Here's how Intel is enhancing your cricket experience this ICC season

As the ICC Champion Trophy 2017 approached its final leg, chip-maker Intel is all set to enthuse the cricket fans with accurate match decisions. The tech giant has introduced an advanced pitch analysis by an Intel drone, a bat swing profile using a bat sensor powered by an Intel Curie module and a cricket VR experience for the fans at the stadiums.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Intel as our official innovation partner of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The innovations Intel is bringing to the game promise to transform how cricket is experienced and enjoyed around the world, and we look forward to partnering with Intel in this effort,” said David Richardson, CEO, ICC.

Get every stroke right!

Australian cricketer was the first batsman to use Intel’s BatSense technology in the match against New Zealand in Edgbaston in Birmingham. BatSense, a technology by Speculur, is a small device that can be mounted on top of the handle of a regular cricket bat so to generate data for every stroke that the batsman plays. With this technology, parameters like back-lift, bat speed and follow-through can be tracked for every cricket stroke.

“Speculur BatSense with Intel Inside has the potential to transform cricket across a varied audience from coaches to aspiring self-taught cricketers. Coaches can use their insights and expertise along with the bat sensor data to make specific adjustments to a batsman’s technique ultimately helping him perform better,” said Atul Srivastava, Managing Director, Speculur.

Speculur has also announced plans to bring this technology to consumers later in the year and make it available in Australia, India, the United States and the U.K. in the second half of 2017.

Whatta pitch!

During one of the recent matches, if you were wondering how you could see even the grass on the pitch as prominently as the player’s face, it was perhaps the Intel Falcon 8 Drone in action. Equipped with high-definition and infrared cameras, it is being used for advanced pitch analysis before every match. Images captured by the drone offer rich visual data on pitch conditions such as grass cover, grass health and topology, which is used to generate daily pitch reports leveraged by commentators during broadcasts.

Test batting skills against virtual bowlers

Intel also has something for the in-stadium fans. Virtual reality (VR) experience zones at The Oval and Edgbaston have been provided to allow fans to experience facing a virtual bowler in an immersive cricketing environment. Using a head mounted display (HMD), the player will be able to test his or her batting skills against a virtual bowler. Using the Intel Curie technology-enabled cricket bat, the player will be able to see data from a swing, such as bat speed and back-lift angle, as well as a simulated score from the VR session.