Always up for innovation, Montréal’s convention centre — aka the Palais des congrès de Montréal — houses 14 handpicked Montréal startups looking to shake things up in the events industry under the umbrella of their Events Lab. These startups offer everything from wellness services to sensory experiences to, in the case of RE-AK Technologies, a whole new and revolutionary approach to measuring event attendee data.
The power of biometrics
Through its Event Lab, the Palais des congrès de Montréal actively encourages its clients to discover and test new innovative solutions to transform their events for maximum impact. The collaboration with RE-AK Technologies began as pilot study in collaboration with the MT Lab incubator and the Québec government, with the aim of evaluating the potential of a biometric approach to event-quality assessment.
The 2023 pilot project tested RE-AK’s biometric approach to capturing event participants’ reactions based on a combination of data collected by their proprietary Nucleus-Hermès headset and artificial intelligence.
The biometric approach to assessment
Contrary to the declarative approach, the most common assessment technique, which requires participants to state their feelings about an event, the biometric approach removes both biases and imprecision.
This approach consists of using the Nucleus-Hermès headset to measure participants’ biosignals, including brain waves, electrodermal responses, facial muscle expressions and heart rate, to infer their state of mind as they roam freely through an event space. With the use of geolocation, it’s possible to follow the participants wearing the equipment and triangulate their feelings within the exhibition space.
The technology has gained widespread adoption in cinema, video games and neuromarketing, and is now making its way into the event industry.
The proof is in the pilot project
For the pilot project at the Palais, RE-AK Technologies measured attendees at two public events. After being equipped with the requisite headsets, 20 participants visited the events without constraint, as they would have done normally. Over two days, they covered over 100,000 sq. ft. and three experiential areas in the Palais des congrès space.
The results obtained suggested that:
- Motivation, a brainwave-based cognitive measure that indicates people’s readiness to participate in an activity, was highest at the reception of the event.
- Cognitive engagement was particularly stimulated by the stage featuring musical performances and guest speakers. Engagement is an element stimulated by learning, spectacle and active observation. Providing for different points of engagement contributes to the diversity of the experiential landscape for participants.
- Happiness was also exhibited at several of the kiosks. Happiness is an emotion frequently, but not exclusively, associated with positive social interaction.
The potential
Thanks to geolocation cues and the precision of the data collected, RE-AK Technologies posits that they’re able to associate the feelings of participants with the specific kiosks where the emotion is felt. In order to get specific data on your next Montréal event, consider collaborating with the Palais des congrès de Montréal and RE-AK Technologies via the Events Lab. It’s a ground-breaking attendee assessment tool — providing event participants are willing to wear the gear.
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