Atlanta company bringing technology developed for defense into the consumer arena
By Allan Maurer
Social media and sports seem to go together like big flatscreen TVs and sports bars. So imagine, if you will, renting a touch screen console at a race event and seeing live, real time data streaming from your favorite team and the ability to interact with other fans.
Race fans may get a chance to interact with their favorite team’s data and other fans during racing events just like that if Atlanta’s Sportronix has its way.
The company, which has been issued a provisional patent on its Fan Associate Technology, says it “Will change how fans interact with teams, adding a new social aspect to live events.”
Data motorsports teams monitor has grown increasingly technical
And the industry is showing some interest in the Sportronix technology.
“We are invited to speak at the Professional Motorsports Circuit Owners, Investors, and Suppliers Forum www.professionalmotorsportcircuit-forum.com/na/ in New York during the Stadia Design and Technology Expo, April 27th,” says David Geddes, founder and CEO.
Personally, we’re all for anything that takes our mind off the noise at a live motorsports event.
Created in March 2007, Sportronix has taken artificial intelligence software developed largely through programs funded by DARPA and the Department of Defense and repurposed it for commercial use.
It initially developed software to help race teams evaluate the sophisticated streams of performance data feeding into their monitoring systems during an event.
Geddes says the company’s Racing Associate software would not only speed up decision making at the track, it would also lower team costs. “Teams will be able to use fewer senior level engineers to make these expert level decisions,” he says.
Stadiums or tracks would probably rent out equipment running Sportronix Fan Associate Software
However, “As we began selling to potential motorsports clients,” Geddes says, “we uncovered a need for spectators to interact with relevant team data.”
Lights went on
At the International Motor Sport Business Forum and Racing Industry trade show in Orlando someone said, “Don’t you think fans might want to interact with this data.”
Lights went on.
Sportronix is still building the concept, Geddes says, but the idea is for the technology to act as a “Personal sports analyst for a fan.” It may even be able to predict likely winners based on the data.
The idea opens a huge new market for the company’s underlying artificial intelligence engine, since there are only about 10,000 racing teams around the world, but there are millions of race fans.
So it developed its new “Fan Associate” technology. Geddes believes the new product will help the company attract angel funding. “We had to broaden our market to make us more appealing,” he says.
Fans want to know what’s going on behind the scenes
Mobile devices and touch screens possible
Geddes says the new product has the capability to open new ways for teams to interact with their fans and vice versa if they allow visibility into their data during an event. “Teams that don’t want to allow that won’t have a good fan base,” he predicts.
Right now, he says, “We’re marketing ourselves toward instrumentation-driven sports such as air and marine racing, where they’re already using sensors to collect data.”
The idea is that a fan would register with a team and the technology would work with a mobile device.
“There’s some neat things happening in the Southeast with mobile device makers,” says Geddes. “There are already apps for the iPhone to get your own car’s performance data, so we know mobile devices are probably the way to go.”
But, he adds, “We’re also in touch with people in the Atlanta area about making larger touch screen portable devices for a group of people who want to interact. We envision the stadium or teams facilitating the hardware. A group of buddies would rent one at the event.”
He says the company thinks that stadiums or sanctioning organizations or tracks will supply the hardware and Sportronix will supply the software.
Online: http://www.sportronix.com
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