ChulaVerse: Metaverse Service Platform for Community Sustainability

“The ChulaVerse Project represents a Metaverse Service Application that engages in user co-creation among Chulalongkorn University’s community, including users, developers, and industry partners. It addresses the need for a university metaverse in the digital era, offering immersive academic and student-life experiences. The project comprises two primary components: ChulaVerse World (CV-World) is a virtual platform encompassing account creation, avatar customization, and service selection. It offers a 3D map of Chulalongkorn University and campus spots, along with a 3D space for diverse activities, enabling user interactions, camera and microphone usage, chat, screen sharing, and file storage. ChulaVerse Learn (CV-Learn) is an online immersive learning platform offering 180/360-degree videos, 3D simulations, gamification, and VR tours. It integrates with other university life-long learning platforms, such as MyCourseVille and MedUMORE, to provide immersive contents, exchange user data and certification systems. Collaborations with external partners and university faculties enhance content development and provide unique learning experiences.”

The ChulaVerse Project is the Metaverse Service Application for Chulalongkorn University’s community. The system is designed based on the user co-creation concept among users, developers, and industry partners, as well as a metaverse industrial standard. This standard enables various external partners’ metaverse services to interact and communicate with each other. Driven by digital transformation and mega-trends, a university metaverse platform is crucial for current and future students to obtain immersive academic and student-life experiences.

The ChulaVerse platform addresses various aspects of university life and promotes learning through a standardized interconnected system. It enhances efficiency in skill development and lifelong learning. Moreover, in collaboration with the private sector, it offers new medical services and commercial opportunities. The platform expands the boundaries of learning, skill development, and expertise for students, faculty, and researchers, transcending the university’s physical location and enabling access from anywhere. Additionally, it improves the university’s operations and enhances the core functions of Chulalongkorn University as a future leader.

The ChulaVerse application consists of two main components:

ChulaVerse World (CV World) encompasses various virtual components, including the main page, 3D outdoor map, 3D scene, and 3D space. The main page serves as a platform for creating user accounts, customizing 3D avatars, and selecting services. The 3D map represents the Chulalongkorn University area, while the 3D scenes feature five iconic spots within the university campus, such as the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Office of Academic Resources (Central Library), and Sala Prakieo Building. Furthermore, the 3D space is a highlighted, versatile virtual activity area where users can engage in various tasks, including lectures, workshops, meetings, pitches, exhibitions, and more. Within this space, users have access to features like cameras, microphones, emotional expression, chat, screen sharing, and file storage.
ChulaVerse Learn (CV Learn) is the online immersive learning platform that enables users to access and learn various subjects through immersive content formats, including 180/360-degree videos, 3D simulation scenarios, 3D gamifications, and VR tours. It encompasses user data management, registration systems, learning scenario displays, and certification systems. CV Learn can integrate with other university learning platforms, such as MDCU MedUMore, which offers medical and healthcare immersive content for healthcare professionals, medical students, and the general public. This integration provides users with unique learning experiences that address the limitations of traditional 2D videos, making it a new dimension and model for online education at the university. Additionally, the development process involves collaborations with external partners, particularly from the private sector, as well as several faculties and institutes at Chulalongkorn University, such as the Learning Innovation Center, Chula Engineering Life Long Learning, and Chulalongkorn Healthcare Advanced Multi-Profession Simulation Center. These collaborations provide support, facilitate technology exchange, and contribute to content development to achieve the project’s goals.