Avatars replace physical attendance to explore show floor and connect with delegates.
When physical attendance was not an option for Smart ConnecTech Asia 2020, Singapore-based software development and technology services company, RADX, created a 3D virtual reality (VR) conference where 300 delegates across 15 countries attended the inaugural event entirely online from 9-10 September 2020.
Launched in April 2019 by Rob Chong and Leslie Han, RADX was engaged by Excelpoint Systems to transform their trade conference from an offline event to a complete digital experience in light of the pandemic. Tasked to up the ante, the RADX VR™ platform was created.
With the RADX VR™ platform, exhibitors, speakers and participants were able to network and engage at the virtual Smart ConnecTech Asia 2020 conference by controlling an avatar as you would in The Sims video game, albeit in a more dizzying manner. Avatars can run, wave, swap name cards, visit exhibitor booths and download information from them, watch product videos, initiate Zoom chats, and more.
The event area was designed and created from the ground up, for the user experience in VR to mirror their offline counterparts as closely as possible to existing venues. The platform showed great promise and led to Analog Devices Inc. and Rohde and Schwarz to come aboard the event as key exhibitors.
Smart ConnecTech Asia 2020 is RADX VR™’s first outing. “Business continuity and customer engagement are important to all businesses. RADX 3D VR conference will provide a viable meeting option for businesses who might otherwise be unable to launch and showcase their new products and services,” said Rob Chong, Founder, and CEO of RADX.
It took a team of 10 specialists across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam four to five months to turn the vision into reality. RADX says the 3D VR conference met the organisers’ expectations and created a novelty among the participants, with new leads generated and positive feedback received.
According to Leslie Han, Partner, and COO of RADX, RADX 3D VR conference platform is developed from Unity, the world’s leading platform for real-time, immersive, multiplayer experiences. The application can be extended to meetings, retail malls, tourism, and even live concerts or performances.
Founder of miceNeurol, Kenny Goh, says transitioning the event to the VR platform was a significant step in keeping business plans and developments on track in the pandemic period. “From a business perspective, this reset is hellish for incumbents but heaven-sent for those who have been championing digital-driven MICE.”
Goh emphasised that hybrid events had to be created from start to finish to ensure the viability of the approach, a sentiment shared by the team at RADX. They believe that VR events will be the perfect complement for physical events by increasing reach and accessibility when event restrictions get lifted. VR events will also get more sophisticated in immersion and capabilities and can become the industry standard in the near future.
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