AEO/AEV/ESSA Technology Working Group

The AEV/AEO/ESSA Technology Working Group met at ExCeL London for the first time this year on May 20, under the auspices of Group Chair Murray Dickson of the NEC.

The well attended meeting featured representatives from across the sector and the associations, including some new faces, and after the formalities had been completed the group moved on to the substantive items on the agenda.

These included a detailed investigation of iBeacons and how successfully this short-range positioning technology from Apple Inc. had been implemented by members, and to what degree of success. The discussion quickly moved on to an assessment of mobile website versus dedicated event apps.

The group then focused on technology innovation amongst the venues, and was shown a short video of some very interesting ideas being suggested for visitor tracking and behavioural analysis, before discussing the possibility of using ANPR cameras at venues as part of visitor/exhibitor tracking rather than traffic enforcement.

After a robust discussion, the group moved on to consider advanced analytics, data sharing and connectivity, and the technical issues associated with them.

The meeting concluded with a presentation from the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) on its planned new venue, with exciting prospects for technological integration and innovation when it opens in 2018.