Technology is always changing and introducing us to new and exciting solutions.
As the weather warms up and we welcome summer, a bumper season of events is set to kick-start and with it comes a plethora of fresh technology.
From streaming to wearables and even robots, we take a look at some of the rising technology to watch as event season approaches:
STREAMING
Live streaming is experiencing a boom thanks to its affordability and the fact that it can open events up to a wider audience than ever before.
If your event is full to capacity, live streaming opens up the doors to thousands of potential viewers at a reasonable price point, as well as those who couldn’t travel to it physically.
Live streaming sites such as Twitch have nearly 10 million active users a day, and we expect huge growth in the number of viewers who opt to live screen events this summer.
INTERNET OF THINGS
The Internet of Things has been a technology trend for a while, and it’s finally becoming a reality thanks to a growth in connected smart objects and advancements in artificial intelligence.
You can now hire everything from smart television display screens and speakers to smart headphones to elevate your next event.
The physical world is becoming more interactive and reactive as more and more of our possessions come with internal connections to the internet, allowing seamlessly mundane objects to life.
For events, this will see touch screens that can tell you which exhibition stands or seminars are most popular, robots who can suggest exhibitors that might be of interest based on your previous preferences and personalised welcome messages or information booths.
WEARABLES
Wearable tech has been touted as the next big event technology trend for nearly a decade.
There is a variety of high tech products that we can simply attach to our person and gain access to important content with ease.
In terms of event technology trends, this means increased potential for gathering data about what goes on during your event.
RFID name badges allow businesses to track attendance, session numbers, exhibitor lead capture, and many more data points to improve on events in the future, and to connect with attendees in real-time.
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
AI continues to grow in relevance and presence in the tech world.
The rise of Alexa and Siri has sparked a worldwide interest in AI, as well as the creation of a series of social robots with mind-blowing capabilities
Other cognitive technologies include machine learning, robotics, neural nets and natural language processing that can connect events with a varied audience.
AI can connect with your audience at a busy event stand when you are stretched, adding a personal touch to every interaction.
5G
The countdown is on for the arrival of the latest generation of mobile communication – 5G.
The arrival of 5G promises faster data transfer times, high capacity for information transfer and reduced costs.
It also allows for the possibility of millions of new connected devices and will represent a significant leap forward in terms of speed and data transfer
It’s unlikely that we will see 5G in the UK this year, but South Korea, China, Japan, and the US are all looking at ways to roll out the tech as soon as possible.