Mixed Reality continues to play a leading role in innovation in corporate training. Fire Xperience, the project developed by FORMart with technological support from Metagate, in collaboration with Leroy Merlin Italia and the XR Observatory of Politecnico di Milano, has won first prize in the Web3 & Immersive category at the Next Alliance Awards 2026.
On October 19, 2026, the Next Alliance Awards ceremony took place at the Blue Note in Milan, celebrating Italian excellence in artificial intelligence, Web3, and immersive technologies.
Among the award-winning projects, Fire Xperience secured first place in the Web3 & Immersive category, recognizing the value of an innovative approach to fire safety training through Mixed Reality.
This is also a significant achievement for Metagate, which contributed to the development of the immersive experience, transforming training requirements into an interactive simulation on Meta Quest 3.
Fire Xperience: Learning to Manage an Emergency Through Firsthand Experience
How can fire safety training become more engaging, practical, and effective?
This question inspired Fire Xperience, the Mixed Reality fire safety training project, which allows participants to experience an emergency simulation directly within their physical surroundings.
Wearing a Meta Quest 3 headset, users can see virtual elements overlaid onto their real environment, interact with digital objects through natural hand movements, and put their decision-making skills to the test.
The experience is designed to assess five essential actions when responding to an incipient fire, turning a theoretical procedure into a practical and interactive activity.
Why Use Mixed Reality for Safety Training?
Unlike traditional Virtual Reality experiences, Mixed Reality (MR) keeps the surrounding environment visible, enabling greater integration between physical spaces and digital content.
This approach makes it possible to:
- Promote experiential learning through interactive simulations.
- Increase participant engagement compared to exclusively theoretical training methods.
- Develop decision-making skills in simulated emergency scenarios.
- Integrate digital content with physical spaces while maintaining awareness of the surrounding environment.
- Practice procedures repeatedly in a controlled environment without recreating the dangers of a real fire.
The result is a training approach that aims to improve understanding and retention of procedures, bringing learning closer to real-world operational situations.
From the Ambiente Lavoro 2026 Showcase to National Recognition
Fire Xperience had already been presented to the public at Ambiente Lavoro 2026, the trade fair dedicated to workplace health and safety, during a workshop involving FORMart, Leroy Merlin Italia, and Metagate.
On that occasion, the project demonstrated the potential of Mixed Reality as a tool to complement and enhance traditional training programs.
Recognition at the Next Alliance Awards 2026 represents another important milestone for the initiative, celebrating not only technological innovation but also its practical application in an essential field such as workplace safety.
The achievement was also featured by FORMart in its dedicated article about the award.
Metagate's Contribution: Immersive Technology Supporting Training
For Metagate, Fire Xperience is a concrete example of how XR and Mixed Reality technologies can address real business needs.
Metagate's technological contribution focuses on creating a Mixed Reality experience that combines simulation, natural interaction, and integration with physical environments.
Thanks to Meta Quest 3 features, including full-color passthrough and hand tracking, participants can interact with virtual elements without controllers while remaining aware of their surroundings.
The ability to adapt the experience to different physical spaces also opens up interesting opportunities for using immersive simulations across various training environments.
The value of Mixed Reality lies not only in its ability to recreate scenarios, but above all in its potential to transform people from passive spectators into active participants in their own learning.
An Award Celebrating Collaboration Between Training, Business, and Innovation
The success of Fire Xperience demonstrates the value of bringing together complementary expertise.
FORMart contributed its experience in professional training and workplace safety, Leroy Merlin Italia helped connect the initiative with real business needs, while the XR Observatory of Politecnico di Milano participated in the project's development.
Metagate provided its technological expertise in designing and developing immersive experiences.
The result is a project demonstrating how collaboration between training organizations, businesses, research institutions, and technology developers can create new approaches to learning.
The Future of Workplace Safety Also Lies in Mixed Reality
Winning first prize at the Next Alliance Awards 2026 is an important recognition for Fire Xperience and all the partners involved.
For Metagate, it also confirms the company's direction: making immersive technologies practical tools for businesses, capable of improving training, communication, and operational processes.
Workplace safety is one of the areas where this approach can offer particularly significant potential, combining theoretical knowledge with practical, interactive experiences.
Because knowing a procedure is essential. Experiencing it firsthand can make all the difference.
Learn More About Fire Xperience
Discover how the initiative began and which technologies were used in our dedicated article:
Fire Xperience: FORMart, Leroy Merlin and Metagate Bring Fire Safety Training to Mixed Reality.
For more information about the award, visit the Next Alliance Awards 2026 winners page.