Simulating a Virtual Journey on Italian Alps through a Multisensory Mixed Reality Environment

Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technologies are more and more getting attention from tourism researchers and professionals, because of their recognized potential to support marketing activities. The paper describes the development of a multisensory environment thought for a travel agency, which combines visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory stimuli. The idea is to develop an experience able to provide a virtual preview of the desired holiday destination, resulting in both an attractive experience for the customer and an effective way to increase sales. A case study about the multisensory experience of a walk on Italian Alps has been developed. The multisensory experience is based on a video streaming, recorded in the real environment, synchronously matched with a haptic interface. The haptic interface is made up of a pair of slippers provided with actuators, and also an actuator positioned on the customer trunk, used to reproduce the feeling of a snowball hit. Moreover, an olfactory display is also used to provide pine smell during the walk. During the experience, the user is sitting on a yoga ball, whose inclination allows him/her to start and stop the multisensory virtual experience.