The Bangalore International Centre (BIC), a centre in Domlur known for hosting arts, cultural and intellectual events, now has a Metaverse avatar.
The Metaverse space was launched around three weeks ago and four events have been hosted since. Since BIC events are free, the digital space is also free to explore.
Talking about the new initiative, honorary director V Ravichandar says there is no substitute for the real world, face-to-face meetings, cafe visits or live events. “But day by day, more people are spending time in the digital universe compared to the physical one,” he points
out.
Plus, digital presence can overcome physical boundaries and time constraints. Ravichandar illustrates, “If you look at our YouTube channel, close to 40% of our online traffic comes from outside Bengaluru, from countries like the USA, Australia, and Europe,” he says.
A time-critical event can be best consumed digitally for those outside Bengaluru, he adds.
Virtual transition
How the centre could “improve the experience in the digital universe” was a concern. A virtual reality platform was roped in to simulate the look and feel of their physical venue and build on the rest of the experience.
With a detailed view of the floors, floor-by-floor navigation and a dollhouse view, frequent visitors will find it relatable. One can walk from the ground floor to the terrace easily, Ravichandar adds.
Simulcasting shows
The ‘Watch’ button is a new feature, where you can watch a live performance at the physical venue on the digital space simultaneously. “Though this is being played off YouTube, you can only access the simulcast by coming to the centre’s website,” he says. Four events have been simulcasted with this option so far.
Coming up
The centre wants to introduce a chat option for the attendees. “Around two-thirds of the screen will be used to cast the show and the rest will feature a chat box for attendees to talk or share views as they watch a programme. Typically one cannot talk during shows in an auditorium, so this would help enhance the community experience,” he says.
BIC also wants to mimic its physical art gallery as a digital one. “There will also be a scope for the artist to speak to digital attendees in their avatars, with voice and text,” he explains. In reality, most often when attending an event, one arrives at the location earlier, picks up a coffee and chats with people who one meets there. “We want to enable this by creating a pre-function space too,” he adds.
To visit the digital space, go to: i3dvirtualtour.com/tour/bic/
Developer says...
Kumarswamy Hosmath, the developer of BIC’s Metaverse space, has mostly worked on such projects in the real estate sector.
“It was challenging to integrate a livestream on the Metaverse seamlessly. The next step would be to create digital avatars of people,” adds the proprietor of Itek-Media. Having a VR headset will make the experience more immersive but even otherwise, “you will always have the complete functionality to interact or walk through,” he says.