NTT creates ‘digital twin’ of the Tour de France

NTT, a global technology services provider and official partner of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), is creating the world’s largest connected stadium, a concept unique to the Tour de France, generating a ‘digital twin’ of the event.

Millions of data points will be collected and brought to life through visualisations and digital experiences for fans, as well as new services to support the event operations for this three-week long race that takes place from 26 June to 18 July 2021.

The Tour de France is a mobile stadium that picks up and moves every day for 21 days, across 3 400km visiting some of the most remote locations in France, from the picturesque countryside to the harsh landscapes of the Alpes and Pyrenees.

NTT will use a range of IOT sensors, edge compute and networks, integrated into NTT’s smart platforms and mapped against a geo-location model of each stage of the Tour. This will enable real-time visibility of key locations and assets, COVID-19 contact tracing and in-the-moment updates of caravan and race arrival times.

The will use real time analytics at the edge to provide immediate race data back to official race vehicles. This will deliver a live overview of the race situation, even in remote areas or the high mountains.

Peter Gray, SVP, Advanced Technology Group, Sport at NTT, says the digitisation of this historic race began in 2015 by capturing data from the cyclists to provide real-time updates.

“Every year we have been able to take the technology to the next level. This year we are creating what is essentially a digital twin of the event. It’s a highly dynamic and changing environment that requires immediate access to information to ensure continuous and smooth operations, resulting in more informed and engaged fans.”

Creating a digital twin of the race also means greater connectivity of devices and vehicles, as well as more applications and platforms accessing services hosted in the cloud – whether public, private or hybrid. For ASO, data will be at the core. This includes understanding where different data lies, as well as how to gather it and use it effectively to create better experiences.

Due to ongoing travel restrictions and COVID-19 safety measures, NTT, together with ASO, will deliver a host of digital experiences to engage fans around the world, including:

• Race Center – the official live tracking site that provides race updates including rider live tracking data on letour.fr and on the official Tour de France Mobile application
• LeTourData – data-driven insights and AI predictions on twitter, Instagram and TV broadcast
• 3D Tracker – an immersive augmented reality app that provides 3D views of the stages
• Tour de France Fantasy by Tissot – a fantasy sports game integrating data insights and machine learning (NTT predictor) to provide insights on the riders to watch
• NTT Media Wall – a rich media display at the race villages featuring data insights and visualisations from LeTourData, and live race updates.