NTT was picked as the technology partner for the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS), a specially built campus for high performance sport in Upper Hutt that is due to open in October 2021.
Simon Gillespie, NTT CEO in New Zealand, said NZCIS is on track to become the most technologically advanced sports innovation campus globally. The 17-hectare campus is being built on the site of the former Central Institute of Technology campus north of Wellington.
“NZCIS will be a fully integrated sports smart city that can house in excess of 350 athletes, coaches and support crews,” said Gillespie. “The project team spent over three years visiting 30 high performance centres for elite teams around the world, in preparation for creating the most innovative sports campus on the planet.”
NTT is partnering with Honeywell, Aruba and Palo Alto to deploy secure IoT solutions that will constantly measure the performance of athletes training at NZCIS. This includes biometric data as well as real-time performance data that can be displayed in screens on walls inside the sports hubs and on the fields.
In addition, multiple cameras throughout the campus will be capable of livestreaming practise sessions for the benefit of sports fans and school students in New Zealand and around the world.
“We anticipate that we will collect one million data points every 90 minutes per athlete from sensors on equipment and wearables,” added Gillespie. “While collecting and analyzing data is key, so is ensuring the information is secure. This is to protect the athlete’s privacy as well as commercial and competitive interests.”
Jamie Tout, Sports Performance Director, NZCIS and VX Sport said that Wellington rugby, Wellington Phoenix and Baseball New Zealand have committed to using the facility. They are currently in talks with New Zealand Rugby, MMA, NZ Defence Forces, eSports and AFL to explore all options.
“We’re keen to ensure community involvement, so NZCIS will be open to locals who can visit the facilities, have their own performance measured, and then compare their data with those of a professional athlete,” said Tout. “We want everyone to share in the experience of attending what we believe will be the most innovative sports campus in the world.”
