Koelnmesse and Samsung SDS iannounced the launch of the eGuard app, a new product for trade fairs that will allow the International Dental Show (IDS) 2021 to provide exhibitors and visitors a safe experience despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies have jointly developed an indoor positioning system (IPS), which monitors the number of people and the behavior of the visitors in the exhibition halls and makes these cognitions available to the trade fair participants in real-time. The eGuard app is part of an extensive package of measures that ensure the highest degree of professional safety and create an environment in which encounters and business can grow again - and which is individually adapted to meet the needs of Koelnmesse. A combination between a geomagnetic field and beacons are implemented. No personal data is recorded.
The anonymous data collected by the IPS will allow the flow of visitors, visitor frequencies, the length of the stay and other position data to be recorded and will, for instance, display the visitor frequency in the individual halls to the trade visitor via the app. The relation between the respective hall sizes and the number of people present is determined and color-coded in the app. Furthermore, the individual location of the user is dynamically displayed. On this basis every customer can individually adapt his trade fair visit and if necessary avoid exhibition halls with a high frequency of visitors and visit them at a later point in time when it is quieter. eGuard enables Koelnmesse to implement measures to avoid or disperse larger gatherings of people.
So that the app can provide precise information about the visitor traffic at the event location, its usage is obligatory for all people for the entire duration of their stay at the fair grounds and must be kept active in the background of the smartphone.
The successful strategic collaboration between Koelnmesse and Samsung SDS has existed since March 2018. Koelnmesse is the exclusive partner of the globally operating provider of software solutions and IT services for the development of trade fair-relevant systems. Their first joint project, Digital Signage, an interactive routing system at the fair grounds, was launched for gamescom 2018. The system enables real-time orientation and information management and creates attractive presentation options in high-end quality.
