Integrated Life at InfoComm 2018 With New Content and Exhibits That Demonstrate the Pervasiveness of AV Experiences

March 26 2018, 06:00
InfoComm organizers, AVIXA (the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association) have announced new initiatives, content program and exhibition for InfoComm 2018, which returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center June 2-8, 2018. The show will kick off on June 5, with the opening reception at OMNIA Nightclub Las Vegas. The AV Tech Tours will take visitors to tech marvels, such as the nightclubs at MGM and Aria. There are more than 80 new education sessions, training, and workshops, from the popular Emerging Trends Day to the new Integrated Life Day.
 

New for 2018, the new Integrated Life @ InfoComm 2018 comprises a special track of workshops and sessions, plus a dedicated area on the InfoComm 2018 show floor, for spotlighting smart building, smart home, mobile, security and related audiovisual solutions that create integrated experiences wherever people use technology.

The agenda for the new Integrated Life program at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas is now confirmed. Taking place June 5 at the Westgate Las Vegas, this one-day thought-leadership event will feature interactive panel discussions and presentations focused on the crossover opportunities between the commercial and residential audiovisual markets. The program sessions will cover an array of hot-button topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence on consumer and commercial markets, voice-first products and the user experience, converging markets, and more.

“We plan to take everything that is cool, but maybe abstract, about new technology — the Internet of Things, sensors, artificial intelligence, the cloud and more — and present it in terms of real-world AV solutions that result in outcomes for customers,” says Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE, Senior Vice President of Expositions, AVIXA. “Audiovisual experiences are all around us, from the time we get up in the morning, to our work days, to the entertainment we enjoy in our lives. We could be in the kitchen, car, classroom or office. And increasingly, those AV experiences are more interconnected. The Integrated Life program and exhibition space at InfoComm 2018 recognizes that fact and invites new and different solution providers and professionals into our pro-AV marketplace.”
 

Integrated Life sessions at InfoComm 2018 will include case studies of AV experiences spanning retail, hospitality, education, transportation and other facets of daily life, plus sessions on everything from using data and analytics to enable integrated experiences, to intelligent digital signage, to securing information in an increasingly connected world. Manufacturers’ Training at InfoComm 2018 will embrace the growing ecosystem of smart solutions and platform-based AV systems that form the foundation for an Integrated Life.

On the InfoComm 2018 exhibit floor, the Integrated Life area will showcase smart lighting, sensor technology, building and home automation, voice control, integrated security, mobile AV solutions, smart car technologies, and much more.

“Thanks to advances in network technologies, all of the AV that people enjoy each day can come together in an integrated experience,” adds David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, Executive Director and CEO, AVIXA. “How they interact with and benefit from technology should be as seamless as possible, whether they’re at home, at the office, commuting, traveling for business, or even dining out.

“InfoComm is dedicated to acting as a catalyst for market growth,” Labuskes continued. “We all know how AV experiences follow us throughout our lives — as AV professionals and as everyday consumers of technology. The Integrated Life program at InfoComm 2018 will reflect this important cultural phenomenon and open our industry to new avenues of innovation, creativity, and customer outcomes.”

AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, has partnered with Parks Associates, an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, to support the inaugural Integrated Life program at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas. Parks Associates hosts CONNECTIONS Summits in the U.S. and Europe, as well as Connected Health and Smart Energy Summits, attracting thousands of executives interested in gaining strategic insight into trends affecting today's consumers.
 

Growing Community
InfoComm 2017, North America’s largest audiovisual trade show for an entire community of creative, technical professionals, welcomed more than 44,000 visitors for the first time in its history. By the time the doors closed, InfoComm 2017 in Orlando had logged 44,077 registered attendees, 13 percent more than the last time it was held in Orlando, Fla., in 2015, and 14 percent more than InfoComm 2016 in Las Vegas.

InfoComm 2017 visitors hailed from all 50 United States and 117 countries; 17 percent of attendees were from outside the U.S. The show’s 950 exhibitors anchored a massive expo that spanned more than 545,000 net square feet of exhibits, demo rooms, and special events space, making it the biggest InfoComm ever.

“Brand-new show elements like our TIDE conference, Center Stage, The Park, and the Immersive Technology Experience made for an incredible atmosphere and attracted an unprecedented mix of qualified attendees,” McGraw said. In all, 41 percent of InfoComm 2017 attendees identified as technology managers and end users — more than in any previous year. And 39 percent were first-time visitors, a sign that InfoComm continues to attract new customers and professionals to the AV solutions marketplace. Nearly 190 professionals passed a Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) exam, bringing the total number of CTS holders to 11,105.
 
InfoComm 2018 has a new website and registrations are open.

Ground-Breaking C2 Experiences
AVIXA also announced that developers of C2 Montréal, a ground-breaking business conference merging commerce and creativity, will bring their innovative brand of immersion and collaboration to the InfoComm show floor in Las Vegas June 6-8.

"We are thrilled that the creative thought-leaders at C2 International are joining us for InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas," says David Labuskes. "Both AVIXA and C2 are committed to helping professionals think differently about how they tackle business challenges in a rapidly-changing world. I can't think of any organizations that are better positioned to help welcome and engage attendees in brand-new ways at the first InfoComm produced by AVIXA."
 
Imagined by world-class agency Sid Lee in collaboration with founding partner Cirque du Soleil, C2 International was established to help businesses foster a culture of innovation and creativity. C2 events attract thousands of decision-makers across continents and industries for talks, workshops, extreme brainstorming sessions, meet ups, performances and other festivities. C2 has been called "a business conference unlike any other" by Harvard Business Review.

"Over the past six years, the C2 team has been researching and testing ways to take people outside of their usual frames of reference in the belief that experimentation leads to a culture of innovation," says Martin Enault, President - APAC C2i. "We've been designing and fine-tuning experiences that encourage participants to think differently about a problem, shifting their mindset in a way that will help them find new solutions to their business challenges. Core elements of that are atypical brainstorming experiences that we call labs. We are proud to feature such organic installations at InfoComm 2018."

C2 will bring several of its most engaging labs to InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas, encouraging attendees to connect with big ideas and collaborate in new ways. C2 labs combine technology, immersiveness, and networking into a series of unique, facilitated encounters.
 
"The introduction of C2 experiences to the InfoComm 2018 show floor complements nicely other AVIXA initiatives, like the TIDE Conference (Technology. Innovation. Design. Experience.), which returns to InfoComm this year, and the launch of our Integrated Life program," explains Jason McGraw. "The AV industry continues to grow and evolve faster than any of us could imagine. We are dedicated to introducing new content and experiences that help grow our industry and start fresh, new conversations among creative professionals who use AV solutions to drive outcomes."
 
Registration for InfoComm 2018 is now open.

June 2–8
InfoComm 2018
Las Vegas Convention Center
North and Central halls
Las Vegas, NV
Show dates: 6-8
Produced by AVIXA, The Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association - www.avixa.org
www.infocommshow.org
related items