New tech tools emerge for planners and attendees

By Don Sadler

The pace of technological change in today’s world is amazing, and the meeting and events industry is widely affected by it. New technologies are constantly emerging that can help both meeting planners and attendees in numerous ways. Here’s a look at a few new tools and products that can help planners and attendees be more productive. If you’re headed to Connect Marketplace, see how many of them make it on your packing list.

For Planners

RFID location awareness
Radio frequency identification (or RFID) technology allows the tracking of an object’s location using radio waves with an RFID tag or label attached to the object. RFID was originally used to track consumer products, inventory and even animals, but the technology is expanding into various uses for tracking people, including meeting and event attendees. “Location awareness technology like RFID is becoming more prevalent at conferences and seminars,” says Corbin Ball, CSP, CMP, an industry consultant and expert in meetings technology innovation. RFID enables planners to track the sessions people are attending, how long they’re staying in them and the people they’re speaking with.

“RFID is great for tracking attendee movement at an event, but its power is so much more than that,” says Ian McGonnigal, a senior vice president with Jack Morton Worldwide who focuses on cutting-edge experiential and digital marketing techniques. “It can also be used to help planners better understand attendance and attendee interactions, drive attendee networking, and even tie into signage and other digital experiences, which can be customized for each attendee. “In addition, it offers the opportunity to continuously improve your program in real time through the rich data captured via robust RFID implementations,” McGonnigal adds. His personal pick: Intelligent RFID from AllianceTech.

Kaon Interactive v-OSK
This is an interactive, three-dimensional touch screen presentation tool that allows for stunning virtual presentations. McGonnigal says the device has various potential applications for meetings and events. “The Kaon v-OSK is a great tool for making in-depth interactive presentations,” says McGonnigal. “Users can manipulate images with their hands, spin them around, or open and tear them apart. It’s useful not just for showing products, but also for demonstrating processes and displaying data in three dimensions.”

For planners, the device can reduce the amount of staff, products and equipment needed on site at an event, potentially saving money. Additionally, content created for v-OSK presentations is easily leveraged for e-literature and web content, further extending the ROI of your investment. Learn more on Kaon’s website.

Pocket projectors
Also known as pico or mobile projectors, these are small handheld devices that enable users to project digital images onto any viewing surface, like a wall or screen. Pocket projectors first emerged in the marketplace a few years ago, and today’s models offer theater-quality video and lots of features at very affordable prices, generally in the $300 to $400 range.

Typically, a pocket projector is used in conjunction with a laptop, mobile phone, media player or other device to conveniently display photos and video stored on it. “You can run a small presentation from a projector you can carry in your pocket,” says McGonnigal. “This makes them ideal for informal gatherings at your event, like Tweet-ups, for example.” The power and resolution of pocket projectors are still in their infancy, he notes, but the devices will improve with better lighting and resolution innovations.

Holographic projectors
Think Star Trek or Star Wars for this one. With a holographic projector, images of products (and even people) can be displayed in full 3-D against a glass screen. The projectors are primarily used as eye-catching features at trade show exhibit booths, but McGonnigal notes that a newer technique known as Musion Eyeliner technology allows event hosts, speakers and instructors to be piped in virtually to a stage presentation via a holographic projector.

For Attendees

The iPad
As sort of a cross between a laptop and a PDA, the Apple iPad is becoming a practical tool for meeting and event attendees, says McGonnigal. While sitting in a conference session or meeting, a person can do almost everything on an iPad that’s possible on a laptop — take notes, do real-time research, conduct surveys, blog, interact with social media tools, and access documents and photos — but much more conveniently. “The large display area makes it unique, but it’s the wide variety of apps that are being developed for the iPad that I think are most exciting,” adds Ball. He notes Gowalla and Sipity, both now available as an iPad app, are especially relevant.

Inductive charging pads
Almost any regular meeting or event attendee can relate to the hassle of packing different chargers for a variety of different mobile electronic devices. Now there’s a handy new tool that could render the jumble of wires, cables and AC adapters obsolete — the inductive charging pad. Inductive charging is a method for charging cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players and other medium-sized items wirelessly. An adapter with contact points is attached to the back plate of the device: When it needs a charge, the device is simply placed on a conductive charging pad that’s plugged into an electric socket. A variety of types of inductive charging pads are available, usually for $50 or less.

Near Field Communication (NFC)
NFC is similar to RFID, but instead of attendees being tagged or wearing badges, the technology is loaded into their mobile devices. Then attendees can share contact and other information with each other automatically. “Attendees can also interact with trade show booths and kiosks intelligently,” says McGonnigal. “All you have to do is hold your device up to other NFC-enabled devices and you can automatically receive contact information, relevant links, a presentation or collateral electronically.”

QR (Quick Response) codes
These are two-dimensional bar codes easily read by many types of mobile devices that store text information or website URLs. The user simply takes a picture of or scans the image of the QR code to display text or open a web browser on the device. The application of this technology to conference and event attendees is similar to NFC: Event organizers and exhibitors can post QR codes on signs or collateral at sessions or in exhibit booths, where attendees can scan them with their mobile devices to receive more information via text or to access a web page.

External battery packs
Staying connected online and engaged with social media throughout the day is integral. However, this requires lots of battery power. External battery packs are the most efficient way to keep mobile devices juiced all day. These handy devices connect directly to different brands of mobile devices. While attending the recent DMAI conference in Hollywood, Fla., Barry Lewis, director of marketing for the Grapevine (Texas) CVB, says he relied on his iPhone to keep him connected throughout the day. “However, I’ve learned from past experiences that battery power dwindles quickly, especially in a room where so many people are using the signal at the same time. I’ve invested in the Kensington Battery Pack and Charger for those times when I need extra juice. It gives me a couple more hours of phone usage each day.”