Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), the operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport), is making a foray into the Metaverse with the first phase launch of the ‘BLR Metaport’.
In a release, BLR Airport said its T2 would be one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse. It can be accessed at www.blrmetaport.com for a virtual tour of the new terminal.
BLR Metaport will offer an immersive, three-dimensional virtual experience of the newly launched Terminal 2, and has been built in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Polygon.
BIAL’s Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath, said, 'We are very excited that BIAL is entering into the new world of Metaverse through the BLR Metaport. This is our first foray into the world of Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and we aim to delight travellers with a unique, immersive, and virtual experience. We believe that it is important to connect with a new generation of our global audience through the metaverse.'
As one of the first airport metaverse experiences, the BLR Metaport is designed to deliver an enhanced digital experience for travellers. The 3D interface will offer customers new ways to interact with the airport, such as checking into flights, navigating terminals, shopping, and social aspects like connecting with other travellers.
Built on the AWS platform, the Metaport leverages its computing, storage, databases, and data visualisation services to achieve high performance and scalability. Kanishka Agiwal, Head of Service Lines for Public Sector in India and South Asia, AISPL, said, 'The BLR Metaport is testimony to how customers can leverage AWS to build innovative, engaging, and immersive metaverse experiences, while benefiting from some of the fundamental advantages offered by the cloud – agility, low latency, scalability, and cost-efficiency.”
The BLR Metaport uses the Polygon Blockchain, which will act as a medium of the digital economy in the future for users to trade digital assets seamlessly and securely. Arpit Sharma, Head, APAC, Polygon, said BLR Metaport is an example of how big enterprises can collaborate and innovate to bring blockchain solutions to the masses. According to BLR Airport, these digital assets could be digital artwork at the BLR Metaport, certificates for completing various industry-related training courses, collectables, utility and commemorative NFTs.
In the future, BLR Metaport will enable users to shop from their favourite brands from in any part of the world. Additional features offered by BLR Metaport include video conferencing, messaging and spatial audio, and avatar creation.
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