Boston Convention Center Will Offer Geolocation Services

The Board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) recently voted to approve the installation of a full-building, real-time location services system at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). Using “ActivLocator,” a geolocation technology from Sherpa Solutions, the MCCA will provide turn-by-turn navigation inside the BCEC, providing digital wayfinding for visitors looking for meeting rooms, exhibit halls, exhibit booths and even MCCA offices from wherever the visitor may be in the facility.

Sherpa’s system relies on Bluetooth low-energy beacon transmitters, 270 of which will be installed throughout the BCEC. Meeting attendees can access turn-by-turn walking directions provided by a mobile app, including the exhibit hall floor. 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.

”At the MCCA, we have never been reserved about our mission to remain the most technologically advanced convention centers in the world,” said James E. Rooney, executive director of the MCCA. “We are thinking about technology that meeting attendees will be asking for not just in 2015, but five and 10 years from now. Real time location services are just one of the technology initiatives we are focused on right now to better serve our customers and their attendees.”

Installation of the Sherpa system is expected to be complete in March 2015.

This announcement comes on the heels of the MCCA recently announcing a wireless infrastructure overhaul at the BCEC. The MCCA is transitioning from a traditional coverage wireless system, which focuses on signal strength over a wide area, to an advanced high-density system. The new system will increase the BCEC’s wireless capacity, sending focused beams of wireless connectivity. More powerful access points enable more users to connect per access point, resulting in significantly improved signal strength.

In 2014, the MCCA hosted 241 events at the BCEC and Hynes with 845,000 attendees, generating 630,000 hotel room nights and $590 million in economic impact. The MCCA is currently in the midst of its Top 5 campaign to launch Boston into the top five convention destinations in North America. For more information, go to www.massconvention.com.