From courtside sensors to umpire calls, big data and high performance computing is taking today’s sports coverage to the next level
Amidst the high adrenalin at one of the planet’s most-watched tennis tournaments, not many would be aware of the sheer quantum of data that pulses through every one of those matches. From player statistics to in-game metrics to historic match data, there are hundreds of data points that are tracked, captured, analysed and interpreted every second. Of course, overseeing all of this data is the job of not just a team of people (or bank of computers,) but a massive supercomputer--IBM’s Watson.
While all the action goes down at the Arthur Ashe stadium, their supercomputer and cloud-based data storage surges through nine years of historical Grand Slam data that comprises about 41 million individual data points, all of which are churned and mashed up with the aim of uncovering insights and perspectives. This historic data also meets in-the-moment, real-world readings from the swarm of sensors around the court measuring service speeds and returns, along with observations from courtside statisticians, as well as human observations from the umpire’s chair.
Bringing all of these observations to real-time level, the system uses a speech-to-text API that interprets the various human callouts at court, relates this to existing data, and overlays subtitles onto the US Open video in real time. The system’s visual recognition system is even capable of identifying players and celebrities.
All of this is distilled into the US Open mobile apps that showcase relevant data, while also being capable of pulling up information based on the user’s spoken queries.
In a statement to Yahoo Sports, Lew Sherr, chief revenue officer for the United States Tennis Association said, “Professional sports in general is navigating a changing landscape as it competes for precious media oxygen and leisure time with everything from Pokemon Go to Game of Thrones.” She added, “At least in the US, many sports teams are struggling with ‘How do I get my fan away from the couch?’ and away from the TV experience because that’s become so great?”
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