Taiwan Trade Show Tries Virtual Exhibition Format

Participants with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones could place their handsets within range of the kiosk, then download the written material related to all of the booths they'd visited. Otherwise, they could request that a booth-visit report be transmitted to their own e-mail address. However, Lu says, in other applications, users could utilize their badge ID number to log onto a Web site hosted by either ITRI or the exhibition managers, and access their own booth-visit history and product literature online.

In addition, the system offered users another function—the ability to locate friends and colleagues. If several people attended the show together, they could visit a kiosk upon arrival and scan their ID numbers, then select an option linking their numbers together as a single party. Then, if they were later separated, any party member could scan their own number, select the "locate" option and find the most recent booth that other party members had visited. The user could also send a message, such as "meet me at the entrance at 3 p.m.," to other members of their party, who could then view the message by scanning their own ID cards at any kiosk.

Tony Lu

The system does more than just offer services to users, however—it also enables exhibitors to track the number of people stopping at each booth, providing them with an idea of which booths are well placed and which are being overlooked. According to Lu, ITRI used generic reader modules to build the interrogators, which were able to read tags up to approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) away but which—with additional antennas—could achieve a read range of 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet).

At the beginning of the conference, ITRI set up an "RFID Register" counter to inform visitors about the test program, and to provide an information leaflet. It also positioned helpers at each kiosk to aid users. The system was unable to read badges placed in computer bags, Lu says, but successfully interrogated the badges of visitors who wore them around their necks, as intended. The response from tracked visitors, he adds, was generally positive.

"Users were particularly interested in being able to conveniently locate their companions in the exhibit hall," Jan says, "and to download an electronic copy of a trip log without the need of bringing back a bunch of printed materials." Exhibitors were more interested in the real-time information functions, he notes, such as comparing their own booth's visiting rate against those of other booths at the exhibit.

The system being demonstrated could be employed at shopping malls, recreation centers and exhibits, Lu says. What's more, ITRI hopes to see it developed for a variety of commercial applications for use in Taiwan, and possibly in other parts of the world as well.