Project Essence

For WAIC 2025, the project wasn’t just a point solution. Instead, it integrated booth locator, check‑in, reward redemption, companion finder, and AR interactions into a seamless on‑site experience – one where every touchpoint supported both visitor engagement and event operations.

Challenge: Connecting Crowds, Booths, and Activities Efficiently

The WAIC venue is sprawling, with activity stations and check‑in points scattered throughout. Visitors lose valuable time just navigating the space, and high‑traffic areas tend to draw crowds away from other booths. A simple QR‑code check‑in records attendance, but it falls short when it comes to guiding visitors, confirming physical presence, or sustaining engagement over time.

Sight+ has been behind WAIC’s digital experiences for seven consecutive years. At WAIC 2025, the team partnered with Alipay to launch the “WAIC CITY Tour” campaign, which brought together on-site missions, venue navigation, and digital rewards. This transformed these previously standalone features into a unified operational asset that steered visitors through the venue.

Tap‑to‑Check‑In: Turning Check‑ins into a Discovery Game

Visitors tapped their phones on NFC‑enabled spots to check in and collect virtual badges. Once they had collected the required number, they could redeem them for rewards like coffee, books, or gift boxes. Unlike scanning a QR code from a distance, NFC requires the phone to be right next to the tag, which makes it far more reliable for verifying on‑site presence.

AR Navigation & People‑Finding: Cutting the Cost of Getting Around a Massive Hall

Built on EasyAR Mega’s spatial computing capabilities, the project overlaid direction arrows and route details directly onto the phone’s camera view. Visitors no longer had to keep checking a 2D map—they could just follow the onscreen arrows to find booths and activity stations.

The “People‑Finding” feature also catered to group visitors, helping them locate their companions across the vast hall. Navigation, companion location, and check‑ins all used the same spatial data, keeping the features connected rather than isolated.

“Shanhai Qiyu” (Fantasy of Mountains and Seas): Infusing a Tech Conference with Cultural Flair

Beyond the practical tools, the project also featured an AR experience called “Shanhai Qiyu” on the show floor. Visitors who pointed their phones at the space could see digital elements—paper‑cut art, umbrellas, dragons, and more—floating in the physical world. It was an immersive visual experience, and one that visitors were quick to capture and share.

How Sight+ Orchestrates the End‑to‑End Journey

EasyAR Mega supplies the spatial positioning backbone for AR navigation and digital content overlay. Sight+’s venue‑navigation layer turns booth locations, event schedules, and routes into real‑time, on‑screen guidance for visitors. Alipay rounds out the system by handling check‑in verification and reward activation via NFC taps. Together, the three components complete the loop: Navigate → Check In → Interact → Redeem.

Project Value

What truly matters in exhibition digital experiences isn’t the sheer number of features, but how well they connect throughout the visitor’s on‑site journey. Navigation cuts down on decision fatigue; missions spark exploration; AR content delivers memorable moments; and the campaign mechanics turn the whole experience into a lever for managing foot traffic—all seamlessly woven into one cohesive whole.