One of the key reasons for the success of ISE 2016 was that it offered visitors the most compelling show-day programme produced during its 13 editions. If you were coming to be educated and informed about AV and systems integration than ISE 2016 was the place to be.
Visitors to last week’s exhibition would have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a wide range of events staged by ISE and its partners, which broadly embraced a common thread around IP interconnectivity.
On the day before the show officially opened, the Smart Building Conference drew record delegate numbers to learn how IP networking is changing the way in which commercial and residential buildings are being conceived and constructed. In The Network is the Building one of the key learnings was that within the next decade half the people in developed countries will be living in smart homes – but that most of us are not yet prepared for this inevitable revolution.
Later in the day the Opening Panel Discussion saw Wired UK editor-in-chief David Rowan moderate a panel discussion on the IoT and the rapid sensorisation of buildings, with contributions from senior representatives from CDEC, Harman, Google, Context and NEC. Here, IP was described as the great unifier, bringing together the world’s of AV and IT to share today’s voice/video and data networks. Rowan described the businesses of IT and AV colliding, with the sensorised, connected world linking with the storytelling tools of AV.
An undoubted highlight of ISE 2016 was the early-morning Closing Keynote given by Dr Michio Kaku, the leading physicist, author and futurist. He spoke to over 700 attendees and presented an exciting vision of a technological future, where the internet is ‘everywhere and nowhere’ and artificial intelligence is woven into every aspect of our lives. One of his most striking images was of the future bathroom, which will predict human illness well in advance of current methods of detection through the daily analysis of human body fluids.
In addition there were a wide range of events which included: the InAVate Awards; two conferences that covered sports venue technology and the modern connected stadium and capital investment in the AV business; four ‘off-site’ tech tours to view state-of-the-art AV installations; a new Drone Arena; a Dolby Atmos Immersive Theatre; four Audio Demo Rooms and many hosted buyer sessions. In addition, ISE co-owners CEDIA and InfoComm International reported record attendance to their respective training and personal development programmes run at an ISE exhibition.
The four ISE Show Floor Theatres, dedicated to covering Residential, Commercial, Unified Communications and Audio Solutions, attracted over 3,000 visitors to over 150 technology and case study presentations given by manufacturers, consultants and end-users. A highlight of the Commercial Solutions Theatre was three sessions, curated each day, by the Digital Signage Summit.
The next Integrated Systems Europe will take place from 7-10 February 2017.
