Ace immersive experience?

Fans, players, coaches, broadcasters, journalists, and the tournament organizers will navigate the historic Grand Slam in innovative ways by using a new set of immersive and intelligent tools. Roland-Garros 2021 will see Artificial Intelligence (AI), 3D and cloud solutions being leveraged to transform match viewing, player training, tournament reporting, and broadcast editing. To celebrate the Roland-Garros spirit and heritage, a first-of-its-kind digital art museum will also be launched.

Amélie Oudéa-Castera, Chief Executive Officer of French Tennis Federation (FFT), said, “This is our second year impacted by the challenges of the pandemic and social distancing, but partnering with Infosys we have set a gold standard for other sporting organizations navigating a disrupted season, and looking to bridge the gap between players, coaches and fans across the world. The innovations we have created are leading the way in establishing a long-term immersive and digital standard for sporting tournaments.”

The latest innovations will deliver new possibilities and experiences for the various Roland-Garros audiences, from players to fans, including:

• 3D Art Museum – A pioneering immersive experience, the 3D Virtual Art Museum will bring the Roland-Garros culture and heritage to audiences across the world. The spirit of the tournament will be brought alive via a digital visit to the museum, where audiences can interact with legendary official posters and artwork from the past 41 years, and benefit from insightful commentary on each piece as if they were present in person. Take a tour of the museum here.

• Transforming player training with AI and Natural Language Generation – Building on AI-powered match analysis introduced last year in the Roland-Garros Players App for players and coaches, Infosys AI Videos have been enhanced with new cognitive capabilities such as natural language search. Players can analyze their performance by querying the AI tool in English, which will return insights to make better-informed training and match strategy decisions. Infosys AI in the official Players Portal has also evolved to analyze positive elements of performance as well as areas to focus on, while generating instant summaries for players, seconds after the match. The tool enables remote collaboration amongst the player and coaching community from across the world to enhance communication and analysis, which will ensure better-informed training decisions and performance improvement.

• Reimagining the Fan experience virtually – The actual sights and sounds from the tournament have been integrated with Infosys’ data and insights capabilities so fans can follow the game and analyze it at the same time. The ever-evolving Infosys Match Centre is available in an immersive 3D format with data-driven courtside views, while the Match Centre in the Roland-Garros app delivers a mobile-first data visualization experience. Through the app, commentary and insights via AI-powered voice assistants will also be made available to audiences through popular smart home devices, including access to match schedules, live radio broadcasts, event podcasts, and a roundup of the day’s events.

• Empowering the media with digital platforms – Reporting on Roland-Garros matches and broadcasting highlights have been reimagined for a world of digital-first media consumption. Infosys will provide its AI Highlights solution to a number of official broadcasters. The solution includes richer analysis and identification of key, shareable moments such as post-match player camaraderie and signatures on camera, while also dynamically resizing videos with AI, to produce ready-to-publish clips for different new-age social platforms that require specific aspect ratios. Infosys AI-Assisted Journalism has also evolved this year to include additional filters for generating insights and graphics, enabling richer storytelling.

Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, says, “As the official Digital Innovation Partner for Roland-Garros, we have innovated to ensure the digital experiences we create are truly human experiences. This year, we are proud to have leveraged digital technologies in ways that truly immerse remote audiences into the full tournament experience. Through AI and 3D technologies we now have the potential to revolutionise the ways in which coaches and players train, and can ensure that fans, players, and coaches remain as close to the game as possible. We continue to find breakthroughs as we evolve the role of data, AI and digital in sport, and I look forward to what the future holds.”