Touch is one of the first ways we learn as a kid. Toddlers are practically obsessed with being able to touch and feel everything so they can learn more. This is because the ability to physically touch and hold something can help increase our interest and help us understand things better.

Touchable tech appeals exactly to this human nature to touch and experience things on our own. With simple solutions that engage more than just our brain but also our five senses, touchable tech is exactly what it sounds like: technology that you can touch.

This technology has been a growing event trend that appeals to both younger and older generations. Touchable tech helps get attendees engaged with your event and with each other. So how can you incorporate elements of touchable tech to your next event?

Simple, basic ways to add touchable tech can be touchscreens, digital notepads or handheld games. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Here are some examples of touchable tech that might be the perfect fit for your event:

Mosaic Walls

A mosaic is a picture or a pattern created by arranging together small pieces of material. A mosaic wall is similar but is created using smaller images from social media to create a larger picture or pattern.

An attendee takes a picture, attaches your event’s hashtag and posts the picture to social media. Photos tagged with the event’s hashtag are printed onsite and placed in a specific location on the wall by the user. These tagged images create the larger image.

Not only will this boost your social media presence with your event’s hashtag being used more, but this also promotes attendee engagement and participation. The mosaic can be used to promote a specific brand with their logo or with the event’s logo. Is your event in an interesting location? Use the image of a local, well-known building or tourist attraction from that city. Attendees will find this a fun way to participate with each other and with your event.

Twitter Walls

A Twitter wall can be a great way to include attendees in your event in real-time. Like the mosaic wall, social media posts are collected based on the use of your event’s hashtag and these posts are displayed publicly at the event. Tweets are digitally displayed on a large screen, usually found in a high traffic area, and updated constantly with newly submitted content. Twitter walls are kind of like a fireplace – people naturally gather around them and create a sense of community. While posts are being displayed, attendees can interact and discuss what is being said about the event and share ideas with each other. Also like the mosaic wall, your event’s social media presence will only go up with attendees using your event’s hashtag to participate.

Wayfinders

Event venues come in all shapes and sizes and can sometimes be hard to navigate. Wayfinders are a great touchable tech solution that will help your attendees and even the show organizer. Wayfinders are touch screen units that provide easy navigation at the event. They can be connected to the internet or pre-loaded with your show’s information and placed in the lobby of the venue or throughout the exhibit hall. This will let your attendees search for exhibitors, products, sessions, etc. to find their location and even provide here-to-there navigation.

Spectacles

Used with Snapchat, spectacles are sunglasses made with a built-in camera that records short videos. Spectacles let you record your experience exactly the way you see it, from your own perspective. Users can record their view of a session or speaker and post this to social media to share with other attendees.

Touchable tech is a great way to entice attendee engagement and interaction. Incorporating this technology to your event doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as using a digital notepad to take notes. Whether it’s simple or extravagant, touchable tech is definitely something to consider for your next event.