Frontec equips The Icehotel with Bluetooth
Frontec equips The Icehotel with Bluetooth. Guests able to communicate via the Internet in real time through ice and snow. The Icehotel Jukkasjärvi has, with the help of Frontec, been equipped with a Bluetooth solution, affording hotel guests the opportunity to communicate with their friends and family in real time over the Internet using moving pictures. Using the wireless Bluetooth solution was the only way such a project could be implemented in a landscape that is entirely made up of ice and snow. Guests wanting to impart the feeling of what it is like to stay in an ice hotel can simply sit themselves down in front of a specially set up video camera, ring home and let their family enjoy a unique visual experience via the Internet. Viewers are also able to see current weather information in the form of temperature, wind direction and wind speed. The system uses Ericsson Microelectronics' Bluetooth technology, which is still being developed by various electronics manufacturers. Frontec is one of only four Certified Solution Providers in the world, and this is the first Bluetooth installation to be implemented at the premises of an end customer. "We wanted to test the technology in an extreme environment and see how Bluetooth coped with demanding applications such as real time video. The capacity afforded by the system exceeded all our expectations, and we noted no discernible deterioration in picture quality whatsoever," says Niclas Schönfelder, Project Manager of Frontec eMate, the division responsible for installing the solution. "However, the installation did require the use of directional aerials, perhaps not the fundamental principle behind Bluetooth, but it's good to know how far limits can be stretched for specific applications and that you don't need to change technologies," he continues. In an environment made up entirely of ice and snow, having a system that employed wireless connection technology was a criterion for the project's success. The project forms part of a close collaborative relationship between Frontec and Icehotel Jukkasjärvi, through which Frontec will work to turn the Icehotel into an 'iceBusiness' company, using it as a training facility and testing center for teambuilding and concept development. "Yesterday, for example, we were able to offer a Japanese TV crew that are staying with us the opportunity to wave to their friends back home in Tokyo direct from the Absolut Bar here in the hotel, something, which was only made possible by the Bluetooth solution," says Yngve Bergkvist, founder of Icehotel Jukkasjärvi. "The joyous scenes that erupted in Tokyo when the link worked are proof positive that being able to send greetings to family and friends back home via a web camera is very popular amongst our guests, some 75% of whom are foreign tourists. We're looking forward to some very exciting developments as we explore this area together with Frontec," he says. More information: Carl-Erland Schröder, Frontec, + 46 8 470 2262 Experience the atmosphere of the Absolut Bar at www.icehotel.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/03/20/20000320BIT00850/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/03/20/20000320BIT00850/bit0002.pdf