Global tech giant IBM has joined forces with the All England Club to enhance the experience of fans at this year’s edition of the Wimbledon tennis championships.
According to ITproportal.com, IBM has designed a new insight platform that will analyse real-time data to pick out the most exciting matches at the tournament.
The IBM SlamTracker with Cognitive Keys to the Match application will collect data from sources such as courtside statisticians, chair umpires, radar guns and social media, to help gauge viewer sentiment to provide fans, pundits and coaches with access to live scores, stats and insights.
IBM will also identify ‘pressure situations’ in a match, such as when a player is down 0-40 and is behind by two sets, and display how the player has performed in similar situations in previous matches.
Meanwhile, those attending the championships this year will have access to ‘Ask Fred’, an application powered by IBM’s Watson technology will allow them to plan their visit. IBM will then work with the All England Club after the tournament to analyse the data and improve areas at next year’s event.
More interaction
Alexandra Willis, head of communications, content and digital at the AELTC, said: “We’ve tried to prove that you can do digital differently. You can do digital and beautiful at the same time, and try and create this sense of place to create the next best sense to being here.”
In addition, with the All England Club to take over responsibility as lead broadcaster for Wimbledon from next year, IBM is to use its AI technology to launch new video features and services for both broadcasters and fans in preparation for the switch.
IBM’s Watson technology will condense hundreds of hours of match footage into highlights packages, while IBM’s AI system will now automatically bring together coverage of key shots by analysing data such as crowd noise levels, social media interest and facial recognition on competing players.
The All England Club will also roll out customised content on social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram to encourage more interaction with from fans, while custom emojis and frames will be made available.
Image: Carine06
