2017 Wearable Tech Trends for Events

Technology is becoming less of an extension but more like a part of oneself.

Look at your right or left wrist. I am sure 50 per cent of you are wearing a smart watch or fitness tracker or some wearable technology around your body.

Every technology has a phase in which it influences the audience and morphs the latest trends through innovations, one of which is Wearable Tech.

This wearable technology space is going to become an emerging trend. As we look at different people and the way they integrate technology into their lives to stay connected, it’s really finally coming together across the board with products from whole range of industries. The key is not just throwing the technology in there, but making sure it’s easy to use and something the audience can relate to. -Scott Martin

Mr. Scott makes some good sense, right? To begin with, you might relate wearable tech with fitness trackers and smart watches but it isn’t just confined to that. Wearable technology has paved its way into everything we use in our daily life be it personal or professional.

Hence, with the technology upgrading itself at the rapid speed, wearables have now been able to perform the task of computers as well. With its output such as real-time feedback and tracking of physical functions, it is one of the hottest event technology which is fascinating event planners across the world.

It is one of the top 8 technologies that every event planner must embrace. And hence, we are going to shed some more light on this splendid innovation so that you can incorporate it easily and plan impeccable events, leading to amazing attendee experience.

4 Wearable Tech Trends for Events this year

#1. Presentation technology

I am sure you must have seen speakers adjusting their coexistence with those “tacky clickers” to move slides. Aren’t they outdated to be used in today’s world? Yes, without a doubt.

And hence, wearable presentation technology like MYO has been developed. MYO is a mind blowing technology which enables a user to control to zoom in the slides, turn page to page and that too with a touch free pointer.

It reads gestures and motions to let you seamlessly control presentation software without any touch. Have a look at the video to know how it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjgRH3jdAAs

Who wouldn’t like to have such superpowers?

Not only that, it is compatible with various presentation platforms like Powerpoint, Prezi, Google Slides, Keynote and Acrobat. The market of presentation technology is thriving with new innovations and I am sure Event Planners will make a good use of it.

#2. Smart phone apps

You may find some people who are showing resistance to embrace the event technology but one there is one fact which you can’t deny: nobody leaves their home without their smartphone accompanying them.

Considering this fact that most of your event attendees are having smartphones with them, why not work on inbuilt smart sensors with your event app?

I am sure you all must have heard about iBeacons. These iBeacons send a push notification to the smart phone of attendees regarding which place they are in the conference and which sessions are they are attending.

The power of wearable comes from connecting our senses to our sensors. Make the most of it!

#3. Wrist bands

The most common thing that any MICE event have is the name badge. Everybody wears them during the event, isn't it?

So, why not make them work the way you want?

These “smart badges” are not only making your event cashless and hassle free but can also track physical activity of every attendee.

In a recent article, researchers from MIT Tech Labs tracked the behaviour of 70 attendees through a sensor-laden conference badge.

These badges used infrared sensors to gather data on face-to-face interactions, a microphone to study speech patterns and an accelerometer (an another sensor for the people who don’t understand tech jargon) to track physical activity.

You might think of it as a benefit to attendees only but the analytics that it gives to the organisers are immensely helpful. This not only helps them in understanding their attendee’s thought process but also tells them about which part of the event was successful and which wasn’t.

#4. Apparel and accessories

Attendees are used to getting free event memorabilia like t-shirts, aren’t they? Event Organisers makes sure to spread the word about their event.

Well, how about giving them t-shirts with technology embedded in it which focuses on enhancing their crowd experience?

Yet so far, smart t-shirts are mostly used by athletes to monitor their biometric data and hence improve their performance. However, there is certainly some room for the sensor technology to enter this world which can benefit event attendees too.

In late June, Wearable Experiments unveiled its Netherlands Fan Jersey for fans of the Dutch Ladies Sevens rugby team. The shirt is embedded with haptic feedback motors that transmit the emotion and action of the game in real time to the person wearing it.

Using Bluetooth low energy, the shirt can transmit feelings of impact, heartbeat, exhaustion, adrenaline, and excitement. Isn’t that amazing?

$53 billion is the projected market for wearable devices by 2019.

With such high numbers, the sky is the limit for innovations in the wearable tech space. It is up to event planners to use it wisely and effectively.

Happy Eventteching!

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