Tech
Measuring happiness
With AI set to take over the events industry, Olivia Powell investigates
how AI is being used to quantify happiness at events
Z
enus Biometrics, a US-
based event software
company, has invented an
innovative way to use AI.
The Happy Map was
developed by Zenus after
event organisers asked
the biometrics company
if sentiment analysis was
possible – as in, if attendee’s
happiness at events could be
measured.
The name for the software
was inspired by the way it
visualises data; like a heat
map, it shows where the
most concentrated places
in an event are, but instead
of temperature, it displays
engagement and sentiment.
The Happy Map has already
been deployed to several
events and bookings are
growing. One example is
GOWEST – Zenus have
formed a partnership with
the event, and so attendees
will be able to experience all
Zenus’ services, including
activations, registration,
and the Happy Map. The
company is also in the
process of launching similar
partnerships with other
shows, such as digitalNow.
Before the event, Zenus
receives the floor plan along
with the key objectives
(i.e. the questions that
the organisers want to be
answered) and sets up the
tech accordingly.
To cover small areas, for
example booths, Zenus
provide a plug-and-play
camera kit. The battery
cable is simply plugged in,
and the camera performs
all processing on the
device – no video is stored
or transmitted, and it does
not need to connect to WiFi
either.
For larger spaces, Zenus
have configurations which
allow the Happy Map
to capture and analyse
thousands of faces with a
single camera, even if there
are low light levels at the
event. For these situations,
the Zenus team must to be
on-site to install and run
everything.
CEO of Zenus, Panos
Moutafis, says the results
are often surprising: “In
one of my favourite events,
everyone was expecting
exhibitors giving out cool
swag and alcohol to make
people happiest. However,
it was exhibitors which
associated their brand with
a higher cause that had the
best effects; one brought
puppies for adoption;
another had a gift giving
program for people in need.
It was fascinating reviewing
the results.”
Improving events
Moutafis is of the belief that
AI can help event organisers
achieve what he sees as
their common goal – to
‘help attendees to grow and
form meaningful
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