Event Tech 2020 Watch List

Back in November, we attended Event Tech Live 2019, a two-day event held at the Old Truman Brewery, London. With the uptake of event tech in events exponentially increasing and with the technology evolving faster than ever before, Event Tech Live pulls in professionals from across the events industry who want to know what’s happening in this exciting and fast-moving space.

Whether you like it or not, integrating tech into your event is becoming less of a nice to have and more of a prerequisite. The benefits of harnessing the right technology can be plentiful and whether it’s improving operational logistics, personalising attendee experiences or elevating data collection capabilities, one thing is for sure, the age of the technophobe is over.

So, with insight from Event Tech Live and our own tech savvy team, here’s a roundup of the event technology we think you should you be watching out for in the year to come…

Projection Mapping

You may have seen projection mapping in action in recent years, but not realised what the technology was. With the ability to transform spaces and create truly immersive environments, projection mapping is sure to continue to gain popularity.

Gone are the days of flat and lifeless projections; the new tech in town is stealing the show. This technology works to stunning visual effect by casting multimedia projections onto selected objects or surfaces. The possibilities are seemingly endless with this medium; from lighting up the facades of buildings, through to creating interactive projection displays that create entertaining, engaging sensory experiences for delegates, projection mapping is an exciting way to deliver aesthetic impact whether it’s used on a small or large-scale.

Facial Recognition

We don’t know about you, but we find the whole premise of facial recognition technology within the events sphere intriguing. Still evolving through its introductory phase, it’s an interesting time for the technology as it becomes more sophisticated and begins to edge a place within mainstream events.

Although there are well publicised issues to iron out – namely data protection concerns – and more developments required before it’s a go-to solution in the industry, the potential it has to improve the efficiency of the delegate check-in process and to elevate the level of personalisation served to attendees during a live event, makes this a tech trend to keep firmly on the radar this year and beyond.

And, with security becoming a much more prevalent consideration for large-scale events, facial recognition could prove to be an advantageous technology, with an important safeguarding role to play in the future landscape of events.

RFID

RFID or Radio Frequency Identification technology has been making its impact known on the events scene for a number of years now, but the wireless technology is continuing to earn a reputation as an invaluable method of collecting insightful data from attendees in the live event environment. By accurately tracking delegates and their event paths, there’s a whole host of opportunities to analyse and utilise data both during and post event to optimise the personalised experience that attendees receive – a key goal for many event organisers in 2020.

Logistically, knowing when and where your delegates are moving within a venue is also very helpful; RFID allows the real-time management of attendee traffic, which handled correctly ensures a seamless journey around the event for guests. Understanding the movements and behaviours of an audience – on a mass and granular level – and identifying hotspot areas of an event can also contribute to the strategic forward-planning and decision-making for future events.

5G

2019 saw the launch of 5G, and with it came a lot of debate on the true impact it will have on the events industry. Offering speeds 1000 times faster than its predecessor 4G, there’s been high hopes pitted against the advent of 5G technology.

Much excitement, for example, has been generated around 5G and the prospect of more reliable, super-fast connectivity within events, better enabling the use of mobile devices, cloud-based apps and other event tech without the need of a WiFi connection. Removing the requirement of WiFi access onsite, also presents a whole host of venue possibilities that were once not operationally viable.

However, with the roll out of the network still underway, it’s likely to be a while before we see what actually materialises from the 5G hype…watch this space.

AI Chatbots

With the ability to imitate human conversation through artificial intelligence and machine learning, Chatbot technology will continue to revolutionise the interactions attendees have before, during and after events.

Performing tasks, solving problems or managing information, Chatbots are taking on the role of personal assistants throughout the entire cycle of an event. Pre-event, messenger Chatbots can be leveraged on social channels to increase awareness of an event offering and to sell tickets seamlessly; during events, attendees can engage with the technology and receive personalised responses to their queries, based on the streams of real-time data being collected in the live event setting; and when the event is over, the analytics from the bot can provide useful learnings that can be carried into subsequent events.

It’s clear from our foray to Event Tech Live, that there’s no time to stand still when it comes to event technology in the new decade; the ever-expanding, ever-evolving range of options available are presenting powerful tools for event organisers to use in their mission to produce phenomenal events.

Need some help navigating the world of event technology? Talk to In2Events today and let our team of event experts, strategically align the right technology with your event objectives, to create experiences that engage, inspire and imaginatively connect your brand with your audience. Call: 02392 320 581 or email: info@in2events.co.uk