VIBE is an ERC20 token and serves as the underlying currency of the VIBEHub technology. This platform uses “holoportation” to essentially project holograms of artists, instructors, and other figures into a virtual reality space. This allows one to conduct concerts and teach lessons in VR, removing the need for students or fans to actually leave their houses.

Why VIBE?

VIBE is looking to disrupt the concert business with the introduction of virtual concerts. These concerts have no touring or booking costs, and have unlimited potential when it comes to their audience.

Don’t get me wrong, a concert in VR isn’t the same as a live concert, but if I’m feeling too lazy to leave my house and really want to see an artist perform, having the option of experiencing the performance in VR is better than nothing at all.

In addition, taking music lessons or even boxing lessons in VR seems like both a fun and convenient way to engage in those activities. Another benefit of conducting lessons in VR is that the instructor can be scaled as big as a mountain or as small as an ant to achieve specific tasks. Also, the instruction room can be as big as is required in order to handle as many students as needed.

By moving an instructor or artist to a virtual environment, a whole lot of new possibilities open up. This is the true value of VIBE – the utilization of a new technology to disrupt an existing market.

How Does it Work?

The way VIBEHub is able to transform real-life people into holograms is something called “holoportation“, a technology originally developed by Microsoft.

Check out this video that showcases how one would look in a virtual world after being transformed to a hologram:

VIBEHub utilizes this exact technology to project figures into a virtual environment. According to their whitepaper

Our current focus will include the use of special multi sensor stereographic cameras to achieve what we like to call “HoloPresence”. This technology has been demonstrated by the Microsoft research team in the “HoloPortation” project.

VIBEHub builds on the above technology to create hubs within its virtual world. These hubs can range from concerts, lessons, to simple social settings where people can watch movies together or simply hang out. In order to access certain hubs, the user will have to submit a payment using the VIBE token.

What really makes VIBE shine is how it is able not only to project real-life human beings into holograms, but to also place these holograms in their own custom environments, a.k.a. hubs.

VIBE’s Future

Currently, VIBE is an ERC20 token which doesn’t scale so well with a high amount of TPS (transactions per second). As a result, VIBEHub is currently working on an off-chain solution for the VIBE token which will allow the creation of instant and free micro-transactions similar to IOTA, eliminating any potential scaling issues.

While we are on the subject of scaling, currently the VR/AR technology’s market cap sits at around US$20 billion. However, analysts have predicted that the market will grow to over US$160 billion by 2020. As such, since VIBEHub is taking a share of the VR market, the future for the technology is definitely bright. As the whitepaper puts it:

The capturing of photorealistic holograms is what many experts believe is going to make VR/AR technology mainstream. The futuristic aspect of holograms and the combination of it with augmented reality is going to change the way the internet is used today. Our team is excited and focused to showcase this technology to the masses and ensure everyone in the world will see the future of our reality on the VIBEHub platform.

Where to get and how to store VIBE

If you missed the ICO, you can currently buy the VIBE token on Binance, HitBTC, or EtherDelta.

Since it is an ERC20 token, you can use MyEtherWallet or any other Ethereum wallet that supports ERC20 tokens to hold VIBE.

Final Thoughts

VIBE is definitely a solid project with a solid team. They have plenty of videos on their YouTube channel showing off their proof of concept. Check out this video of the world’s first volumetric concert produced by VIBEHub:

The main obstacle I see for the project is gaining enough users. Currently, VR headsets are too expensive for the everyday user to enjoy. As a result, the VR community is extremely small compared to other gaming and entertainment communities.

As VR and AR evolve and more gadgets come out that are accessible to more users, VIBE will definitely see its user base grow. However, when that time does come around, will there be competitors for VIBEHub?

The good news is VIBEHub has zero competitors at this time, which gives them a good head start on their platform. If the team continues to deliver and improve the technology, the VIBE token will definitely grow in price. Overall, VIBE is a solid project and if you decide to invest in it, you should be looking to hold your position for a few months at least.

Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The Merkle and its employees may or may not have investments in VIBE.