Harnessing the Power of VR and AR

Artificial intelligence, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, could change the way event professionals plan meetings. Virtual reality can transport our audiences from a barren warehouse to an imaginary molten, bubbling planet. AR can take the form of adorable face filters on social media platforms like Snapchat and Facebook or allow us to “see” our meeting possibilities in a space without moving a chair or turning on a light. 

Many of us are already embracing the magic of these technologies, but what about the function? Smart event professionals will focus on how advances can enhance the core goals of the event beyond any wow factor. Here are the possibilities we see on the horizon. 

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality can take you anywhere at any time using specially designed headsets. One growing use for this technology is virtual site inspections. Visiting all possible venues can be costly in time and travel expenses. However, a handful photos viewed on a website may not be sufficient to give an accurate feel for the area. 

VR can allow you to view every corner of a space. You can even coordinate with a designer to imagine what it would look like with your event’s personal flair. The technology is still limited, but it can at least help to narrow down options. 

As a supplier, instant site inspection can be a great selling point. Hotels can use it to showcase luxury rooms and airlines can use it to promote premier economy seating at the terminal. This trend has already been adopted by major companies, such as Airbnb, to preview properties. 

Holoportation could be similarly useful; it leverages 3D capture technology to reconstruct a real-life model of a person and transmits that image instantly. The person being “hologrammed” is recorded from 3D cameras at multiple angles. The person witnessing the virtual projection uses a headset to hear, see and interact with the hologram as if the person were directly in front of them. 

Ever have a great keynote lined up, only for them to have transportation issues? Or they’re simply too busy to commit to a conference? Holoportation allows the presenter to give just an hour or two of their time, sans jetlag to deliver a poignant message right when you need it. 

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality adds overlays to your view, rather than completely masking it. At an event, AR can serve as a comprehensive map, guiding visitors through a show floor while displaying vendor information, social media posts, products available for purchase and contact information. This gives attendees all the information they want, even if they don’t know they want it. The days of cluttered Google search tabs are over. 

As opposed to a physical map, an AR map can be updated in real-time to accommodate any last-minute changes. Attendees will know they’re always headed in the right direction. 

Or, for networking events, an AR map can display attendees moving around on a show floor. If a representative from one company knows they want to talk to a representative from another, they can use the map to locate each other and mutually gather contact information—exchanging LinkedIn profiles, rather than business cards. 

GPS technology has long-been used in treasure hunt team-building activities, but AR takes it a step further. Marriott International used this gamification technique last year at its Corporate Partnership Conference. Participants spotted pictures around the conference and then opened a mobile app with AR features. Clues led attendees to collect pictures, or tokens to solve a riddle that reinforced the event’s core message. Whether attendees got it right or wrong, they grew more familiar with the brand and bonded with each other. That is using technology wisely.