The New Zealand Campus of Innovation & Sport (NZCIS) and NTT (NTT Corporation, NTT Ltd., NTTDATA Services) have agreed to deploy NTT Smart Solutions for smart sport initiatives.
NTT Smart Solutions are designed to calibrate and curate data to reveal trends, discover powerful insights and generate predictive analytics.
The partnership will look to leverage technology to improve fans experience and engagement, at the campus located in Upper Hutt.
NZCIS is committed to innovation and has the ambition to become the most technologically advanced sports innovation campus in New Zealand, and on a global scale.
A previous report into the economic value of sport and active recreation to New Zealand, conducted by Sport NZOpen other window, has indicated that the advancement of local sports facilities can contribute $4.9 billion to New Zealand’s annual GDP, which is expected to improve as the nation continues to recover amidst the pandemic.
The growth of the athlete village and Smart Sport implementation will be enhanced utilizing NTT‘s insights from data collected via optical sensors, sensors on equipment and wearables throughout the campus.
NZCIS will have the ability to provide multimedia content and broadcasts, incorporating these insights to allow fans a new layer of engagement and enhanced viewing experience.
Jamie Tout, Sports Performance Director, NZCIS said: “At NZCIS, we are always looking to invest in new technologies in sports. We saw the work NTT was doing with the Tour De France, it was inspiring. We are an innovation hub and have found in NTT a great partner to maintain our reputation and achieve our vision.”
“We’ve been envisioning this through an analogy of building a race track, with NTT being our vehicle that enables teams to be behind the steering wheel. As the teams build momentum and speed, we’ll have the data and capabilities to move them in that direction.”
“We are already using tags for rugby players to monitor and improve performances and we are planning to capture even more human insights going forward. By leveraging data analytics through NTT, augmented reality and other emerging technologies, we want to deliver an immersive, personalized and interactive viewing experience to sports fans. The plans in motion will look to create additional jobs for the region, which will look to boost the recognition for Upper Hutt and allow us to host sporting events on an international level” added Jamie.
Akira Shimada, Senior Executive Vice President, NTT said, “Through leveraging digital solutions, NTT can connect sports enthusiasts to their chosen sport and uplift their fan experience, which has been a key priority for us. NTT is proud to be NZCIS’ digital partner, tapping into the field of leveraging sport data, through a streamline of best-in-class services and innovation. Smart Solutions is in the heart of the process. We look forward to growing together and expanding these possibilities in the future.”
Simon Gillespie, CEO of NTT New Zealand said, “We are very excited about this collaboration with NZCIS and are committed to creating a whole new era for New Zealand’s already reputable sports industry. Our Smart Solutions are able to analyze data from different sources and create engaging visual representations to radically change how fans interact, participate and learn about their favorite teams.”
The agreement will include a pilot phase in which NZCIS and NTT will explore how to best leverage all this data gathered from multiple sources across the campus. This will include wearable devices, environment sensors across training facilities, smart gym equipment, pervasive wireless networking and IoT.
NTT Smart Solutions were initially conceived to enhance public safety in the City of Las Vegas in 2018. Since then, they have also adapted to track usage and occupancy in parks and beyond and with implementations by other clients in several industries.
This includes the University of California, Berkeley for curb management, INDYCAR for the improved fan experience, Chicago’s Navy Pier for increased situational awareness and transit agencies for passenger safety.
Globally, NTT is planning to continue to move forward in developing its Smart Solutions capabilities and address new challenges facing organizations worldwide while also contributing to local economic development.
