Beyond the boats where it is omnipresent, on this 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, the final of which pits Emirates Team New Zealand against Ineos Britannia, innovation has taken place in the field of image retransmission in order to allow spectators to better understand the progress of the races.
For several years now, it has been possible to follow the regattas with on-screen indications of the speeds of the boats and the gaps between the competitors. The solution proposed by Capgemini, in collaboration with America’s Cup Media, provides for the first time, in augmented and virtual reality, the visualization of the wind in real time (its strength and direction) as well as the projection of “ideal” trajectories for the two boats depending on their positioning on the water.
“The idea was to make visible something that was invisible until nowtestifies Mélanie Bras, design director at Capgemini. Usually, when you watch a race, it is difficult to understand what is happening. The objective was to give the public the means to understand what they see on the water. The solution (baptisée WindSight IQ™) ris based on a complex technology that requires skills in engineering, data and design for the graphic presentation of the different elements. »
In order to collect wind data, three large laser sensors (LIDAR) installed on three buildings on the Barcelona seafront constantly survey the nautical stadium and record the speed and direction of the wind every second. “We see different colored areas on the screen as well as arrows and numerical dataspecifies Mélanie Bras. The greener it is, the windier it is. »
From all the data collected (wind, speeds, design), “a simulator manages to project ideal trajectories that can be compared with those of boats. In this way, observes the design director, the spectator can better understand the reading of the wind, the strategies and tactics put in place by the crews. »
