SEVERAL new tech projects for the travel and hospitality industry were shown off at the Institute for Infocomm Research's fair on Friday.
The annual Infocomm and Media Horizons seminar and exhibition, in its 15th year, has a different theme each year, and is used to show industry players the results of innovative work done by local researchers.
They hope to get the word out about their work, and that industry players, in this case hotels, the government and travel-related companies, to buy in.
The Straits Times takes a look at some of the more interesting projects showcased:
1. Infra-red interactive billboard
What it is: Passers-by use body movements to interact with games or graphics projected onto screens.
How it works: Emitters flood an open space with infra-red rays, which are invisible to the naked eye. When a person moves, his body blocks some rays, and this registers on a screen as movement.
What it can be used for: Interactive billboards, games and maps.
2. Robot barista
What it is: A robotic arm that can take drink orders, use a machine to make them and then serve them up.
How it works: The robot recognises human speech, including slang and colloqualisms, and sends the order wirelessly to the drink machine.
What it can be used for: Besides hotel restaurants or coffee bars, similar robots could also be coded for medical uses, where cameras and sensors size up a patient's injuries before a doctor can arrive.
3. Web opinion poll
What it is: Hear what other Netizens have to say about a tourist attraction before visiting it.
How it works: A computer program mines thousands of blog sites for words connected to the tourist attraction. It then determines if the words are positive, negative or neutral comments, and filters out spam or advertisements.
What it can be used for: Gaining Net users' opinions and sentiments about places, services or even commercial products.
4. Translator
What it is: A program that translates your statements from English into other languages and vice-versa
How it works: Two applications are possible. In one, users send the messages they need translated via a text message. In another, the program is built into DVD players or computers and gives real-time subtitles of foreign TV programmes in your language of choice.
What it can be used for: To help tourists when they visit countries where the language spoken is unfamiliar to them.
