SPATIAL IO
What is the name of your tool/platform/hardware you are presenting?
Spatial IO
What is the URL of the tool/platform/hardware you are presenting?
Describe the primary function and technical capabilities of the tool. How does it contribute to building the Metaverse?
Main purpose was to be a virtual world-creation platform for creators to make and share through VR, mobile, and web. This platform comes with a creator toolkit, virtual economy, and multi-platform publishing. Spatial IO contributes to the metaverse by showing how social collaboration can work in the metaverse.
What are the technical requirements to use this tool (e.g., hardware specifications, operating system compatibility)?
For best output, your computer should have SSD hard drive, 16GB of RAM, a CPU from the last 2-3 years. No baseline or budget model computers.
Provide examples or case studies of how this tool has been applied in real-world scenarios. How does it solve specific problems or enhance projects in VR, AR, or the metaverse?
There was an event heading by Mark Schafer with $RISE community. Spatial IO allows user-generated content of virtual spaces and how they allow people to meetup across devices.
Is the tool open-source or proprietary? Discuss the implications of its software model on development and collaboration.
Spatial IO is open-source, through it being powered by Unity and coded in C#. It has a GitHub page where anyone can access repositories for setup and installation. This means if Spatial IO does grow into a massive hit, then people can share with each other their code and rookie programmers won't be afraid to experiment with what's been available.
What is the business model of this tool and what are the implications? (ie freemium, subscription, one-time cost). Who
do you think their target market or demographic is?
Spatial IO earns from users paying for the in-game currency ranging from $0.99-$49.99. In addition, it has three membership tiers: Free, Spatial +, and Brand. The only paid tier is Spatial +, which is $25 per month. Since Spatial + is the only paid tier, I think their target market are the developers who are making new hubs through their platform to sell.
Compare and contrast this tool with at least two similar tools or platforms. What are its strengths and weaknesses
relative to its competitors?
Similar platforms: VRChat, Facebook Horizons, Party.Space, Mozilla Hubs. There's not a lot of information if other game engines can be used for Spatial IO. Spatial IO's main drawback is its lack of mass awareness outside of the people who know about it. VRChat is the most popular of Spatial's competitors, which has 20 million active users as of 2023. Spatial IO's active users are less obvious, but according to similarweb and webrush, it ranges from 302,000 to 365,000 as of this past December.
Based on current trends and developments, where do you see this tool heading in the future? Consider upcoming features, potential use cases, or evolving technologies.
If Spatial IO continues at its current rate, this platform will remain niche due to its exclusive availability. VRChat require a steam account, but it has a larger userbase with more channels to advertise the platform.
What was your experience in using the tool?
When I first used this, it reminded me of the 3D virtual MMOs I used to play. In Spatial IO, your movements are limited to walking, jumping, and running. As a basic user, it was restricted to allowing me the basic tools for its creator toolkit. One thing I do wish Spatial IO to have in future updates, is more movement options.
Information provided by Xavier Crawford