Drones are all the rage now, whether they inspire awe or actual rage among the populace, buzzing about as they do to capture our every move and broadcast it to the world whether we like it or not, in most cases.
By now most all of us can recognize that telltale buzz of the rotors, like a swarm of angry bees ready to ruin the proverbial picnic. While I've always thought they were super cool in a geeky sort of way, and even managed to lose an inexpensive quadcopter literally moments before learning to master its flight—it's got to be in one of my neighbors' backyards somewhere!—the specter of being continuously monitored has always made me uncomfortable.
I became a true believer, though, during our Meetings Today Live! West program in Tucson a few months back, when Geoteaming's John Chen proved his powers of persuasion by actually convincing me to get up before “0-dark-30” to venture out into the desert for a shoot. By experiencing it firsthand, you truly get a feel for the potential of new tech such as drones when it comes to capturing jaw-dropping footage from far above our typical perspective and using it to tell a compelling story.
Our cover story this issue also navigates a lot of lofty meetings tech territory, exploring cutting-edge AR and VR, chatbots and robots, and the biometric and facial recognition software, among other technology, that promise to revolutionize the way we meet and also keep our events much more secure.
See for yourself what all of the “buzz” is about in our December cover story!
I hope 2017 was successful for you, and maybe we’ll see each other on the trail next year!
