'World First' Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be Pioneered on Playstation VR

Since Sony Interactive Entertainment launched PlayStation®VR for PlayStation®4 (PS4) in October this year, PlayStation®VR has taken gaming to new levels and transported gamers into incredible immersive experiences. Bringing this technology to the Fan Zone, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Experience adds a completely new dimension to watching a match and makes it possible for fans to live the game like never before. This is thanks to brand new technologies from ATP Media, Infosys and Sony Professional Solutions Europe matched with the unique capabilities of the PlayStation®VR headset, tracking camera and handheld controller.

By pairing PlayStation®VR with a brand new technology especially designed to further enhance interactivity whilst viewing sport, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Experience features a combination of real court images, TV match coverage and virtual environments. Utilising both headset tracking technology and physical controller interaction, the user is presented with a reactive and customisable environment, making the experience feel very fluid and natural.

Data insights and visualisations from Infosys and Hawk-Eye will provide in depth context as the match unfolds. Social media fans are not forgotten with the inclusion of social media streams from MyATP (now on Vixlet).

Commenting on the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Experience is Shane Warden, ATP Media Director of Technology and Broadcast who said: “PlayStation®VR is an incredible product and we knew it would help us to achieve this goal thanks to its simple to use and intuitive operation. We wanted to replicate the feeling of being there and create an augmented experience that lets fans engage and interact with the finals on screen in a way they never could before.”

ATP Executive Chairman & President, Chris Kermode, added: “We look forward to unveiling this pioneering new technology at our season finale at The O2, offering a new and exciting way to experience our sport, as we look to leverage new technologies and engage with the next generation of fans.”

“We are delighted to be demonstrating our continued commitment in advancing media and technology,” said Stuart Watts, ATP Media COO. “We have created not only the potential for an exciting complimentary product for broadcasters but one that can easily be delivered on-venue at fan and sponsor activation sites.”

"Bringing virtual reality to tennis presents an opportunity to amplify human potential, not just in terms of seeing and understanding the game in a new dimension, but also arming players with the insight they need to elevate their performance,” said UB Pravin, Chief Operating Officer at Infosys.

“At Infosys, we are using technology in ways that will reinvent the tennis experience with data, insights, and digital experiences. Integrating analytics from the Stats Leaderboards into immersive virtual reality views of the game is one of the many ways in which we are bringing disruptive technologies together and delivering our promise to help everyone in the world of tennis see more and be more."

Mark Grinyer from Sony Professional Solutions Europe’s sports team said: “It is great to be working with ATP, ATP Media and Infosys to push the envelope of immersive fan experiences. We have worked hard to create a platform which can deliver the exciting vision of our partners.”

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Experience runs until 20^th November. Immerse yourself at the Infosys Fan Zone booth at The O2.

About ATP Media:

As the broadcast arm of the ATP World Tour, ATP Media was formed in 2001 as Tennis Properties Limited; providing the centralised exploitation and host broadcast production for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and ATP World Tour 500 tournaments. ATP Media has unrivalled access and expertise in the full service broadcast production of men’s professional tennis with an end to end solution for global broadcasters incorporating: rights sales, multi-platform production, worldwide satellite delivery, video archive.

About Infosys:

Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 199,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake.

About Sony Professional Solutions Europe:

Sony is the leading supplier of audio-visual solutions to businesses across a wide variety of sectors including, Media and Broadcast, Theatre Solutions, Healthcare, Sports and Corporate and Education markets. It delivers products, systems and applications to enable the creation, manipulation and distribution of cutting edge digital audio-visual content that add value to businesses and their customers. With over 25 years’ experience in delivering innovative market-leading products, Sony is ideally placed to deliver exceptional quality and value to its customers. Collaborating with a network of established technology partners, Sony delivers end-to-end solutions that address the customer's needs, integrating software and systems to achieve each organisation’s individual business goals.