A Digital Twin of the Whole World in the Cloud

As a kid, I remember playing Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0 — while I can’t say I really understood all the nuances of the several hundred page manual (which explained how ailerons and rudders and elevators worked), I remember being blown away with the idea that I could fly anywhere on the planet and see something reasonably representative there.

Flash forward a few decades and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 can safely be said to be one of the most detailed “digital twins” of the whole planet ever built. In addition to detailed photographic mapping of many locations (I would imagine a combination of aerial surveillance and satellite imagery) and an accurate real world inventory of every helipad (including offshore oil rigs!) and glider airport, they also simulate flocks of animals, plane wear and tear, how snow vs mud vs grass behave when you land on it, wake turbulence, and more! And, just as impressive, it’s being streamed from the cloud to your PC/console when you play!

Who said the metaverse is dead?