IBM’s ‘Seer’ Brings Augmented Reality to Wimbledon

IBM has unveiled an Android application designed to change the way tennis fans keep up to date with all the action going down at Wimbledon 2009. The app called Seer features location-aware visualization built for the T-Mobile G1. Using augmented reality, Seer works as a real-time guide and interactive map and provides users up to the second scores. Like other augmented reality apps Seer Android Beta uses the camera and lays content and map tools right on top.

Everything from tennis matches to dining and points of interest will be plotted using the combination of GPS, camera, compass. Users get a ‘heads up display’ to so they can see exactly what it is they are looking at. One added feature that other AR apps don’t use is tying in live data. For instance if you point your G1 towards a tennis court, users not only get basic information like the court number, but also details about the current and subsequent matches.

These applications were designed with tennis fans in mind and add a whole new dimension to the event whether you are attending in person or sitting in your garden 5,000 miles away. I can see the incredible potential here to change the way people will engage with major sporting and other events both now and in the future, as the applications help address common challenges such as getting lost, encountering queues or momentarily missing some of the action. - Rob McCowen, Marketing Director at The AELTC.

IBM will be showing off the new app and giving demonstrations at Wimbledon.