iBeacon, Eddystone, Bluetooth, IoT sensor beacons, apps, platforms
Aventri is an all-in-one event platform that allows enterprise companies to run engaging in-person, virtual and hybrid events.
Their mobile event app can detect beacons placed at strategic locations across the event, for example, at each booth. The iBeacon can cause the app to show an automated message when a visitor is in range of a booth. It also allows you to silently measure foot traffic at the event.
We are seeing beacons increasingly being used in immersive experiences in theatre productions, events, museums, galleries, theme parks and with augmented reality (AR). Beacons provide physical location cues for tech-driven immersive experiences.
Beacons have a variety of uses in immersive experiences. They cause things to happen based on the location of a person or things or their mutual proximity. They provide a way of counting how many people or things are in an area. Some beacons have buttons that allow for human interaction. There are also sensor beacons that expand what’s possible through the detection of temperature, light, proximity, physical open/closed, movement and fall detection. Beacons replace what might usually have been done manually thus saving costs, sometimes implementing scenarios that are impractical to do manually. While the emphasis is usually all about maximising the experience, beacons also allow the collection of data so that it’s possible to learn from current or past installations.
Beacons are small, battery powered devices that can last months to years without changing the battery. They are detected by smartphones, gateways or single board computers such as Raspberry Pi.
We have immersive experience clients such as dreamthinkspeak, Playlines, Punchdrunk, Sophie Jump using our beacons. We also provide consultancy an example of which is Royal Museums Greenwich’s AR immersive experience for which we have a case study.
Beacons help make immersive experiences more physical and magical.
If you are thinking about using beacons for hospitality/events then you might like to take a look at Mr Beacon’s latest video interview with Kyle Wright from The Shubert Organization. They are the largest theatre owner on Broadway and have beacons covering their theatres and 80% of Times Square.
Their beacons require apps and they have been experimenting with partnering with 3rd party apps from travel, airline and credit card companies as well as having their own app. Initially, their own app was a challenge because few people had spare time to download when they arrive at a theatre. However, covering such a large number of venues and Time Square, with the large footfall, has made it easier to get their beacon detection into the 3rd party apps.
This is an interesting insight in that, if you control a compelling destination, you don’t necessarily need your own app but might have the clout to piggy back another organisation’s app that’s more likely to be on peoples’ phones.