Intel's Sandra Lopez cited the Warriors as “a sports company that has infused technology” to improve its performance, and highlighted how the team uses its D-League franchise, the Santa Cruz Warriors, as a lab to try out what works before rolling it out in the NBA. Lopez, who serves as the company's VP/New Technology Group & Strategic Relationships, told attendees at the '16 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology Conference how the world’s largest chip-maker is expanding its focus beyond semiconductors to hardware, wearables and other new technologies. She said the tech giant is aligning itself to power the sports industry in the digital age, not by using technology to disrupt sports, but to “amplify the world of sports.” Part of that was Intel’s use of technology at the Winter X Games. “The athletes were super excited to see the data and see how they can change their performance,” she said. “From a judging perspective, it offers additional data to make a decision.”
BIG DATA EQUALS BIG OPPORTUNITY: Lopez said the challenges faced by the industry includes securing the data being gathered and harnessing it for the athletes, teams and fans. “By 2020, there will be 50 billion connected devices [and] over 200 billion connected sensors,” she said. “How do you use the data, apply the policies and principles, the analytics, and the cognitive learning ... to improve the athlete?” Lopez also showed three video clips highlighting the sports applications of Intel’s technology: a virtual reality clip of Villanova’s winning shot from this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, replay technology from this year’s MLB All-Star Game and a video displaying mixed reality that allows users to interact in real-time with others in a virtual space and controls some aspects of the experience. Lopez: “We’re engineering the future. We’re going to continue investing in technologies for the fan, for the athlete, solutions for the venue, as well as the media.”
