[June 29, 2017] |
|
Machine Learning Comes to Tour De France
Amaury
Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), organisers of the Tour de France, and Dimension
Data, the Official Technology Partner of the Tour de France, today
announced the introduction of machine learning technologies at this
year's Tour de France to give cycling fans across the globe an
unprecedented experience of this year's event. The race begins in
Düsseldorf on Saturday and finishes at the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 23
July.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170628006009/en/
(Graphic: Business Wire)
This year, Dimension Data's (News - Alert) data analytics platform, which was developed
in partnership with A.S.O., incorporates machine learning and complex
algorithms that combine live and historical race data to provide even
deeper levels of insight as the race unfolds. Fans will also benefit
from rider profiles to understand more about environments and
circumstances in which riders perform best.
As part of a new pilot this year, A.S.O. and Dimension Data are
exploring the role of predictive analytics technologies to assess the
likelihood of various race scenarios, such as whether the peloton will
catch the breakaway riders at certain stages of the race.
Scott Gibson (News - Alert), Dimension Data's Group Executive - Digital Practice said,
"As more technology is introduced into sport, the viewing experience is
transforming, and its popularity increases. What's especially exciting
for us is how we're helping A.S.O. to attract a new generaton of
digitally savvy fans, and how advanced technologies like machine
learning are opening up new possibilities for providing the insights
that today's fans demand."
At the core of the live tracking and data analytics solution are GPS
transponders installed under the saddles of each bike. The data
collected from these transponders is combined with external data about
the course gradient and prevailing weather conditions to generate
insights such as live speed and the location of individual riders,
distance between riders, and composition of groups within the race. This
year, the solution will create and analyse over 3 billion data points
during the 21 stages of the Tour, a significant increase from last
year's 128 million data points.
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, A.S.O. said,
"Today, our followers want to be immersed in the event. They're more
digitally engaged on social media than ever before, and want a live and
compelling second-screen experience during the Tour. Technology enables
us to completely transform their experience of the race."
The enhanced Tour de France solution uses a fully cloud-based,
virtualised data centre which provides scale, and means fewer people are
required on the ground to enable the solution. The cloud also provides
geographic flexibility because it can be managed from anywhere in the
world. This year, Dimension Data's technical teams work together across
four continents via hyperconnected mobile collaboration hubs equipped
with the latest digital and virtual workplace technologies.
Some Tour de France highlights include:
-
198 riders in 22 teams will generate over 150 million geospatial and
environmental data readings along the 3,540km route.
-
The Tour de France live-tracking website, racecenter.letour.fr,
which supported an average of 2,000 page requests per second in 2016,
has been enhanced to support 25,000 page requests per second this year.
-
In 2016 there were 6,100 hours of TV broadcasts in 190 countries
across 100 channels globally. Thanks to A.S.O., the number of TV
broadcast hours will increase from 80 in 2016 to 105 this year and the
race will be broadcast starting from the first kilometre of every
stage.
-
Cybersecurity is a top priority for the Tour de France. During the
2016 race, Dimension Data's cloud-based security system flagged
1,409,769 suspicious access attempts which were blocked.
Visit Dimension Data's Tour de France microsite View
video Dimension
Data's Tour de France newsroom Follow
us on @letourdata
for live race data updates on A.S.O's official twitter channel Follow
the progress of the race with live tracking on racecenter.letour.fr
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170628006009/en/
[ Back To Mobile World Congress's Homepage ]
|