Cloud Computing in Virtual Environments

In this paper we present the basis of a new middleware service that provisions clouds for virtual organizations (VOs).This service makes use of a virtual environment\u27s inherent ability to render objects to represent clouds with real clouds. These clouds are created on demand by avatars and tagged to provide a rudimentary semantic that can be used for searching. Clouds are then loaded with an inventory that contains objects and scripts used to access remote resources. Compute resources, sensor networks, and visualization services can be part of the cloud\u27s inventory. Second Life is used to implement this cloud computing service. The authorization mechanism of Second Life and an external database managed by our cloud service is used to restrict access to clouds based on avatar roles and group membership.We argue that this service can be used effectively by a VO to provide a very interactive experience for its members as well as potential collaboration between multiple VOs. Cloud computing takes a very figurative meaning in our work since we literally create clouds in the environment and manage their ownership, access and capabilities. We believe this innovative work brings together grid computing, social networking and virtual environments in a very attractive and understandable way

The Metaverse: Survey, Trends, Novel Pipeline Ecosystem & Future Directions

The Metaverse offers a second world beyond reality, where boundaries are non-existent, and possibilities are endless through engagement and immersive experiences using the virtual reality (VR) technology. Many disciplines can benefit from the advancement of the Metaverse when accurately developed, including the fields of technology, gaming, education, art, and culture. Nevertheless, developing the Metaverse environment to its full potential is an ambiguous task that needs proper guidance and directions. Existing surveys on the Metaverse focus only on a specific aspect and discipline of the Metaverse and lack a holistic view of the entire process. To this end, a more holistic, multi-disciplinary, in-depth, and academic and industry-oriented review is required to provide a thorough study of the Metaverse development pipeline. To address these issues, we present in this survey a novel multi-layered pipeline ecosystem composed of (1) the Metaverse computing, networking, communications and hardware infrastructure, (2) environment digitization, and (3) user interactions. For every layer, we discuss the components that detail the steps of its development. Also, for each of these components, we examine the impact of a set of enabling technologies and empowering domains (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Security & Privacy, Blockchain, Business, Ethics, and Social) on its advancement. In addition, we explain the importance of these technologies to support decentralization, interoperability, user experiences, interactions, and monetization. Our presented study highlights the existing challenges for each component, followed by research directions and potential solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the most comprehensive and allows users, scholars, and entrepreneurs to get an in-depth understanding of the Metaverse ecosystem to find their opportunities and potentials for contribution

Object-Capability Security in Virtual Environments

Access control is an important aspect of shared virtual environments.Resource access may not only depend on prior authorization, but alsoon context of usage such as distance or position in the scene graphhierarchy. In virtual worlds that allow user-created content, participantsmust be able to define and exchange access rights to controlthe usage of their creations. Using object capabilities, fine-grainedaccess control can be exerted on the object level. We describe our experiencesin the application of the object-capability model for accesscontrol to object-manipulation tasks common to collaborative virtualenvironments. We also report on a prototype implementation of anobject-capability safe virtual environment that allows anonymous,dynamic exchange of access rights between users, scene elements,and autonomous actors

Object-Capability Security in Virtual Environments

Access control is an important aspect of shared virtual environments. Resource access may not only depend on prior authorization, but also on context of usage such as distance or position in the scene graph hierarchy. In virtual worlds that allow user-created content, participants must be able to define and exchange access rights to control the usage of their creations. Using object capabilities, fine-grained access control can be exerted on the object level. We describe our experiences in the application of the object-capability model for access control to object-manipulation tasks common to collaborative virtual environments. We also report on a prototype implementation of an object-capability safe virtual environment that allows anonymous, dynamic exchange of access rights between users, scene elements, and autonomous actors