Augmented and Virtual reality’s entry into the exhibition and trade show industry.
With so many companies entering into the AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) industry, there is some major spending and development happening continuously:
• Facebook purchased Oculus Rift (high-resolution immersive VR goggles) for US$2.1 Billion.
• Samsung, Sony and Google have all made major investments in VR in this past year.
• GoPro has made a made a turn-key 360° camera array that will work with Google Jump VR software. These VR videos will be distributed on YouTube
• Google is selling Cardboard, a US$20 VR viewer that will convert large format smartphones, such as the LG G4 and Nexus 6, into immersive VR goggles at about 1/50 to 1/100 the cost of standard VR viewers.
The technology that is being created and perfected by these technology giants is only set to get better and more accessible to the public. So what does this mean for the exhibition and trade show industry and what are the applications for this technology?
• VR technology will make it possible to demonstrate products at tradeshows in an interactive and realistic manner while also allowing companies to have less physical products at the show.
• VR headsets can attract attendees to booths with immersive games and experiences
• Display contractors and designers will be able to build 3D representations of booths for their clients allowing them to do walkthroughs and design comparisons.
• Having VR headsets will mean more attendees. People will be able to connect remotely and take a walkthrough of the trade show.
• Another way will be through mobile telepresence robots, which is a ‘remote robotic VR sensing unit. In essence this robot is a virtual attendee for individuals who are not able to attend in person. This is already here on a basic level in the form of ‘Mobi’ (visit their website - http://www.eventmobi.com/blog/2013/10/07/say-hello-to-mobi-the-first-robotic-attendee-at-imex-america-2013/ )
There are many more uses for VR and AR technology within the event and exhibition industry and with there being constant improvements and investments to this technology it’s only a matter of time before it is widely used by industry leaders.
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| An attendee playing a VR game at an exhibition |
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| Previewing a building sight |
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| Product demonstrations are able to take without the product having to be there |
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| another interactive game to attract and entertain attendee |
As augmented and virtual reality market grows, more and more companies seem interested in getting into the market. Similar to this technology, an Israeli startup started to develop assistive technology devices for blind. It's a tiny camera with powerful features such as reading, identifying products, money notes and even people's faces. The revolutionary wearable artificial vision device works best when attached to an eyeglasses frame. It reads what it sees with a point of finger and converts to audio then speaks the information to the user via built-in speakers in real time. This blind assistive technology help to those with vision problems achieve increased independence.
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