Heading To The Australian Open? You Need The IBM Seer App

The IBM Seer app is yet another example of why augmented reality is so damned good. Running on pretty much every GPS-enabled Android phone, the app will let you see information and locations around Melbourne Park using your Android phone’s screen and camera.

The app first made its debut at Wimbledon last year, but is obviously much better now because it’s being used for the Australian Open. It’s a real example of how real-time information can be used in real time on a phone – if you’re heading down to Melbourne park to watch some tennis and you own an Android handset, make sure you check it out.

Tennis fans score with IBM augmented reality smartphone application
IBM Seer mobile solution serves up new level of insight for Australian Open visitors

Melbourne – 18 January 2010: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new augmented reality smart mobile application set to change the way fans access information and keep up to date at Australian Open 2010.

The IBM Seer Application has been designed to allow fans real-time access to tournament and venue specific information wherever they are in Melbourne Park. The application takes a live view from a GPS-enabled Android mobile phone and superimposes content and data associated with various points of interest such as live scores, match information and catering facilities, onto the screen, providing a more dynamic and immersive Australian Open experience for tennis fans.

Since 1993, IBM has been the Official Technology Partner of the Australian Open, providing IT support and solutions to help map and measure every aspect of the tournament.

The IBM Seer Application, first seen at Wimbledon 2009, acts as a real-time guide and interactive map of the 2010 tournament, allowing users to see what others can’t, and bringing them closer to the game. Anyone with an Android mobile phone can download the IBM Seer Application from the Android Marketplace App Store.

From tennis to food courts, points of interest throughout Melbourne Park and beyond have been identified and mapped using NAVTEQ’s digital mapping technology. Using an Android phone and the plotted coordinates, the application offers the user an immediate display of exactly what they are looking at. It augments this with other live data such as updates from the IBM-managed scoring system and an aggregated twitter feed generated by IBM scouts reporting from around the grounds, giving the user a comprehensive and dynamic insight into their surroundings.

For instance, pointing the camera lens towards a court will not only identify the court number, but also display details about the current match in play on that court. IBM Seer Application users can also use the phones’ Map view, which pinpoints their location on a detailed map of the grounds, while the ‘Radar’ function indicates the user’s current position and nearby points of interest within range.

“This breakthrough technology is expected to revolutionise the Australian Open fan experience,” Tennis Australia chief executive officer Steve Wood said. “By combining location awareness with up-to-date information on play, amenities and transportation, Tennis Australia is able to provide an even more dynamic, intelligent and immersive Australian Open experience for tennis fans.”

David Burns, IBM’s Australian Open Executive Sponsor, said IBM Seer introduced a new level of insight into the fan experience for this year’s tournament.

“In one of the first deployments of its type in Australia, the IBM Seer Application brings together data visualisation, content generated by IBM scouts, twitter feeds and real-time scoring to deliver a powerful new interactive tool with which organisations can engage key audiences,” said Mr Burns.

“With more and more information available to us in our everyday lives, the ability for us to connect this information and communicate it intelligently, as the IBM Seer Application does for tennis fans, will provide benefits in all facets of our lives in ways we have not yet considered.”

About IBM Seer
Developed in conjunction with IBM business partners, the application features custom developed core code based on Mobilizy’s Wikitude technology and GPS positioning and digital mapping from NAVTEQ. The aggregation of the live twitter feed from IBM scouts and associated hosting services is provided by XS2TheWorld, with the systems integration, which incorporates the IBM Scoring System into the application, managed by IBM. Ogilvy Interactive was responsible for technical project management and provides server hosting for the IBM Seer application. A video of the IBM Seer Application in use at Melbourne Park can be found at: www.youtube.com/IBMScout


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