The government’s newly launched Pearly app attracted thousands of users during Crop Over, with strong uptake driven by its live band tracking feature and real-time data used by emergency services, according to app developer TouchStar Group of Companies.
Prime Minister Mottley speaking with members of TouchStar group who helped develop the Pearly app which will enhance public service delivery in Barbados. (Photo Credit: Ricardo Roberts)
Founder and CEO Ramon Dummett told Barbados TODAY the public quickly adopted the software, even though it launched just weeks earlier. While keeping exact security data private, he pointed to the scale of user activity during the festival.
“I cannot give details based upon our own security protocols to the platform, but I can say thousands. It is many thousands, and even thousands of new sign-ups or downloads to the app,” Dummett declared, reflecting on the instant interest from both locals and visitors.
The app’s popularity was driven largely by its live band tracker, which allowed masqueraders and spectators to follow bands along parade routes.
“This feature was something that was a collaboration between TouchStar and the [National Cultural Foundation] NCF, and specifically the NCF CEO, where every year you are trying to improve the festival and add technology to the festival,” Dummett said.
“I pretty much worked with Carol to brainstorm this in terms of what she wanted, and of course TouchStar as a company, we are the developers behind Pearly. So we did take the opportunity to build this along with some other features, though not everything was able to be rolled out for this season, as Pearly only launched a few weeks ago.”
Alongside live route maps, the app included an interactive ‘vibe check’ feature. While still gaining traction, hundreds of people used it, with some bands attracting notable attention.
“The vibe check, we had about a couple hundred in total. That is something that, of course, it is the first time we are using it, so a lot of folks used it to track, but a lot of folks did not. I would say quite a few engaged, but proportional to what the active service was, most persons were using it to track and to find the bands.”
The festival’s tracking system was powered by a long-range network designed to operate reliably without relying on standard cellular data.
Dummett described the technology used on Kadooment Day as both an operational success and a test for future public applications.
“The same technology that we have used to track the bands for Crop Over is a new technology that runs similar to how old AM radio used to run. It is long-range and far more reliable,” he said.
The final day of the festival provided a real-world test for the system: “Kadooment Monday was not just a proof of concept; it was more of a real demonstration of the reliability of this network and this platform.”
Live location data gathered during Kadooment Day also assisted security personnel and emergency responders along the route.
CEO Touch Star Group of Companies addresses gathering how the app would be used
“The emergency services in Barbados were able to benefit from that real-time data from the tracking as well,” Dummett explained. “They were keeping abreast of where the bands were for security, but also for emergency care, and that was very, very useful for them to have. In situations where there is national resilience in terms of emergency response, this is one of the key areas that is going to be useful.”
High traffic during peak hours on Kadooment Day caused brief technical interruptions linked to server capacity, which engineers resolved within minutes.
“The challenge that we had was not with technology. We had downtime for like about 15 to 20 minutes, and that was actually server capacity, because there were so many users on the platform,” Dummett recounted.
TouchStar deployed staff both on the ground and at its technical centre to manage demand, he said.
“Behind the scenes, we had like half of our staff working. We had people on the ground in Kadooment, and then we had our software developers and engineers who went to do some load balancing to free up server capacity.”
Dummett said the spike in usage provided a valuable test of the system’s limits and response time.
“We had a real-life stress testing of the app, so we got to see what capacity we can handle, how much server space we need to keep reserved, and more critically, how quickly our teams can respond. For our teams to be able to respond, problem-solve, get the server back up, and free up capacity in 15 to 20 minutes is remarkable. It is good to see that our teams can respond and execute.”
He expressed satisfaction with the app’s performance, pointing to positive feedback from overseas users who accessed web links, viewed live streams with embedded video overlays, and followed the festival remotely.
Looking ahead to next year’s Crop Over, Dummett said further features are planned.
“To execute this in such a short space of time, I am super pleased, because it means next year this is going to be way better,” Dummett said. “You are going to see other features coming out that are going to add more value to the festival, and we look forward to working with the minister [Shane Archer], the CEO of the NCF [Carol Roberts], and the entire team to execute this.”
(RR)
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