Mobile network operator EE is to trial a ‘smart tent’ at Glastonbury Festival, currently getting underway in Somerset, UK, offering music fans a range of internet-connected features.
EE’s tent, which will be set up on the 900-acre site at Worthy Farm, features a fridge that will tweet users when stocks run low and an entertainment centre that will show the BBC’s live streams of the six stages across the festival, using six 4G-connected mobile devices suspended from the ceiling.
It also boasts the latest Google Daydream virtual reality (VR) headsets, with exclusive Glastonbury Festival highlights in 360-degree video, and voice-activated ‘party settings’, allowing guests to set the music and lighting mood using voice commands.
The connected tent will also feature a number of solar-powered technologies including a wellington boot warmer, a kettle, and fans to keep the smart tent cool throughout the day. There is also a connected security camera which will live stream the interior of the tent to an app.
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Wi-Fi hotspot
The tent will also act as a 4G WiFi hotspot from between 10am and 10pm every day.
EE is offering one Glastonbury ticket holder and a friend the chance to spend a night in the tent during the festival. They will also receive a brand new Pixel Phone by Google each and be served breakfast in bed on Saturday morning.
Mat Sears, director of communications and sponsorship at EE said that the on-site 4G network that the company will provide to Glastonbury revelers this year is “the most powerful we’ve ever put in, and will help create the ultimate connected camping experience”.
That’s important, because unreliable, patchy mobile service due to the high concentration of phone users at Glastonbury has been an issue in the past.
“While camping is a massive part of any music festival, it’s not always the most comfortable experience, so we wanted to create a 4GEE Smart Tent that tested the latest tech-inspired comforts,” Sears added.
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