Boston, MA – The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) will soon have a system in place that attendees can use to find their way around the sprawling building using their cell phone. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority voted to have Sherpa Solutions to install its ActivLocator solution at the BCEC, which will enable visitors to use a mobile app for “turn-by-turn” navigation. Once the navigation’s mobile app has been downloaded, no cellular or wireless connection is needed for the directions to work on a user’s mobile device.
Attendees will use ActivLocator to guide them to meeting rooms, specific exhibitor booths and offices at the BCEC, which includes 516,000 square feet of prime exhibit space and 82 breakout rooms. The center is ranked 24th among the Trade Show Executive World’s Top Convention Centers.
The MCCA sees the initial deployment of ActivLocator as laying the foundation for future demand. “We are thinking about technology that attendees will be asking for five and 10 years down the road,” said MCCA Executive Director James Rooney. “Real time location services are just one of the technology services we are focused on.”
ActivLocator will use a network of 270 low-energy beacon transmitters arrayed throughout the BCEC to pinpoint the user’s location and point them to their destination in the same way automobile navigation systems guide drivers along streets and highways.
“It will be a tremendous value-add for our customers,” said Steve Snyder, CIO and CTO for the MCCA. “We will be able to map an entire show floor, booth by booth, and also customize information such as shuttle stops.”
Reach James Rooney at (617) 954-2470 or jrooney@massconvention.com; Steve Snyder at (617) 954-2000 or ssnyder@massconvention.com; Jacques Racine, president and CEO of Sherpa Solutions, at (855) 674-3772 or jr@sherpa-solutions.com
