CrowdOptic – New Technology To Enhance Live Tennis

Written by: Staff on 19th July 2011

Grand Prix WTA Tennis Tournament in Budapest

CrowdOptic - New Technology To Enhance Live Tennis

Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in action against Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain during their second round match in the singles competition of the Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix WTA tournament on 06 July 2011, in Budapest, Hungary. EPA/Tibor Illyes HUNGARY OUT |

The Bank of the West Classic and CrowdOptic, a new Silicon Valley technology company, today announced a partnership that will allow the tournament to launch a new mobile technology that will enhance the viewing experience for its live event spectators at the 2011 Bank of the West Classic. The new technology from CrowdOptic will allow the spectators in the stands to see real-time information about the players displayed on their smartphones while they snap photos of the players moving around the court. Fans will be able to receive a range of information about the players including coaching tips, up-to-the-moment statistics, and special offers from the event producers.

The Bank of the West Classic is the first women’s stop of the Olympus US Open Series and the longest running women’s-only tennis tournament in the world, held in the magnificent setting of Stanford University. The event, which is owned and operated by IMG, will now also be the setting for the debut in sports of “augmented reality” technology that lets spectators follow the live action and obtain enhanced information just by snapping a photo, or hovering their phone in the direction of a moving player. The CrowdOptic system senses when concentrations of users in the crowd are pointed at the same player and who they are looking at; this allows the Bank of the West Classic to broadcast relevant information to all the phones that are pointed at the same player at any given moment, as well as capture a wealth of real-time data about crowd behavior, with regard to photo taking and sharing, that can be used for analysis purposes.

“We are continually looking for new ways to improve the fan experience at the Bank of the West Classic while exploring new technologies developed in our own back yard,” said Kim Hall, Bank of the West Classic Tournament Director. “We are pleased to be offering this new technology from CrowdOptic that will allow our guests to have the most up-to-the moment tournament information at their fingertips, right from their own mobile device.”

The CrowdOptic application will be available at the Bank of the West Classic on both Android and iPhone platforms. It includes fully integrated photo sharing capabilities that let the spectators capture the augmented reality information in their photos automatically and share it online through social networking sites.

“Augmented reality, which is traditionally based on static environments, is taking a big step forward with moving objects in live action, said Brent Iadarola, Global Program Director for Frost & Sullivan’s Mobile & Wireless Communications Group.

Ian Sobieski, Band of Angels investor in CrowdOptic, said that “our group of more than 120 former and current high-tech executives has seen a lot of mobile technology come and go, but CrowdOptic is something different. The technology lets you use your phone to track moving athletes and tell you exactly what you want to know about them – right at the moment you want to know.”

The 2011 Bank of the West Classic will be held from July 25^th – 31^stat Stanford University. Tickets are on sale at:www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.