2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
THE BRIEF
We were approached by one of our longstanding clients to produce a large conference and exhibition for IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, who have over 13,000 members worldwide.
Taking place in the UK for the first time, at ExCeL, the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is the largest and most prestigious event in the robotics and automation calendar, bringing together the world’s top acedemics, researchers and industry representatives. Over 4000 attended in person, and over 8000 around the world tuned in to live streams.
Our brief was to provide full technical production for the whole event, including the main room auditorium, all expo areas, competition zones, forums, studios, workshops, break-out rooms, networking areas, speaker preview areas and even a large London-themed party space.
The nature of society events meant each space was for a different client with their own set of requirements. We provided technical support for 28 rooms outside of the auditorium, each with varying on-site requirements, plus online presence and streaming out across various platforms.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Our Head of Project Management, Marc Allen, took the lead on this highly complex event. He assembled a team of 5 Project Managers to oversee different parts of the project to ensure quality delivery to all areas.
Frequent communications between our team and the client were needed to keep up-to-date with an ever-changing list of requirements from the numerous different groups within the society. This event was months in the making and our PM team worked tirelessly both before and on-site to ensure every detail was delivered.
In turn, our operations teams (Hiredesk & Warehouse) operated at their most efficient, putting into play systems and procedures that have been proven over time to ensure all required equipment was prepped and arrived on site in the right place at the right time. This involved coordinating eleven trusted partners to fill kit shortages, and 4 articulated lorries were required to transport everything to and from ExCeL.
Our project support team coordinated the booking of almost 60 technical crew and 40 local crew.
DELIVERY - AUDITORIUM
The main auditorium served as the main presentation space, serving audiences of up to 4200.
The stage set was straightforward and practical, and we provided full technical support of this space, including all audio, vision, lighting, stage and power requirements.
DELIVERY - BREAKOUTS, WORKSHOPS, STUDIO & EXPO AREAS
28 areas away from the main auditorium were also supported with varying requirements. These included projection, PA, staging, lighting, cameras & streaming services. Audiences varied in size, with workshops attracting between 80 and 220 delegates, and the breakout areas between 300 and 420.
The stage set was straightforward and practical, and we provided full technical support of this space, including all audio, vision, lighting, stage and power requirements.
DELIVERY - STELARC
An unusual support request came from Stelarc, a performance artist who was appearing in both the main auditorium and expo areas on the event. In the expo area we provided him with a basic stage, PA and lighting set up, and also provided power for his ‘Extended Arm’.
Although outside of typical AV requirements, we were also happy to source a 12m long coiled hose that was essential to the operation of the Extended Arm.
DELIVERY - PARTY ROOM
The party room was assigned to our Project Manager, Rich Taylor, who loves a themed event! The theme was London, and Rich’s solution included six London landmarks. Westminster, Covent Garden, Windsor Park King’s Cross, the West End and Piccadilly Circus were all represented, as well as an iconic red London bus, black cab and the Underground.
The space was huge, so special attention had to be paid to audio quality. The PA system was time delayed to eliminate echo around the room. Furthermore, each area within the party could be independently controlled when required to create a unique ambience as party-goers moved around each area of London.
A stage area was used for presentations as well as entertainment from singers and dancers, and a Le Mark reflective dancefloor ensured the stage was suitable for all elements.
Three sections of the room incorportated 30k and 22k projectors for themed content, and a large screen hung centrally on a truss square.
The whole room was draped, with entrances/exits for fire safety and housekeeping services.
A plethora of intelligent lighting fixtures and haze throughout the space created a fantastic party atmosphere, and utilised over two hundred metres of truss and half a kilometre of socapex multicore cabling.
THE RESULT
This was a highly complex event, with over 30 separate spaces, each with vastly differing requirements.
Our team worked tirelessly to ensure it was a great success, both for our client and ICRA, as Josh explains here:
“Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you so much for everything last week at Excel on the ICRA event, it was epic in all senses of the word.
The client was very happy with everything and delegates all seemed to enjoy themselves (just have a look at #ICRA2023 on social media to see people rocking out to DJ Rich Taylor!) so thank you so much… Really grateful to be able to have you guys onsite and know that when things get sticky you’ll be about to sort them out!”
Josh Wilmott – Head of Production – TFI Lodestar
