The Smart Stadium Testbed for Sports Analytics Systems Research, Development and Deployment

The goal of the Smart Stadium Vertically Integrated Project team is to develop and deploy a system that enhances spectators’ engagement with and thus enjoyment of sporting events. The system integrates information from the game, the venue, fans, and other sources to provide in-depth understanding of the game and to enable fans to interact with each other and with extensive, near real-time, information about the game. The design of the system is based on our research and development efforts in the areas of machine learning, sensor networks, and mobile applications. Results of this effort have been integrated in a testbed in the football stadium at Georgia Tech to determine their effectiveness, identify new opportunities, and explore the possibility of commercialization. Outcomes to date include: (1) identification of plays using video clips, a “grammar” constraining play sequences, and narrations of the game; (2) A sensor network that monitors structural vibrations of a stadium to determine the level of fans’ excitement; (3) Mobile apps to enable fans to review annotated plays that have happened so far, “e-meet” and chat with each other about the game, and play sports-related games during breaks in the game. Preliminary results on extensions of these three efforts are also discussed.