In the past year, NFTs took off like a rocket. The world is now focused on this epicenter of creativity and wondering what these artists will come up with next. There is an exciting idea on the horizon to connect NFTs to the real world (IRL = In Real Life). That is, attach a physical asset to a digital asset.
A fascinating experiment comes to us via Tom Sachs Rocket Factory, describing themselves as a ‘trans-dimensional manufacturing plant’. The goal is to go from the digital NFT world, or the metaverse if you like, to the real world. The idea is brilliant in hindsight yet simple in its design. The idea is you buy parts of an NFT representing a toy rocket ship. You will need a cone, body, and tail. Once you have completed the NFT, you will get an actual rocket launched that looks like your NFT (see photo above). In the end, you get three things, the NFT, the physical rocket, and a video of the rocket launch.
The first big launch occurred on August 28th – 2021 and flew over one of the biggest stages in the world, New York City. The event was open to the public and was indeed an event with food trucks, drinks, music, and early access to rocket apparel. The event proved a huge success, and since then, the prices of the rockets have taken off in value.
The event broke down barriers between the real and digital worlds. It brought people who had no idea what an NFT was but loved rockets out to discover a new world. It simultaneously brought out NFT collectors to enjoy the hobby or toy rockets. The event illustrated synergies that can exist between the two worlds. In the end, NFT artists will always have to one-up the last thing. To do something not yet done. I think blending the physical and digital worlds will be big in 2022. Make sure to look up, or you might miss it.
