IBM shows off Watson at Wimbledon

IBM has launched a number of new apps, cognitive and hybrid cloud solutions to support Wimbledon’s efforts to improve the fans experience at the championships.

Firstly, IBM’s Interactive Experience team have launched an app for Apple TV which allows fans to browse real-time scores, watch the Live@Wimbledon studio show, listen to three live radio channels, and look through all of Wimbledon’s video and photo content on one platform. The team have also launched another app for iOS and Android which creates tailored feeds for the user.

Secondly, IBM has introduced a Cognitive Command Centre which will assess various social media channels to understand what is trending at the time. Using Watson’s cognitive computing capabilities, the platform will identify similarities in trending sporting stories from around the world and link them together on one platform, the company claims. For example, should there be a peak in interest surrounding a Federer tennis match which could be linked to a Swiss football’s team progress in an effort to create a more engaging, multi-sport platform.

“Introducing cognitive solutions to the Wimbledon technology portfolio this year promises to deliver huge benefits for the AELTC in terms of insights, learnings and fan engagement,” said Sam Seddon, Wimbledon Client & Programme Executive for IBM. “Cognitive computing holds great potential as a game-changing technology and will enable Wimbledon to extend the reach and exposure of The Championships and support them in their objective to have their digital platforms be the gateway to the brand.”

Over the course of the competition, IBM has previously captured 3.2 million data points from 19 courts across 13 days, this year setting a target of 100% accuracy and response times of less than a second. Alongside the data, the team will also bring together groups of data analysts and tennis experts to interpret the data and provide insight to commentators in real-time.

Alongside the tennis announcement, IBM’s Weather Company launched Deep Thunder as a means to help companies predict the actual impact of various weather conditions. By combining hyper-local, short-term custom forecasts developed by IBM Research with The Weather Company’s global forecast model the team hope to improve the accuracy of weather forecasting. Deep Thunder will lean on the capabilities of IBM’s machine learning technologies to aggregate a variety of historical data sets and future forecasts to provide fresh new guidance every three hours.

“The Weather Company has relentlessly focused on mapping the atmosphere, while IBM Research has pioneered the development of techniques to capture very small scale features to boost accuracy at the hyper local level for critical decision making,” said Mary Glackin, Head of Science & Forecast Operations for The Weather Company. “The new combined forecasting model we are introducing today will provide an ideal platform to advance our signature services – understanding the impacts of weather and identifying recommended actions for all kinds of businesses and industry applications.”

The platform itself will combine more than 100 terabytes of third-party data daily, as well as data collected from the company’s 195,000 personal weather stations. The offering can be customized to suit the location of various businesses, with IBM execs claiming hyper-local forecasts can be reduced to between a 0.2 to 1.2 mile resolution, while also taking into account other factors for the locality such as vegetation and soil conditions.

Applications for the new proposition can vary from the agriculture to city planning & maintenance to validating insurance claims, however IBM has also stated consumer influences can also be programmed into the platform, meaning retailers could manage their supply chains and understand what should be stocked on shelves with the insight.