Maker Faire Rome 2023

Nectar

NECTAR is an innovative project aiming to create the first agrifood metaverse, providing an immersive experience in the realm of nutrition and healthy, sustainable eating. This environment combines cutting-edge technologies to offer users a unique experience that merges education, experimentation, and innovation. The main components of the project are blockchain-tracked products and metabolic avatars. The blockchain aspect includes a wide range of agri-food products from select Italian companies, allowing users to interact with them in an immersive experience. They can learn about the products' origins, nutritional characteristics, and make informed choices. Users can also connect with the producing companies, gaining insights into their sustainable production practices and the food supply chain. The metabolic avatar is a personalized digital representation of an individual's metabolism, created using information from wearable devices such as smart bands and impedance scales. It enables real-time and remote monitoring of physiological parameters, providing data used to deliver a customized quality index for food choices based on simulated metabolic effects. The avatar tracks user metabolism levels over time, offering a comprehensive view of metabolic variations and responses to consumed foods and supplements. The personalized metabolic avatar (PMA) employs a deep learning GRU (gated recurrent unit) model trained to predict weight changes, blood glucose, and other physiological variables tailored to macronutrient composition and daily energy balance. The model allows simulations and evaluations of dietary plans, facilitating the definition of customized goals for achieving ideal weight. NECTAR's platform integrates metabolic and sensory avatars, blockchain, and virtual reality technologies to create a metaverse dedicated to agrifood. Avatars interact with blockchain-tracked products, providing consumers with detailed information on the origin, quality, and sustainability of food products. By combining sensory and metabolic analyses with blockchain, NECTAR ensures transparency, sustainability, and food safety, meeting the needs of consumers, institutions, and companies. The ultimate goal is to promote sustainable agriculture, environmentally and human-health-friendly food production, circular economy, and the reduction of food waste, following the "One Health" approach. NECTAR addresses various industrial, economic, and social challenges. It tackles the lack of transparency in nutritional information and the presence of unhealthy ingredients in food products. It also aims to combat the global obesity epidemic by promoting balanced and healthy eating. Furthermore, NECTAR aims to address social issues by offering affordable access to nutritious and sustainable food. In conclusion, NECTAR is an innovative proposal that combines emerging technologies like the metaverse, metabolic avatars, blockchain, and NFTs to create a platform dedicated to agrifood, promoting sustainability and transparency in the industry. Despite not being realized yet, presenting this project to the public can generate interest, engagement, and potential collaborations while evaluating market demand.