A Survey on Big Data Technologies and Their Applications to the Metaverse: Past, Current and Future

The development of big data technologies, which have been applied extensively in various areas, has become one of the key factors affecting modern society, especially in the virtual reality environment. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the recent developments in big data technologies, and their applications to virtual reality worlds, such as the Metaverse, virtual humans, and digital twins. The purpose of this survey was to explore several cutting-edge big data and virtual human modelling technologies, and to raise the issue of future trends in big data technologies and the Metaverse. This survey investigated the applications of big data technologies in several key areas—including e-health, transportation, and business and finance—and the main technologies adopted in the fast-growing virtual world sector, i.e., the Metaverse.