Telepresence

The increase numbers of user preferring to attend virtual meeting nowadays is reasonably high. According to MPI Hybrid meeting Survey, three mains reasons behind the preferences regarding typical meeting and event organising lay on travel budget, cannot be out of the office and cost of event. Several choices of virtual tools are in trend such as webcasting, webinar, web conference, video Conference and most interesting and complex one here is telepresence.

Telepresence is perceived as useful tool not only for the business industry but environmentally friendly (decreasing carbon footprint and air pollution). Moreover, it creates human experience of being fully present, enabling all parties to connect to one another on demand, enhancing more channels of communication as well as facial expressions and other body language.

Digital Video Enterprise (DVE) is global company which presently provide telepresence targeting wide range of users as followed:

Ø  University Education

Ø  Healthcare

Ø  Judicial and legal

Ø  Government

Ø  Corporate training

Ø  Manufacturing and Industry

Ø  Business Communication

Ø  Public access

Ø  Events and Conferences

Ø  The total telepresence corporation

Ø  File and Television Studios

Innovative and potential products offered are such as Immersion room/podium, Transparent Augmented Reality Telepresence, 3D Transparent Display, Telepresence Array Room, and Eye Contact Silhouette.

This transition is extraordinary. New experience is ready to be created with this high technology that will connect the world together as one. No more wasting time on the plane and same style of meeting, global reach, less lead time to organize the event, higher flexibility on time management, and records provided. Using high technology for your meeting/event is claimed to also increase your professional, reputation and prestige in the eye of the world. On one hand, undeniably it seems to be more profitable than the lost for all parties. It is yet thinkable as well that with this high technology, the cost of service is still quiet high. For example, DVE: $150,000 / Rental Rooms: $299-$899/hour and up. Other related companies are such as Cisco Telepresence: $300,000, HP Halo: $349,000, and Teleportec: $30,000 per installation.

According to the prices and target markets mentioned above, it demonstrates the main users to be in top level of management and international type of company where the price is not their sensitivity. Price reduction in order to reach lower level of management as well as increase number of users could be possible eventually. The question here is that what percentage of usage that actually use this complex tool and guarantee that they increase their profits and revenues after all. Apart from that sort of downside, it is agreeable that soon enough in the meeting and event industry, this great assistance will gradually take over human roles, no matter how important face to face interaction is.

Marion and Rosie

 

 

 

Sources: cisco.com/telepresence

dvetelepresence.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepresence

www.corbinball.com/assets/skema-2.pdf

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/telepresence-makes-its-presence-felt/?cs=32843

RFID, a new technology system in meeting industry

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of a wireless non-contact system which is having a huge impact in MICE industry during the few years. RFID uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Unlike a bar code, the tag does not need to be within line of sight of the reader. RFID chip is one of the best way to add this technology into meetings and exhibitions, such as the chip could be arrange in registration card or smart-phones.

RFID could be embed in two types, the active and the passive. The active RFID chip could help the attendees to build network and make all the informations much transparence between the attendees and also the exhibitors or speakers. It is continuing transmitting with a system called n-TAG, to help the attendees to find the people who have something similar and transmit information while encounter a scanner. The passive RFID chip is much secure when to transmit informations, which should receive an admission to get others' information.

In meeting industry, this application is much more used to registration program. RFID help to transmit the information of attendees to each others and make the meeting planners easier to do evaluation. 

Let's take a look at what RFID could contribute to the meeting.

• Customizable online registration. That attendees easily click one online website, simply, flexibly and conveniently. CSI company create online-reg.com
• The access control, the scanners at the door to the meeting room, could verify the attendees and they could enter the room quickly. And the RFID system could help to track the registration materials.
• VIP could be easier to track and provide specific service.
• People flow tracking to help the organizers to analyze the event and be much efficient.

Recently, there are some meeting planners and suppliers begin to focus this opportunity to improve RFID tags into improve networking product. The experience of the new technology used could not only add the value in meeting and extending new trend in event industry. Meeting planners can use it to attract much exhibitors, sponsors and attendees to enlarge their network. In this way, this technology could create much more revenue for the event planners. 

Lastly, the meeting planners strive to provide the attendees both social networking opportunity and a scientific research dissemination. All the new experiences could inspire the RFID technology to be a new application and to search for new opportunities to popularize itself. It could be a great challenge for the planners to demonstrate how to use the new technology to plan future meetings.

Written by Pinyi LU & Yi ZHAO

Sources:

http://www.meetings-conventions.com/Resources/Planner-Basics/Tech-Files/Revisiting-RFID-Technology/

http://meetingsnet.com/association-meetings/little-chip-could​

Picture sources: 

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/01/student-rfid-suspension/

https://www.inria.fr/innovation/agenda/le-salon-rfid