopted. These challenges, along with other security,
policy, and privacy issues, were already discussed in other relevant
studies (Wang et al.,2022;Kwon et al.,2022;Abraham et al.,2022;
Meepung and Kannikar,2022;Tukur et al.,2023c).
5. Principal findings
In this comprehensive scoping review, we undertake an in-depth
exploration, categorization, and analysis of the techniques, technolo-
gies, and applications pertinent to the creation of virtual environments
within the metaverse. Our meticulous examination of the existing liter-
ature underscores the metaverse’s versatility, showcasing its potential
applicability across 11 distinct sectors. Notably, the education sector
emerges as the most frequently cited, featuring in six prominent studies.
Following closely are manufacturing, healthcare, and real estate.
Furthermore, we meticulously identify four core techniques and de-
lineate twelve major technologies essential to the construction of meta-
verse digital environments. Among these, virtual reality space conver-
gence and fundamental technology stand out as prevalent techniques,
while extended reality, artificial intelligence (AI), and decentralized
technologies, such as blockchain, emerge as common technological
underpinnings.

Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 36 (2024) 101967
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M. Tukur et al.
This review contributes a meticulously documented taxonomy and
a rigorous reviewing framework, facilitating the evaluation of requisite
technologies and techniques essential for metaverse development. It
also offers a comprehensive assessment of the metaverse’s societal and
economic impact. Notably, it underscores the critical importance of in-
corporating and integrating the identified techniques and technologies
into future research and development endeavors within the realm of
metaverse applications.
5.1. Strengths and limitations
This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current state
of research on this topic, focusing on the post-pandemic era in which
the traditional borders between real and virtual, offline and online
spaces have been blurred out of necessity. We believe that human
society is more ready than ever to discuss and accept the possibility
of a virtual, alternative world such as the metaverse, if said universe
can be designed to be a fair, inclusive, and equitable space for its users.
It should be noted, though, that conducting a scoping review is a
largely manual process, which means there is a possibility that some
relevant studies may have been missed. To reduce this risk, we closely
followed the PRISMA guidelines on conducting systematic scoping
reviews provided by Tricco et al. (2018). PRISMA extension of scoping
reviews utilized in this study is known to be one of best guidelines for
conducting and reporting a high-quality review. Hence, we believed
this study is comprehensive and extensive.
However, as for any chosen research method, it is subject to some
limitations/validity threats. This research focused on some popular
databases including: ACM, Scopus, IEEE and Google Scholar to search
and extract the relevant primary studies. It is possible that, other
databases might also offer high-quality and relevant studies. However,
these libraries were selected due to their reputations and relevance to
the research topic.
Furthermore, to ensure the credibility and minimize bias in our
findings, multiple co-authors were involved in every step of the process.
For example, three co-authors participated in the selection of papers,
and only those that were accepted by at least two of them were included
in the analysis. Two co-authors also carefully evaluated each challenge
to reduce any personal bias and improve the accuracy of our findings.
This thorough approach was taken to ensure the reliability and validity
of our study.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, this scoping review has shed light on the intricate
landscape of the metaverse, a concept that has garnered significant
attention as the anticipated next frontier of the internet, with far-
reaching economic implications, particularly within the IT industry.
Our comprehensive examination was dedicated to unraveling the tech-
niques and technologies that underpin the development of metaverse
digital environments, laying the foundation for immersive metaverse
spaces.
The study has underscored the critical role of understanding and
integrating a multitude of techniques and technologies for the ad-
vancement of these virtual worlds. Through a rigorous analysis of
literature published from January 2020 to December 2022, we have
unveiled the metaverse’s vast potential applications across 11 diverse
industries. Education emerged as the foremost domain, followed by
manufacturing, healthcare, and real estate. Moreover, we identified 12
major technologies and four key development techniques that have
risen to prominence within the metaverse landscape. Notably, “Ex-
tended Reality (XR)”, “Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, and “Decentralized
Technologies” stood out as the most frequently mentioned technologies,
highlighting their pivotal roles in shaping the metaverse’s trajectory.
Furthermore, we observed that VR space convergence and funda-
mental technology serve as primary enablers, cited in a significant
portion of the selected articles, while object connection and commu-
nication infrastructure play complementary roles. The seamless inte-
gration of these techniques and technologies is paramount for the
comprehensive and engaging development of the metaverse.
In essence, the techniques, technologies, opportunities, and recom-
mendations delineated in this report serve as catalysts for stimulating
discussions among various stakeholders, including industries and gov-
ernments, regarding their vision for the metaverse. This scoping review
underscores the vital importance of continued research efforts aimed
at advancing our understanding and the technological evolution of
the metaverse. Such endeavors are essential to ensure the holistic
development of the metaverse and its potential as a transformative
digital realm that promises to reshape how we interact, work, and learn
in the digital age.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the
writing process
During the preparation of this work the author(s) used ChatGPT in
order to improve readability and language. After using this tool/service,
the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full
responsibility for the content of the publication.
Acknowledgements
This publication was made possible by NPRP-Standard (NPRP-S)
14th Cycle grant 0403-210132 AIN2 from the Qatar National Research
Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). Open Access funding provided
by the Qatar National Library.
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