Tactile IoT and 5G & beyond schemes as key enabling technologies for the future metaverse

The Tactile Internet (TI) is a recently emerging field that has been developing and evolving to date, since its communications parallel the sense of human touch. Lately, the revolutionized concept, Metaverse, draws attention due to the evolved immersive experience of human perception of the surrounding environment. This technology supports the ultimate union between the physical and virtual world, facilitated by 5G and beyond communication networks. Users are capable of interacting with machines and devices in real-time, remotely, resembling the actions of their physical counterparts. The particular approaches are still in their infancy and expected to produce spectacular results in various sectors such as industry, healthcare, autonomous vehicles, etc. This immersion is further assisted by the Internet of Things, while expecting full wireless support by 5G networks. In this article, a systematic review studies the domains of TI, 5G and beyond networks, as well as their relations with the Metaverse, rendering the respective schemes Key Enabling Technologies for the future Metaverse. A thorough analysis is conducted on the underpinning schemes, relative architectures, structures, and operation modes. In addition, a comprehensive list is presented, focusing on related application fields and their benefits, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the involved technologies. Finally, challenges and issues arising are discussed, both from the perspective of technical requirements and the psychosomatic aspect of human experience.