The operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport), the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), unveiled the launch of the first phase of ‘BLR Metaport’. Built in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Polygon, this makes the newly launched Terminal 2 (T2) of BLR Airport, one of the first terminals of the world that can be experienced on the metaverse. 

The BLR Metaport, one of the first airport metaverse, delivers an immersive, three-dimensional (3D) digital experience to travellers. The 3D interface will change passengers’ airport activities, like how they check into the flights, navigate terminals and other social interactions like shopping or talking to co-travellers. One can even get a virtual tour of the new state-of-the-art terminal on their smart devices by logging onto their official website.

The BLR Metaport platform is built on AWS, utilising its compute, storage, databases, and data visualisation capabilities. In addition, it takes full advantage of the engine’s multiplayer collaboration tools and is optimised for Unreal Engine 5, a real-time 3D production tool for photorealistic visuals and interactive experiences.

Satyaki Raghunath, BIAL’s chief strategy and development officer, said, “This is our first foray into Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and we aim to delight travellers with a unique, immersive, and virtual experience.” Raghunath also said that they have several initiatives planned around the BLR Metaport, which promise to increase ways in which we can engage with our global audience and enhance business impact over the next few years. 

In April 2022, BIAL, AWS and Intel partnered to establish the Joint Innovation Centre (JIC) to bring digital solutions to the aviation sector. JIC made BLR Metaport happen. Through JIC, BIAL aims to adopt cutting-edge technologies to build new business models to improve passenger experiences and put India’s commercial aviation at the forefront of technology innovation.

BLR Metaport combines the digital and physical worlds to give unique immersive experiences to the travellers. It is based on the concepts of decentralisation, which move control and decision-making from a centralised body to a distributed network. It uses the Polygon Blockchain, which will eventually serve as a digital economy medium for users to securely and conveniently trade digital assets. Digital artwork from the BLR Metaport, certifications earned for completing various industry-related training courses, collectibles, utility NFTs, and commemorative NFTs are a few examples of these digital assets. Users will be able to shop from their favourite companies from anywhere in the world in the future thanks to BLR Metaport.

Polygon APAC head, Arpit Sharma, said that BLR Metaport is one example of how big enterprises can collaborate and innovate to bring blockchain solutions to the masses. 

AWS’s head of service lines for public sector in India and South Asia, AISPL, Kanishka Agiwal 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. AWS is committed to experiment with the latest technologies to accelerate industry innovation and drive positive experiences.” 

Users can access the graphics processing unit (GPU) on AWS through their desktop or mobile web browser without owning specialised GPU hardware using the Pixel Streaming feature provided by Unreal Engine 5 for BLR Metaport. BLR Metaport uses Amazon EC2 G4 instances for graphics-intensive applications such as remote workstations, game streaming, and graphics rendering. The BLR Metaport provides video conferencing, texting, spatial audio, and avatar creation.

At the Bangalore Tech Summit 2022, GMetriXR launched Luru, a virtual immersive copy of the city. Founder and chief executive officer of GMetriXR, Utsav Mathur, discussed his vision behind this move in an exclusive interaction with Analytics India Magazine. Bengaluru is moving very fast to adopt the metaverse and its emerging technologies. 

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