A Saudi team of innovators taking part in Challenge 22, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)’s regional innovation award, is striving to develop a solution that works through smartphones by guiding fans through the entire tournament experience, from the moment they swipe into the venue with their match ticket.
Saudi engineer Faisal Alferdos’ project, Smart Stadium - Indoor Navigation & Access Management, will provide an exceptional fan engagement experience through smartphones, according to an article on the SC website.
It was back in 2015, the avid Al Hilal fan founded a company - Near Motion - with the goal of creating solutions for the first-ever FIFA World Cup to be held in the Middle East. In Challenge 22 he saw the opportunity to make one of his ideas happen.
His project combines "mobile ticketing, access management and indoor navigation (including seat and stadium facilities wayfinding), location-based notifications, analytical tools, reporting and much more."
Alferdos is keen to make the tournament accessible to all fans, regardless of their preferred language. While this type of service has been seen before in the US for major sporting occasions, Alferdos wants to bring it to the world of football and make the FIFA World Cup in Qatar the smartest and most connected fan experience yet.
“Assuming that most fans will be holding a smartphone, we’re customising this solution to the World Cup by distributing Bluetooth low-energy devices around the stadium that can be detected by the smartphones to perform certain actions. Using this technology, friends will also be able to locate each other,” he said.
When they swipe their ticket and enter the stadium, fans who have the application installed will receive a personalised message. “From there on, the app will take them into the stadium using step-by-step indoor navigation, directing them to different facilities like shops or restrooms.” Selected by Forbes Middle East as one of the entrepreneurs shaping Saudi Arabia's future, the young Saudi engineer is keen to have a prototype adapted to a stadium within a year. He hopes that arena will be Khalifa International Stadium, which is soon to be completed.
Alferdos emphasised the importance of such a project for entrepreneurs across the region. “No matter how cool your project or idea is, without an initiative such as Challenge 22 it is very likely to stay in the dark. This will be the most important event in the world, and it will bring a lot of opportunities to businesses in the region.” The Smart Stadium - Indoor Navigation & Access Management proposal is one of 12 ideas in the Internet of things category that made it to the final of Challenge 22. Of the total number of submissions selected for the final round, eight came from Qatar; five from Jordan; four from Saudi Arabia; three from Egypt; two each came from Oman, Tunisia and the UAE; and one concept each was selected from Kuwait and Morocco.
© Gulf Times 2017
