THE GERMAN CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIP

EFFECTIVELY BROADCASTING THE RACE

die projektscheune was responsible for the TV broadcast of the 2024 German Cycling Championships in Bar Dürrheim, Baden-Württemberg. With more than 150 riders reaching an average speed of over 40 km/h, it is a challenge to effectively capture the race action and excitement for viewers at home and in the fan zone. 

It is important for every broadcaster to present the events of a race in an entertaining and captivating way. Providing additional information to viewers - such as the distance to the finish line, the relative position of the racers and notification of incoming racers to viewers in the fan zone - are several ways to enhance the experience for all. 

USING IOT TO PROVIDE VIEWERS WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Zoi was asked to develop a solution to capture live race data and make this live data available to die projektscheune.

An IoT solution was the obvious choice in this case, as it facilitates communication and connection between physical objects - such as cyclists - and a digital platform that can process the data. 

The project was a perfect use case for the AWS Cloud and a great example of how the cloud can accelerate time to market and innovation. For example, instead of having to rely on local server infrastructure, a functioning IT environment in the cloud capable of processing huge amounts of data can be created within minutes. 

Data points from the race were taken into account, in particular:

• Distance to the finish line: the distance of the cyclist to the finish line can be determined based on the data
• The distance between the riders can be determined. This data can be used to show whether the rider is in the leading group or the chasing group.
• Dynamic camera positioning: The camera positions can be chosen based on the positions of the cyclists so that the TV broadcaster can give viewers a better picture of the race.
  

EQUIPPING THE GERMAN CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY

The setup of the IoT system happened in three main steps. First, sensors were placed on the bicycles of the riders to track them as they progressed. Second, tracking hardware was installed on the camera motorbikes that would film the race. Lastly, a communication gateway based on LoRaWAN technology was installed on two escort vehicles. Information from the sensors (bicycles + motorcycles) was sent to the escort cars which then relayed the data to the AWS Cloud.

ABOUT DIE PROJEKTSCHEUNE

die projektscheune is a management consultancy based in Stuttgart. It offers holistic solutions from brainstorming to implementation and has a special focus on sports projects. 

If you would like to read more about the German Cycling Championships 2024, click here.

In the AWS Cloud, the data was processed by the backend and transferred to a web-based frontend that can be used by the TV station for the race.

The system was used in the elite men's race, in which the best cyclists in Germany compete at the highest level. There are plans to improve the system for next year's competition in order to gather even more data that can be used for reporting.

These AWS services were leveraged by the solution.

The general setup of the tracking solution.