Testing and optimising breeding processes for the development of new plants that give maximum yield in growing conditions. It is one of the new frontiers of the Metaverse in agricultural and forestry sciences, which makes it possible to overcome the limit of material space and the necessary presence in the same place of researchers and data to be studied through a digital avatar. It is a set of advanced technologies to offer concrete solutions to major global challenges, such as sustainability and resilience to climate change. This is explained by the study 'Metaverse technology innovating plant science research and learning', published in the journal Trends in Plant Science by Crea, with its Forestry and Wood Center, as part of the collaboration with the University of Tuscia.
Through the innovative technology of 'extended reality' (XR), in fact, it is possible to integrate the various fields of knowledge, involving human beings through an avatar to break down the boundary between physical and digital spaces. It is a combination of the most advanced technologies to cope with the various complex problems, climate change, scarcity of energy resources, excessive use of non-renewable natural resources. Simulations can accelerate the innovation cycle: with avatars, for example, stakeholders and other disciplines can be directly integrated into research and study. The Metaverse also provides new tools to generate synthetic data and visualize biological data in 3D and 4D, offering the possibility to experience data and not just observe it. Another important application is the synergy between artificial intelligence and the Metaverse of agricultural and forestry sciences as a space in which to interact with digital twins, an exact digital replica of a real plant. "They are an important addition to our arsenal of tools to support the genetic improvement of forest trees," says Piermaria Corona, director of Crea Foreste e Legno and co-author of the study together with Antoine Harfouche and Farid Nakhle.
All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA