The Alba White Truffle lands in the metaverse with Hevolus Innovation and Microsoft Italy.
Alba, 20 September 2022. Hevolus Innovation and Microsoft Italia, in collaboration with the Alba International White Truffle Fair, the National Truffle Study Centre and the Piedmont Region Tourism Department , have developed the first Metaverse with the aim of offering a phygital exhibition path that helps spread knowledge of the supply chain of this extraordinary product of the earth, an excellence of Made in Italy whose hunting and extraction in Italy have been listed, since last December, as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Fair's entry into the metaverse will be presented during Tuber Primae Noctis , the event that precedes the start of the International Alba White Truffle Fair and officially kicks off the hunting season. It will be held on the night between 20 and 21 September at Grinzane Cavour Castle, as part of the welcome dinner of the sixth edition of the Global Conference on Wine Tourism , a consolidated initiative of UNWTO.
In the park of Grinzane Cavour Castle, overlooking the wonderful panorama of the Langhe hills, the experience will be presented live by a presenter wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality headsets and can be followed on tablets both by guests present on site and by users connected remotely.
Entering an exhibition space that seamlessly blends physical context and digital content, the presenter and visitors will move through the Metaverse with their own self-propelled, lifelike avatar, following an interactive narrative journey to discover the Alba White Truffle, divided into five stages: etymology and scientific context, description of the hunting areas, identification and extraction techniques, gourmet show cooking events and the presentation of the Alba White Truffle World Market – a place in the historic centre of Alba where truffles from the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero areas are appreciated and purchased.
The event can be enjoyed in the Ente Fiera Metaverse both in webXR, on portable devices, and in holographic augmented reality by wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2 viewers and involves spectators step by step with images, video contributions, spatial sound audio, accompanied by 3D digital twins that reproduce in high resolution a specimen of Tuber magnatum Pico and a truffle dog.
The project leverages the potential offered by Hevolus Innovation's hVerse solution, the world's first low-code platform for autonomously building enterprise metaverses, and the computational power of Microsoft's Azure cloud services to engage visitors in an innovative, simultaneous and interactive Web 4.0 experience and support the International White Truffle Fair Authority in further boosting food and wine tourism in the name of ever-increasing sustainability.
" Starting from this edition's slogan, 'Time is up,' we want to underscore the Fair's focus on developing ever-contemporary projects, " says Liliana Allena, President of the Alba International White Truffle Fair . " This is why the challenge of climate change has become a stimulus for us to engage the new generations, who feel the urgency to do something concrete. While our intention is to spark curiosity about the destination, we also want to experiment with future ways of enjoying the territories, thinking about the travelers of tomorrow, Generation Z. Together with Microsoft Italia and thanks to a partner like Hevolus, we are happy to be the first to offer this phygital way of enjoying the offering, reaching out to those who perhaps don't travel yet and live immersed in the digital world of social media and gaming, but who will soon be protagonists of tourist flows ."
As emphasized by the Tourism Councilor, the Piedmont Region is always committed to innovative projects that place Piedmont at the forefront of international tourism. Thanks to the Fair Authority, we can be the first in Italy to offer visitors this type of experience.
" We are convinced that phygital technologies, extended reality, the Metaverse, and Cloud Computing can play an important role in addressing current and future social and environmental challenges, especially by helping to contain the impact of large-scale industrial change. All sectors today require a broad process of education and awareness raising on the sustainable development goals and appropriate strategies that move in the same direction. 2030 is now approaching, and sustainability is a must for everyone ," comments Antonio Squeo, Chief Innovation Officer of Hevolus.
"Supporting this event, so deeply rooted in the region, is an opportunity for Microsoft to highlight how digital can be an extraordinary ally in promoting Made in Italy excellence. Our long-standing collaboration with this event allows us, year after year, to create and test increasingly hybrid scenarios, combining reality and digital in an ideal combination that demonstrates how digital transformation can embrace every area and bring significant benefits to every sector. Thanks to our collaboration with our partner Hevolus and innovative technologies, we can extend the experience of the Alba International White Truffle Fair to an ever-wider audience with richer and more engaging experiences," adds Luba Manolova, Director of the Microsoft 365 Division at Microsoft Italy.
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