When you look to the future for themed parks and seaside resorts, many concentrate their crystal ball by looking at new rides, attractions, restaurant innovation or brand ties. But Recent research has shown that visitors also expect themed parks technology to improve and create new ways they interact with the theme park, for example what the future of the bracelet without species looks like.
Author: Mel TaylorCEO of Omnico group
Themed park technology as a service
Virtual reality is a great trend for themed parks today. But it is not only the rides that can be improved by this immersive experience. Recent research has shown that 65% of people visit a theme park in the United States, the United Kingdom and China would like to see the virtual reality used in new experiences and guides in the station. In addition, these same respondents wish to see personal digital assistants (38%) and robots as personal assistants (31%). It is clear that there is a real request to provide additional services and support to visitors today.
This innovation focused on services is particularly obvious in today’s consumer homes. Amazon Echo’s virtual assistant recently arrived in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria after launch in the United States. Machines can answer questions, control other devices connected to the Internet, create shopping lists and link dozens of third -party services. It is not surprising that with this level of innovation at home, visitors are now expecting the same level of service in their theme park experience.
Themed park robots
Robots may seem eccentric when you consider the technology of the theme of the future, but the “service robot” industry should have an average annual growth rate 16.5% in 2016-2020. Already customers visiting the domiciliary renovation stores in Lowe in the San Francisco Bay region, will see the Lowebot, an autonomous retail robot which analyzes and checks the inventory of stores. Target also uses inventories counting, and Electronics Chain Best Buy uses Robot Chloé customer service. In Haneda airport in Japan, visitors will soon be welcomed by a fleet of humanoid robots called Emeriew3 to guide users to the appropriate terminal destinations.
According to research and growth of the market, it seems that a robotic character can soon be able to salute visitors at the entrance to a theme park and guide them through their experience.
(The Lowebot)
Queue technology
The queues have become an inherent part of the technological experience of the theme park, many operators investing enormous sums of money to solve the problem. In 2014, Disney World presented the My Disney experience and replaced its old paper ticket system. The application for smartphone and the Magicband bracelets with integrated RFID fleas allowed guests to plan driving times, characters’ meetings, a visualization of parade, restaurants and more.
Technologies such as robots, personal digital assistants and virtual reality guides can be slightly futuristic. But they are not improbable. The need to provide support to navigate a very busy theme park is undeniable. New technologies are necessary to solve the problems of capacity and queues. Disney recently filed a patent To follow the activity of guests in his parks via their shoes using cameras and sensors. This can be used in a wide variety of applications. It can most likely be used to follow the guest movement and manage the crowds.
Once themed park operators can understand where visitors are and how they behave in real time, they can offer a more personalized and pleasant experience.
A Society without cash
This new themed park technology and the expected level of innovation of visitors today leads us to question the future of the bracelet without species that has defined innovation in themed parks to date.
The Magicband is a simple and elegant bracelet. Inside, it contains an RFID chip and a radio with enough battery to last two years. This can like unpretentious, but the group connects visitors to a large system of sensors across the park. With the Magicband, it is not necessary to put tickets. There is no need to rent a car or waste time at the luggage carousel. You don’t even need to transport money.
According to a Study by independent community bankers in America24% of millennials bear less than five dollars in their portfolios seven days a week. They also react well to species systems, increasing their expenses by 20% on average.
Disney’s Magicband
The Magicband completely sums up this. Now Disney has pushed a little further via the mobile offer without species to the newly open Shanghai Resort Shanghai. In Japan, however, they take the idea of a completely without cards and without species to new heights. They predict that fingerprints could be used to pay services throughout Japan by 2020. Popular tourist areas will participate in experience. It is also planned to develop throughout the country.
This is not an entirely new idea in Japan. They have already been exposed to this type of themed park technology. In October 2015, a theme park in Nagasaki introduced fingerprint payments for around 30 of its stores and restaurants. In addition, Fujitsu in 2015 deployed the Palm Vein authentication technology for the Japanese payment company JCB. This created the first system in the world to link information on palm veins to payment card data.
Theme parks are clearly investing and use apparatus without species, whether via bracelets or mobile applications. However, there is an opportunity for them to develop and integrate technology even further on more of their park attractions, their retail points of sale and their hotels, even in hotels. The set of “unique experience” should be supported by an entirely without species experience.
Technological investment
Today’s visitors are unfortunately a changing group, especially with regard to the latest technologies. This creates a frustrating dilemma for theme parks operators. On the one hand, they want to invest in new attractions to generate an increase in attendance and remain relevant. But on the other hand, they must continue investments in customer experience technology. This is necessary to ensure a transparent, practical and pleasant trip. Choose to invest badly or not at all in one or the other, and their competitiveness on the current market decreases. The theme parks based on their technological laurels are likely to let themselves be left.
Read the full Themed park barometer Report here: www.themepark.omnicocommerce.co.uk
¹ https://www.information-age.com/seven-things-ask-When-reating-constom-iot-device-123461236/