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HPE News. Tech Insights. World-Class Innovations. We take you straight to the source — interviewing tech's foremost thought leaders and change-makers that are propelling businesses and industries forward.
Aubrey Lovell (00:09):
Hello, friends, and welcome back to Technology Now. A weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where we take what's happening in the world and explore how it's changing the way organizations are using technology. We're your hosts, Aubrey Lovell.
Michael Bird (00:22):
And Michael Bird. And in this episode, we are looking at how one of the world's leading sporting events has become a global leader in connectivity. We are revisiting how 5G and Wi-Fi technology has allowed fans of the Ryder Cup Europe to become involved in the most immersive golfing experience of its kind. We'll look at how this year's event in Rome turned a golf course at an historic site into an advanced smart city, and we'll find out the sustainability challenges that surround creating an event of this magnitude.
Aubrey Lovell (00:53):
So, if you're the kind of person who needs to know why, what's going on in the world matters to your organization, this podcast is made just for you. And if you haven't yet, you know what I'm going to say, subscribe to your podcast app of choice so you don't miss out on these lovely voices and lovely conversations. Okay, let's get into it.
(01:12):
The 2023 Ryder Cup Europe connected with more people worldwide than ever before. According to the official website, there were more than 600 million impressions and page views on its official social media channels with over 347 million impressions on the Ryder Cup Europe platforms alone. That's more than double what they were seeing five years ago. There was also an unprecedented level of connectivity on the course as well as off of it, as we'll find out.
Michael Bird (01:42):
Absolutely, and Aubrey, don't worry, at no point will I mention that Europe beat the US to win the trophy. Anyway, in this episode, we are going to look back on the event to find out how months of preparation saw the creation of a temporary smart city with 5G and Wi-Fi delivering connectivity across thousands of devices. And we'll find out about the sustainability challenges of delivering something so vast in the grounds of a castle that dates back to the 11th century. Now our guest this week is Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer at the European Tour Group and Ryder Cup Europe.
Aubrey Lovell (02:18):
Long time listeners may remember that we actually spoke to Michael a few weeks before the tournament, so this time we'll be looking back on how it went and the lessons learned.
Michael Bird (02:27):
That's right. And I recently caught up with him again at a conference, so you'll have to excuse a little bit of background noise, but we started by reflecting on the success of the event. So, you and I spoke ahead of the Ryder Cup 2023, where you outlined your plans to create this sort of smart city. How did it go?
Michael Cole (02:45):
It was incredible. I can honestly say if we were to script a good news story, we were off the page. It really was an incredible achievement. We kind of had six months to turn around what was a green field with 18 holes and turn it into a smart city, and we pulled it off and European team won as well. It was wonderful on all levels.
Michael Bird (03:09):
Talk to me about digital twins and how they played a part in setting up the whole event.
Michael Cole (03:15):
I guess the digital twin is an analogy really in terms of looking at our digital kind of footprint and platforms and how that was going to create what we wanted to achieve, which is around re-imagining the spectator experience. And we had some wonderful features set up for fans. Every shot commentary on the big screens as well as wayfinding player locators. And it's really important for me because we set out to address one of the biggest challenges in golf, which is bridging the gap between the armchair fan and the on-course spectator. And therefore the digital twin philosophy really enabled us through the transformation story that we ran to recreate and reimagine that entire spectator experience.
Michael Bird (04:04):
From a fan's point of view, it was incredibly immersive as you pointed out. How did you take that to the next level?
Michael Cole (04:10):
We really wanted to enhance the experience. I can kind of it the three Es. We wanted to generate a level of engagement, a level of excitement, and a level of experience. The engagement was achieved through offering those additional features like the Outcome IQ, providing key insights and predictions in terms of how matches may play out. The excitement was utilizing the visualization of everything that was going on and offering that every shot commentary and ultimately the experience. I wanted fans to leave the Ryder Cup for Marco Simone thinking that was the best sporting experience they'd ever had.
Michael Bird (04:54):
And the AI apparently had the capability to predict who would win based on past data. How accurate was it?
Michael Cole (05:00):
There were some very up-and-down moments, and I think coming off the back of day one, every prediction was showing the European team being very strong. The US team, as we know, came back strongly on the Sunday. That was reflected in the Outcome IQ as well, but it kind of went to more or less the last hole. So, the technology told a story, but we knew that until that final putt had been made, it could have gone either way.
Michael Bird (05:29):
That was clearly a bit of fun for the fans, but does it have any deeper potential?
Michael Cole (05:33):
Yeah. Absolutely. We're collecting more data than we've ever have done before, and each of the players, up to 15 data points on every stroke for every player all in real time. So, that data absolutely is generating fun features like the Outcome IQ, but it's also providing critical data into the captain and the vice captains. And they had separate applications running to enable them to really assess their player's performance, both pre-tournament, but also join every day of the Ryder Cup and even down to the final pickings on the Sunday. It played a key part, so not only fun for the fans, but actually critical information and insight for the captain and the VCs as well.
Michael Bird (06:18):
And were there any lessons to be learned for next time?
Michael Cole (06:22):
We are always learning. It's a key element to what we do. I would argue that this is probably the most technologically complicated deployment ever for a major sporting event. We had everything from Wi-Fi 6E infrastructure. We were connecting through satellite for additional communications. We had private 5G through the Athonet acquisition of HPE. We were even at one stage orchestrating satellites in the sky. It was just a wonderful showcasing not only of technology, but also true innovation. And do we want to stop there? Absolutely not. We will continue to push the boundaries.
Michael Bird (07:02):
Clearly with big sporting events or even big events where there's lots of people, sustainability is quite a big challenge. So, what were the biggest challenges? From a sustainability point of view?
Michael Cole (07:13):
We wanted this to be the most sustainable Ryder Cup ever. And I think we went actually way and beyond. We had solar-powered access points. That was a first in any major sporting event. We were utilizing the smart powering facility of the new access points available from Aruba Networking. That allowed us to effectively be more efficient overnight when generators were being turned off with a kind of soft power up in the mornings.
(07:39):
And how do we know that we actually achieved a reduction in energy and a reduction in carbon footprint? Well, we actually launched HPE's first ever sustainability dashboard. The ability to both monotony amount of energy utilization, but also and importantly amount of carbon footprints and all of that enabled us to look at the energy consumption across our entire IT estate in close to real time.
Michael Bird (08:05):
So, these social media aspects of the Europe Ryder Cup team was a huge success. Did the team and players buy into the tech aspect?
Michael Cole (08:12):
We had to deploy some fairly innovative solutions, not necessarily for the players, but obviously they were a beneficiary of the technology as well. But certainly for Luke Donald, the captain and the vice captains, they needed always-on capability. So, we created some quite innovative solutions to enable them to constantly be monitoring the performance of the players right across every match on every day.
Michael Bird (08:39):
Yeah. Wow. Okay. And how did you monitor the connectivity? Is there any way of knowing how many devices that were reached?
Michael Cole (08:45):
We were measuring and monitoring pretty much everything. Everything that moved, we wanted to know. Even down to 250 buggies, we knew who was driving them, where they were, what speed they were going.
Michael Bird (08:56):
Wow.
Michael Cole (08:57):
So yeah, I mean, it was incredible. In fact, the amount of data that was being generated surpassed 90 terabytes of data. I mean, that would put the Ryder Cup up with a Super Bowl or any major sporting event in the world.
Michael Bird (09:10):
And do you know how many concurrent devices you had?
Michael Cole (09:13):
So, number of devices, it's probably again, one of the world's biggest BYODs at a major sporting event. Over a hundred thousand devices at any time. Individual devices were attached to the network. And if we look at concurrent devices, then the infrastructure was carrying 20,000 devices at any moment in time. That was probably over 50% of all attendees at some stage had their device on the network.
Michael Bird (09:42):
Gosh, wow. And what sorts of things were attendees doing with their devices? Were they doing video calls or stuff that was high bandwidth?
Michael Cole (09:50):
Well, I'm not particularly privy to what all of those spectators were doing across the infrastructure, but of course we were monitoring everything. So, we were able to look at the most accessed applications and looking at it from a utilization perspective, but also from a security perspective as well. But the level of insight was phenomenal.
(10:10):
People talk about data, and I've spoken about data, but actually the true currency is the intelligence. Data drives the insight. Insight drives the intelligence, and we utilize that intelligence to drive actionable outcomes. And I think that was an important element of the solutions that we deploy for the Ryder Cup.
Michael Bird (10:28):
Looking forward, what lessons do you take away from this year's event in Rome?
Michael Cole (10:32):
Well, I'm looking forward to the next evolution of the Ryder Cup. We generally work in a kind of a four-year cycle, so we invest heavily at a Ryder Cup and then we utilize that investment across the DP World Tour, and that will continue. But if 2018, Ryder Cup was all about connectivity. 2023, Ryder Cup was all about Green Lake and its capabilities.
(10:53):
I think the next Ryder Cup will absolutely be about AI and where artificial intelligence can truly take the Ryder Cup into the future. AI will offer tremendous benefit across any major sports and event, including Ryder Cup to further reimagine that spectator experience, to drive operational efficiency, and importantly to drive greater engagement with all of our key stakeholders.
Aubrey Lovell (11:20):
All right. Thanks, Birdy. No pun. It's great to hear from Michael Cole again. And as always, great to have a friend of the podcast back on, and we'll be back with the Michaels, Cole and Bird in a moment, so don't go anywhere. Okay, well, it's time for Today I Learned, the part of the show where we take a look at something happening in the world we think you should know about.
Michael Bird (11:41):
Aubrey, I'll take this one this week. And I've got news from Switzerland where the Country's National Science Foundation has developed a robotic arm controlled by a user's breath. Wow. The study has been led by neuroengineer and professor of bioelectronics, Silvestro Micaera and involved a volunteer wearing a VR headset in which they were given an extra arm controlled by sensors placed around their diaphragm. By moving the diaphragm through breathing in and out, they could move the arm in and out.
(12:14):
Now, it sounds like it might be a little bit impractical, but that's almost the point. The study was designed to test the brain and body's ability to adapt to new unexpected inputs and outputs. In their research, the volunteer's brain quickly adapted to controlling diaphragm and therefore the robotic arm without affecting their ability to speak or breathe normally. And if the brain can learn to control an arm with the diaphragm, it can do it through other fine motor controls in other parts of the body too. I guess maybe tongue or eye movements. It's something that could be a real breakthrough in terms of rehabilitation and augmentation coming together to benefit people with mobility challenges or neurological health issues. Very, very exciting.
Aubrey Lovell (12:56):
Thanks for that. And of course, there's links in the show notes if you want to know more. All right. It's time for questions from the audience. You've been sending in your questions to Michael Cole on taking sporting coverage and connectivity to a new level, and we've pulled out a couple.
Michael Bird (13:12):
So the first question, Michael, is from Max in Phoenix, Arizona. He says he was like a kid in a sweet shop following this year's Ryder Cup Europe on his phone and his tablet. Quite simply, he wants to know what's next.
Michael Cole (13:25):
Well, it's very hard to actually predict the future, particularly in technology, but we need to be able to pivot and I think offering greater immersion, greater excitement, and really continue to address that [inaudible 00:13:39] that I often talk about. Sitting in your armchair watching on TV gives you a great experience. We want to better that for the on-course spectator, so we will continue to push those boundaries.
Michael Bird (13:49):
Next, we've got a question from Emi, who's not given a location, but she wants to know where you think the remaining blockers or pinch points are in immersive experiences for fans on and off the course, and how do you think we'll overcome them?
Michael Cole (14:01):
Well, there's a lot of talk around augmented reality and having to wear additional peripheral glasses, for example. I think there's a real balance to be struck here, making sure that technology remains frictionless. And what we want to do is to ensure that those people that are on site to watch the spectacle of sport continue to do so and in the moment of sport.
(14:23):
And we don't want to detract from that. So, for all the great technology that exists out there, getting the balance between live sport, keeping fans in the moment, but give them that immersive experience is going to be critical for the future.
Aubrey Lovell (14:38):
That was such an interesting conversation, truly. Thank you, Michael. And you can find more on the topics discussed in today's episode in the show notes.
Michael Bird (14:48):
All right then, we are getting towards the end of the show, which means it is time for this week in history, which is a look at monumental events in the world of business and technology, which has changed our lives.
Aubrey Lovell (15:00):
The clue last week was, it's 1968 and three little numbers could save your life. Did you get it? Well, actually we did this time, Michael, you were right. It's the initial adoption of 911 as the emergency code in the USA. Prior to that, if you needed the police, you had to look them up in the phone book, call the police station, and hope someone answered.
(15:24):
From the 1950s onwards, there was a push by fire chiefs and later police to have a single unified emergency number. And after a federal commission met with telephone operators, it began rolling out in 1968 with the first exchange being in Haleyville, Alabama. The rollout wasn't exactly smooth, though. Only a few phone companies signed up to allow 911 calls. In fact, by the early 1990s, only half the US could dial 911 and even major cities such as Chicago lacked universal coverage.
Michael Bird (15:55):
No way.
Aubrey Lovell (15:56):
Right. And today it's estimated that all but 1% of the US is covered according to the National Emergency Number Association. So, in essence, it took a while, but we got there eventually.
Michael Bird (16:08):
Yes, you did. Now next week, the clue is, it's 1915 and this new light really raised the bar. Do you know what it is? I have absolutely no idea.
Aubrey Lovell (16:22):
Well, we don't know, but we'll know soon enough. And that brings us to the end of Technology Now for this week. Thank you to our guest, Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer at European Tour Group in Ryder Cup Europe. And to our listeners, thank you all so much for joining us.
Michael Bird (16:37):
Technology Now is hosted by Aubrey Lovell and myself, Michael Bird. And this episode was produced by Sam Datta-Paulin, and Al Booth with production support from Harry Morton, Zoe Anderson, Alicia Kempson, Alison Paisley, Alyssa Mitri, Camilla Patel, Alex Podmore and Chloe Sewell.
Aubrey Lovell (16:53):
And our social editorial team is Rebecca Wissinger, Judy Ann Goldman, Katie Guarino. And our social media designers are Alejandra Garcia, Carlos Alberto Suarez, and Ambar Anual Donato.
Michael Bird (17:04):
Technology Now is a Lowestreet production for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and we'll see you next week.