Cassandra Michael, sales and marketing manager at Azavista, the leader in corporate event technology, gave a presentation about the future of events as the company envisions it, at EIBTM (Barcelona) last month.
The presentation contained a melange of smart gadgets, virtual reality and wearable technology, and analyzed how these technologies might be applied in the meeting and events industry in the years to come.
Here are some of the key technologies and trends presented:
Augmented Reality Supplier Sourcing
Various augmented reality headsets like Oculus Rift are being launched. The current focus is on gaming, but Azavista predicts that in the near future hotels will allow planners to view meeting and event facilities virtually, just from the comfort of their desk or home.
Setting up your venue interactively
Azavista presented "Leap Motion", a device that allows you to control a computer in three dimensions with your natural hand and finger movements. Azavista predicts that this technology will be used side by side with AR head-sets and allow planners to create their meeting or event set-up in an interactive and virtual way.
The end of translation booths
Microsoft’s Skype Translator automatically translates your voice and video calls with real-time translation. It is still in beta version and there is vast room for improvement, especially regarding the contextualization of conversations. Nevertheless, according to Azavista, in the near future we might see this technology replacing translation booths; Delegates will be able to follow any presentation in any language just from their smartphones.
Your future contingency plan for rain
A new kickstarter campaign presented the "air umbrella" – a literally invisible umbrella which takes advantage of airflow and creates shelter from the rain. Azavista estimates that we might see this technology expanding and possibly being using for big outdoor events.
Your personal event chauffeur
Google, Audi, Mercedes, GM and more are all working on self driving technology. By 2020 these vehicles will probably be on the road. Azavista predicts that self driving cars will be notified automatically when a delegate lands and be at the pick-up point right on time.
Post Event questionnaires with...robots
Social robotics will also find its place in the meeting industry. According to Azavista, post event questionnaires and evaluations might be substituted by robots that will collect participant feedback on the spot! Blabdroids are a good example of this trend. According to a study endorsed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, people are more likely to engage emotionally with artificial intelligence than others. The robots are intended to be comforting and non-judgmental.
A Wearable Thermostat
Wristify is a bracelet that controls your body temperature using thermo-electric material and sensors. As a future scenario, Azavista can see these bracelets being handed out to event attendees, thus ensuring everyone is 100% comfortable and the temperature is according to their own personal preferences.
Click here for the full presentation.
About Azavista
Azavista is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company has created an integrated online event management platform especially for the corporate planner. Through a wide set of modules and functionality, users can handle everything from event registration, email marketing, participant management, budgeting, supplier procurement and more.
Comments:
We dispute the claim made in the section "The end of translation booths", a statement which we believe should not be made so lightly. Automatic translators – although we all understand the advances being made in overcoming language barriers – are, and will always be, far from being able to substitute the quality simultaneous translation of scientific, technical, cultural and valuable content. We also believe that when these kinds of statements are made in such a categorical way, one must have a deeper knowledge of simultaneous translation as a whole, taking into account both its human and technical aspects (OISA, 21 December 2014)
