Surely Barcelona has many fragrances and to discover them we would have to go to each of its corners to find out, unless we find ourselves at the Mobile World Capital exhibitor at the Barcelona mobile telephony congress. And how could it be otherwise, technology is the cause of this opportunity that all participants and visitors to the fair will have. With the intention of being able to interact with the senses in the new digital worlds, Capital offers us an immersive experience where smells and flavors take on a hitherto unknown dimension, thanks to augmented reality and virtual reality.
An avatar, in the image and likeness of the user, will walk the streets and the main points of interest in Barcelona commanded by a console. When approaching one of the places to smell, the system will ask if that fragrance was pleasant. AirParfum, a proposal promoted by the Catalan company Puig, has been in charge of developing the fragrances. Thus, the Barceloneta beach will have the aroma of the sea breeze and sand; La Rambla, imitating a flower shop on Sant Jordi’s day; the Park Güell, to the flowers of the stairway of the dragon; Petritxol street, to the smell of its chocolate; Camp Nou, a combination of freshly watered grass and the leather of a soccer ball, and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, made of stone and incense. If the user liked these smells, the machine will study which flavor will best suit their preferences, so that, in the second experience, it will provide one or the other flavor in the form of chocolate.
It is in this second part where users will put on virtual reality glasses to break into a digital world where a chocolate, designed by the Roca brothers, will seduce the participants in this sensory adventure. For the occasion, the renowned chefs have prepared two thousand chocolates in three different flavors: Sweet, based on a caramel ganache; acid, lime and passion fruit and, finally, spicy, with red pepper and chili, so that immersed in a digital world they can savor the chocolate and enjoy the interaction.
