Roadmap 2024

It’s fair to say 2023 was one of our busiest yet. Even in the depths of a frigid crypto winter, the OVER team knuckled down to deliver several key features and experiences; while continuing to innovate with industry-leading technical developments.

Keen-eyed members of the community will notice that not all of our ambitions listed in the 2023 Roadmap were realised. User priorities, market forces and time conspired to push these down the to-do list. However, they haven’t been forgotten and have been carried over into this year.

So without further ado, we’re proud to present—in our fifth year of operation—the 2024 edition of the OVER Roadmap.

Roadmap milestones are divided into four categories:

• CREATE: Enabling the OVER community to take control of building the spatial web and augmented reality ecosystem
• MAP: Features designed to expand the global initiative to Map the World in 3D and map2earn™️ campaign
• OWN: Enhancing the governance and ownership experience 
• EXPERIENCE: Bringing more of the OVER AR ecosystem to the world

CREATE

OVER AI Avatars
Since the launch of ChatGPT, the rise of Large Language Models (LLM) has been breathtaking in its pace. OVER has also been working on its own open source LLM, one which allows you to create and deploy personalized Avatars in an AR or VR environment. Intelligent agents, virtual companions, sales assistants—whatever your preference or need—are coming to OVER in 2024.

Users will also be able to use AI to speak 3D assets into existence thanks to state-of-the-art ‘text-to-mesh’ algorithms.

Live Editor and Light Mapping
The Live Editor will make it possible to publish accurately positioned AR experiences directly from the OVER app. A simple user interface will make it possible to simply drag and drop 3D assets, like NFTs, Sketchfab and other compatible elements, into your location.

The Live Editor will also include a Light Mapping feature that allows for 3D assets to be placed and published on the fly.

Gaussian Splat Creator Mode
Currently, to create a personalized fly-through preview video of your 3D Map, you use in-app controls during the mapping process. We will soon implement the ability to create these fly-throughs from the 3D Gaussian Splat visualization itself, enabling precision control of the camera path and depth.

You’ll also be able to use Gaussian Splat visualizations of mapped locations as the reference for the placement of digital assets in OVRLands. This will be available in both the Web Builder and Unity SDK.

SDK Upgrades
Unity SDK users will have more tools at their disposal in 2024. These include the ability to embed Web3 tokens inside AR experiences to incentivize visitors to your spatial domain and monetize your creations, such as games, events and pop-up stores.

We’ll also flick the switch to enable the Unity SDK to connect with external APIs—both input and output—in what will have major implications for physical and virtual experiences.

Empowering creators
We’ll expand starter kits with intuitive references across different categories, such as games, venues, controllable assets, wearables, portals and more.

Play2Earn Software as a Service (SAAS) with an easy-to-use interface, will make it possible to create your own games, like treasure hunts. You’ll also be able to add them to OVRLands owned by other users by paying a fixed fee for permission to use their property.

NFT Games
The Unity SDK is now powerful enough to create interactive AR games on OVER. Creators will be able to publish, own and trade AR games as NFTs and place them on OVRLands.

Multiplayer and persistent experiences
AR experiences will become multiplayer with the interaction of each user reflected in the AR environment for all participants and in real-time. A game changer for creators and users alike.

And those experiences will live on as virtual time capsules with the introduction of ‘persistence’. The OVER platform will retain a memory of past interactions, creating a historical record of the spatial web as it is made.

MAP

map2earn™️
We’ll be launching new incentives and ways to get involved in the global initiative to Map the World in 3D throughout 2024. Mainstream access, invitations, referrals and a host of passive income opportunities are just the start.

Map Merge
Owners of adjacent OVRMaps will be able to create a continuous digital twin of the physical world. This is the beginning of much larger AR experiences being added to the digital layer and holds massive potential for retailers, sporting events, game makers and more.

Snippets
The digital layer spills over into other realms! You’ll soon be able to embed OVRMaps inside third party web pages. Huge for brands and creators looking to promote their presence in the spatial web.

Bounties
Want your OVRLand mapped by the community? We’re introducing bounties you can place on your digital real estate to encourage OVER Mappers to create a 3D version of your land. Payment is guaranteed through a smart contract escrow, triggered once the submitted map is approved.

AI enhancements
You’ll soon be able to use AI algorithms to remove people from your OVRMaps. The feature is designed to improve the overall quality of the AR experience in crowded areas.

Gaussian Splatting will continue to be enhanced by AI to improve the quality of OVRMaps, removing imperfections and adding detail to environments. 

 

OWN

Community governance
Five years into the project, the OVER ecosystem is reaching its maturity stage. While a centralized structure was ideal for fast development in the early stages of the journey, our vision to create a permissionless platform requires a system of community governance. This year we’ll launch the OVER decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The DAO will have a governance model that supports the interests of the three main stakeholders in the OVER ecosystem: token holders, land owners and creators.

In-app purchases
We will simplify NFT purchases with credit card payments in the OVER app. This removes barriers like wallet set-up and funding, safe key storage, gas and KYC verification. While the on-chain backend will remain in place, the move empowers traditionally non-crypto and Web2 users to participate in the OVER ecosystem.

New NFTs
Mappers will be able to mint their OVRMaps as NFTs, creating a new asset class for trade, not just on the OVER Marketplace but decentralized marketplaces like OpenSea and others.

We’ll also integrate EIP-6551 NFT Bound Accounts in the OVER decentralized ownership stack. EIP-6551s are NFTs that can own other digital assets.

Staking
The new version of staking smart contracts will be released this year. It will enable in-platform rewards for long-term holders, while eliminating the selling pressure usually generated by staking programs. The new contracts will also allow for the long-awaited distribution of reserved OVRLands.

IPFS
At present, one part of our system, the connection between 3D assets and their position in geographic locations, is fully decentralized thanks to the existence of OVRLand and OVRMap NFTs. This year we’ll apply this decentralization to the hosting of assets. We have built an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) that enables the distribution of content to multiple and redundant hosting servers. Currently in closed beta, the IPFS will be made fully operative this year.

 

EXPERIENCE

App-free Geo AR
With the introduction of a ‘WebAR’ version of the OVER platform, users will no longer need to download or use the app to experience published AR content. Simply scan a QR code to access the digital layer and all its wonders.

Smart glasses integration
The announcement of the Apple Vision Pro in June last year kicked off a flurry of interest in AR and XR hardware. Now that the product has shipped to warehouses in the US, with a release date in February, the race has got even more intense, with the tech taking a starring role at CES in the beginning of January. As a hardware-agnostic platform, OVER is ready to integrate with the most widely-adopted hardware devices, starting with the Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.

Merging AR and VR
Late last year we transitioned from NeRF to Gaussian Splat for the rendering of our 3D OVRMaps. Already, OVER Mappers are producing incredible visualizations of mapped locations that can be explored remotely via desktop browser and in the OVER app. This year we’re adding the ability to experience AR content inside these 3D locations, in what is an unprecedented merging of AR and VR.

Browser access
Enhancing ease of access and further expanding the reach of the OVER AR ecosystem, we’ll be enabling remote experiences—including aforementioned OVER Map visualizations—to be accessible from desktop browsers.

OVER Live browser experience
The OVER Live Console with motion tracking was launched at the beginning of last year, with Rokoko body suit integration and motion tracking via webcam. This year we’re making this powerful event tool even easier to run and use by bringing it to the browser, with no need to install any additional software.

Go local or remote
It will soon be possible to link both a local and a remote experience. This means that users publishing content to their OVRLand will be able to define a different experience for users who are on location at the land’s geographic coordinates, and for those visiting the OVRLand from another location via the app. The remote experience will include an ‘occlusive’ mode (meaning digital assets are placed within a space in context and consideration of physical objects) with optimized features such as a skybox, third-person view and joystick navigation.

Welcome Ready Player Me!
OVER’s photorealistic avatars will have new friends in 2024. Avatars from Ready Player Me will join the OVER ecosystem for users to choose and customize.

POAP integration
Dropping soon: An interface to distribute and flex unique POAPs to users for achievements inside the OVER ecosystem. This interface will be accessible both from the OVER app and Marketplace.

As always, stay tuned to OVER social channels, our blog and newsletter for progress updates and release announcements.

With green shoots starting to poke through the snow, 2024 is looking very bright indeed!

Happy new year!