- AWS and Polygon collaborated with the airport to deliver an enhanced and immersive 3D virtual experience at the busiest Airport in South India
- Video conferencing, messaging and spatial audio and avatar creation are some additional features offered by BLR Metaport
- Anyone interested can log on to www.blrmetaport.com and have a virtual tour
Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) – operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) recently announced the first phase launch of the ‘BLR Metaport’. With this new launch, BLR Airport’s T2 becomes one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse. Designed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Polygon, the BLR Metaport has been built to deliver an enhanced and immersive digital experience for travellers. By bringing the virtual and physical worlds together, the 3D interface will offer customers new ways to interact with the airport, such as checking into flights, navigating terminals, shopping, and socialising.
Joint Innovation Centre
Notably, the BLR Metaport is an outcome of the Joint Innovation Centre (JIC) announced by BIAL, AWS, and Intel in April this year. This centre works on driving the development and adoption of digital solutions in aviation. BIAL said that the mission of the JIC is to leverage emerging technologies to build new business models and passenger experiences and be at the forefront of technology innovation in India’s commercial aviation.
BIAL’s Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath remarked, “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. We also 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.”
Amazon Web Services
The official communication noted that the BLR Metaport platform is built on AWS, leveraging its computing, storage, databases, and data visualization services to enhance performance and scalability. It is optimized for Unreal Engine 5, a real-time 3D creation tool for photo-realistic visuals and immersive experiences, and leverages the full extent of the engine’s multiplayer collaboration toolset. Pixel Streaming offered by Unreal Engine 5 for BLR Metaport allows users to make the most of the graphics processing unit (GPU) on AWS through their desktop or mobile web browser, without the need to have special GPU hardware themselves. Video conferencing, messaging and spatial audio, and avatar creation are among the additional features offered by BLR Metaport.
Kanishka Agiwal from AWS stated, “AWS is delighted to collaborate with BIAL and showcase the art of what’s possible in the metaverse with the BLR Metaport. 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. We look forward to building exciting solutions through the BIAL JIC and extending the innovation centre’s value to BIAL and its stakeholders.”
Polygon
BLR Metaport is built on the fundamentals of decentralisation, where control and decision-making are transferred from a centralized entity to a distributed network. It 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.
Polygon Companies APAC Head, Arpit Sharma commented, “Polygon is committed to leading blockchain innovation, which will drive a digital economy that can be accessed by every individual in the world. BLR Metaport is one example of how big enterprises can collaborate and innovate to bring blockchain solutions to the masses.”
Anyone interested can log on to blrmetaport.com and have a virtual tour of the new state-of-the-art terminal, using their smart devices. In the future, BLR Metaport will enable users to shop from their favourite brands sitting in any part of the world.
Polygon is the leading blockchain development ecosystem, which claims to offer scalable, affordable, secure and sustainable blockchains for Web3. Polygon is carbon neutral with the goal of leading the Web3 ecosystem in becoming carbon negative.
The first Greenfield Airport in India, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) was established on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and started operating in 2008. As the busiest Airport in South India and the third largest in the country, BLR Airport inaugurated its state-of-the-art Terminal 2 last month.
