Not widely considered an extreme sport, sailing is about to gain a whole new audience as the new America’s Cup reveals just how heart-pounding the sport can be.
A helicopter participates in a recent AC45 Test Event in Auckland. Special technology is being developed to present live breakthrough graphic insertions from a moving platform. Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget
Published: June, 2011
Not widely considered an extreme sport, sailing is about to gain a whole new audience as the new America’s Cup reveals just how heart-pounding the sport can be.
Connecting viewers to the racing in a way that has not been previously possible, the America’s Cup will transform the way people see the sport. With breakthrough graphics, athlete’s view cameras and onboard microphones, viewers will see and hear the quick decisions being made, the athleticism of the sailors, the raw power of the boats—live, as the teams fly over the water at speeds of up to 35 mph.
Extreme sport lovers will flock to this new America’s Cup because of the broadcast, said Richard Worth, chairman of the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA). From heart-pounding maneuvers at breakneck speeds to colossal capsizes, viewers will not just see the action, they will feel like they are right in it.
The backbone of this new experience is also a breakthrough in sports broadcasting—augmented reality from a helicopter. This will be the first time live graphic insertions have been done from a moving platform.
Developed by the same team that developed the yellow first-down line widely used in the broadcast of American football and the Race/FX tracking and highlighting system used in NASCAR, this revolutionary graphics system will have a similar effect on the America’s Cup, connecting new audiences to the sport. The superimposed graphic elements will be used as technical aids for viewers, such as ahead-behind lines that can enable audiences clearly to see who is leading the race.
The America’s Cup has always pushed the technology envelope throughout its history, said Stan Honey, the ACEA’s director of technology. Previous America’s Cup broadcasts have featured graphics on an animated view of the race. This next step in the evolution is intended to allow broadcasters to use graphic elements to explain the sport, while enabling viewers to simultaneously see the live action of the race.
Driven by a GPS system that can track the America’s Cup catamarans to within a two-centimeter margin of error on the race course, event organizers quickly saw the opportunity to leverage the system for on-the-water management of the sport. Telemetering of the course will allow for rapid movement of marks and controlling course limits, while use of real-time overlap and zone-entry determinations will enable umpires to make the most accurate decisions ever possible.
From a technology point of view, it’s a completely new world for us; the way it’s going to be umpired, the way the race management will work. But the vision to transform this next Cup is going to soon be a reality, said Mitch Booth, skipper of the China Team. We’ve always believed in it, we expected it would be possible, but to prove to the sailing world and the sporting world that now it can be done is something we’re supporting fully.
The GPS system was just one of several that received a thorough shakedown in New Zealand through an April test period involving America’s Cup teams from United States, Sweden, China and New Zealand. Event organizers plan to stage additional test sessions in Europe and North America as they prepare for the inaugural America’s Cup World Series event in Cascais, Portugal this August.
Some of the world’s top athletes will test their physical strength, endurance and mental agility as they compete over a punishing nine days for the chance to win the first AC World Series. The AC World Series is a regular circuit of regattas that will bring America’s Cup-level racing and experience to top international venues.
