{"57009":{"#nid":"57009","#data":{"type":"news","title":"eStadium application brings multimedia sports features to smartphones","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe intimate and spirited quarters of a stadium offer perhaps the most ideal venues to experience an athletic event.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOr do they?\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo instant replays. On-screen statistics are confined to the JumboTron. Sharing excitement and opinions on the game is often limited to chatting with surrounding strangers.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet these amenities, once reserved for the comfort of your living-room couch, will soon be tailored for experience in the stadium via your smartphone.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003Erofessor Ed Coyle, director of the Arbutus Center for the Integration of Research and Education, is unveiling a new application that allows fans sitting in the stands of an athletic event to access video replays, up-to-the-second statistics, player bios, play-by-play analysis and a wealth of other information designed to enhance the thrill of the game.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDubbed \u0022eStadium,\u0022 the application first began as a project in 2001 when Coyle was on the faculty at Purdue University. Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), the precursor to the contemporary smartphone, were still a rare breed at the time and the potential for usage was limited.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, with iPhones, Blackberrys and other intelligent devices lining the pockets of millions-and bandwidth evolving to support dense information delivery-the time is ideal to unveil eStadium to Georgia Tech fans hungry for details about the game they\u0027re viewing from the stands.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goal is to go live with the Georgia Tech eStadium at the Wake Forest University-Tech football game on November 7.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Even if you\u0027re in the stands, sometimes you can\u0027t figure out what just happened,\u0022 Coyle said. \u201cThis allows you to look at a play as many times as you want.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the background information and video access, Coyle strongly hints that such future features as user commentary and social networking will allow users to post their thoughts and even find fellow fans in the stands, including former classmates.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We can develop anything anyone asks us to develop,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe eStadium project has evolved into a joint project with Purdue and is supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant along with a gift from Texas Instruments. Purdue\u0027s version of the eStadium has been live since 2003.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s app, though, will be a far snazzier and detailed presentation.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is our phase-one deployment,\u0022 Coyle said. \u0022Phase two will include more wireless (access) in the stadium and a sensor network that will be able to monitor lines at concession stands and outside restrooms.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoyle recruited a group of 28 students to help complete the project. Four of these students have been in the announcer\u0027s booth during games compiling video, statistics and other information for the mobile site. Access is restricted in certain ways: only those present in the stadium can view video, and 3G networks could possibly get bogged down when many fans clamor for a connection. Plans are under way to add Wi-Fi capabilities and employ 4G networks to ensure the experience is smooth.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022You need a code to watch video, and that will be shared with the people in the stadium,\u0022 Coyle said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EeStadium will be live for both the November 7 game and the highly anticipated University of Georgia game on November 28. There is also a strong possibility the application will be employed during spring basketball season.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Eventually, we should be able to do something like this for any sporting event,\u0022 Coyle said. \u0022Each sport has its own pace, so we\u0027ll try to customize it for each.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoyle and his team have been working closely with Georgia Tech Athletics for more than a year to develop and refine the eStadium. The partnership has been encouraging for all parties.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I think this is a really fascinating collaboration between athletics and academics,\u0022 said Wayne Hogan, associate athletic director for Georgia Tech. \u0022These students are bright and we like having them around. It\u0027s been a great relationship and something we think will be really well-received by our fans.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnce live, the site will be accessible from any Internet-enabled device, but the eStadium team is also tailoring it for one of today\u0027s most popular devices. The iPhone, he said, offers the best user experience, so plans are under way for an app version for that platform.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is just the beginning,\u0022 he said. \u0022The sky\u0027s the limit.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"The intimate and spirited quarters of a stadium offer perhaps the most ideal venues to experience an athletic event.\n\nOr do they?\n\nNo instant replays. On-screen statistics are confined to the JumboTron. Sharing excitement and opinions on the game is often limited to chatting with surrounding strangers.\n\nYet these amenities, once reserved for the comfort of your living-room couch, will soon be tailored for experience in the stadium via your smartphone.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ga. Tech-developed mobile site enriches game day with multimedia"}],"uid":"27241","created_gmt":"2009-11-09 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:00","author":"Jackie Nemeth","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/fac_profiles\/bio.php?id=157","title":"Ed Coyle"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cdee.gatech.edu\/vip.html","title":"eStadium"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8787","name":"Arbutus Center for the Integration of Research and Education"},{"id":"8786","name":"Ed Coyle"},{"id":"8785","name":"eStadium"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EDon Fernandez\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Communications and Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact Don Fernandez\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}