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New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport invests in advanced tech with new partner NTT
Wed, 19th Aug 2020
FYI, this story is more than a year old

NTT Ltd. has been officially named the technology partner for the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS).

NZCIS is a specially built campus for high performance sport in Upper Hutt that is due to open in October 2021. NZCIS will be a fully integrated sports smart city that can house in excess of 350 athletes, coaches and support crews.

The 17-hectare campus is being built on the site of the former Central Institute of Technology campus in Upper Hutt, north of Wellington.

NTT CEO in New Zealand Simon Gillespie says NZCIS is on track to become the most technologically advanced sports innovation campus globally.

Gillespie says, “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 live streaming practise sessions for the benefit of sports fans and school students in New Zealand and around the world.

Gillespie says, “We anticipate that we will collect one million data points every 90 minutes per athlete from sensors on equipment and wearables.

"While collecting and analysing data is key, so is ensuring the information is secure. This is to protect the athletes privacy as well as commercial and competitive interests.

NZCIS and VX Sport sports performance director Jamie Tout, says the selection of the NTT as its technology partner was a no brainer.

Tout says, “NTT has tremendous experience in the sports sector, with the Indy Cars and Tour de France being just two examples. We're also impressed by its proven ability to provide technology solutions for elite sports people, as well as the general public.

“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.

“Our goal alongside NTT is to create insights and not just collect information. We want everyone to share in the experience of attending what we believe will be the most innovative sports campus in the world.

Tout says that Wellington rugby, Wellington Phoenix and Baseball New Zealand have committed to using the facility and it is currently in talks with New Zealand Rugby, MMA, NZ Defence Forces, eSports and AFL to explore all options.