The NHL is taking another step forward in the areas of data, analytics and tracking and player tracking.
The league has reached an agreement with Amazon Web Services to put all of its videos and data in the cloud. The hope is to give everyone from coaches, managers and players to fans an integrated look at the game using new camera angles, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Being able to search and sort the speed, shot speed and more of each player is not here yet, but it is a starting point.
‘Before we can start building, let’s say just like a new augmented reality app that fans in the arena can use to compile real-time statistics and track and track feedback as they sit and watch the game “There’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to be in place,” said Dave Lehanski, NHL CEO, Business Development and Innovation. “There’s a lot we can do.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy announced the deal late Wednesday. Bettman said that the latest technology and services give us the ability to provide analysis and insights that emphasize the speed and skill of our game.
The NFL, Formula One, Bundesliga football and Six Nations rugby are already using Amazon Web Services, along with individual teams. In addition to the NFL’s “NextGen Stats,” the Seattle Seahawks used it to practice practices.
“There may be a lot of coaching staff’s ability to help improve their teams just by learning where players can be effective, and there are some opportunities to better coordinate,” said Matt Garman, AWS director of sales and marketing. said.
Later this season, fans looking for statistics on the NHL website will get matching video clips and vice versa. The league expects at least the playoffs to mount new 4K cameras on the center scoreboard of each arena to add different angles.
For all the data that puck and player tracking can provide, the video from Amazon’s AI could collaborate even more on goal tending, faceoffs, stick positioning and possibly paving the way for new stats and analytics.
“This is just the beginning of where it’s going,” Lehanski said. “It melts your mind with the number of opportunities that lie ahead.”
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