Unique Virtual Reality solution recreating live indoor sports to increase audience

Project Information

spike

Grant agreement ID: 868436

DOI

10.3030/868436

Project closed

EC signature date 15 May 2019

Start date 1 June 2019

End date 30 November 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

MAC-LLOYD SAS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - spike (Unique Virtual Reality solution recreating live indoor sports to increase audience)

Reporting period: 2019-06-01 to 2019-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Mac-Lloyd is an innovative French company, created in 2013 which develops tracking and Extended Reality systems. After launching tracking systems to deliver insightful data for coaches, Mac-Lloyd now focuses on Extended Reality (XR) broadcasts modelled on reality to enhance fan experience. The environment created is acting as a virtual twin of reality.
Mac-Lloyd already solved some big technical issues developing an accurate and robust indoor tracking and VR system. At the beginning of phase 1, SPIKE technology was standing at TRL 6. The technological work achieved before phase 1 started allowed Mac-Lloyd to reach the desired accuracy, robustness and reliability. It was therefore opening great market perspectives. In this context, SME instrument phase 1 objectives were to address and validate technological, IP and market feasibility before initiating a go to market, targeting indoor sports starting with basketball.
From a marketing point of view, SPIKE responds to nowadays heavy transition from TV sport broadcasts towards multiplied interactive broadcasts on new platforms. Each sport needs the best contents to maintain its attractiveness.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Mac-Lloyd had to take strong decisions during this SME phase 1, which lead to some promising successes. From one accurate, robust, safe but hard to operate indoor tracking system, Mac-Lloyd went through various technological steps to lead to two separate products adequate for two distinct markets:
- for sports: a light, low infrastructure, easy to operate, accurate tracker for outdoor and indoor sports. It is as of today the best tracker on the market, the only one to combine the necessary advantages: robustness, accuracy, simplicity. SPIKE tracking system goes along with various options: virtual reality, TV overlay, offline statistics, …
- for security: a robust, very accurate, safe and controlled indoor and outdoor tracking system for military and security market. Thanks to its unique reliability, SPIKE system already awaked the interest of various public and private entities.
Mac-Lloyd also led a strong policy on FTO and PI, filing several patents and validating the necessary norms to operate on its targeted markets.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Thanks to precise positional and postural trackers along with sophisticated algorithms, Mac-Lloyd can create an accurate avatar for each athlete/player inside a virtual twin of reality.
From a professional point of view, accurate tracking, in any sport, is key to analyse athlete performance, and to optimise training. It helps monitoring each athlete’s data, strength and weaknesses. It also helps to understand what can’t be seen: exact speeds, sectional timings, …
From a media point of view, accurate data is key to immerse the audience a the professional sport universe, to give more insights to gamblers, and to create new types of interactivity and attract new, more involved fans.

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