Jamie Bennet
Two Accenture Federal Services executives said metaverse technology is making its way into federal government operations and will eventually transform agency processes in sectors ranging from defense to health care.
In a joint commentary for Federal News Network, AFS Chief Technology Officer Chris Copeland and Chief Innovation Officer Kyle Michl listed the main areas of federal operations and services where they believe the “metaverse continuum” concept will make an impact in the short term.
They predict that agencies will increasingly rely on synthetic environments to conduct training and education. They will also use synthetic data to fortify data privacy and security, particularly in instances that allow access to patient information for research and policymaking purposes.
The proliferation of virtual meetings will turn into three-dimensional experiences with a blend of reality and smart tools, which would be beneficial to government missions and businesses, Copeland and Michl stated.
Military research and development efforts are already using digital twins to create and simulate facilities, weapons and scenarios.
The use of metaverse in design and engineering can only go further, according to the AFS executives. In health care and maintenance, the metaverse continuum enables remote assistance of professionals in the delivery of complex care and services.
This technological shift is inevitable and should prompt government agencies to prepare in order to be well-positioned in the future, the executives added.
