TV ONE News November 28, 2011 featured a story on the new Forsyth Barr Stadium's multi-purpose design. After hosting sellout crowds at the Rugby World Cup, one of the many uses the venue is being put to is as an R&D facility for sports analysis. At the forefront is Animation Research Ltd, installing cameras around the stadium and a synthetic cricket pitch to test our Cricket ball-tracking technology, and experimenting with augmented reality apps on tablet devices that could send additional live information to stadium crowds during a sporting event. Watch the raw video below, or watch the full video item (with intro and idents) at TVNZonDemand.
Animation Research Ltd's sports division, Virtual Eye, initially constructed part of Wellington's inner-city in 3D as the surrounding environment of the Basin Reserve for coverage of Cricket International Tests. When One-Day Internationals started being held at Wellington Regional Stadium (the Cake Tin), which is closer to the city centre, ARL/Virtual Eye decided to expand on what was already built. Further updates were added prior to the Rugby World Cup 2011, when the Cake Tin was the venue for Pool matches and 2 Quarter Finals.
Our Wellington 2011 flyover (above) begins in space, zooming down to Wellington International Airport before rounding Mt. Victoria and revealing the Central Business District. The virtual camera then flys over the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa ('the place of treasures of this land') and the Civic Centre, before ascending again for a CBD flythrough to the Cake Tin. The flyover continues over Kaiwharawhara, then circles around as dusk falls to view the central city, before completing a night-time circuit over the CBD and ending with a view from Lambton Harbour as dawn breaks.
"The 3D graphics deliver an experience for the trainee as close to the real thing as possible. Even sun-strike and raindrops on the cab windows are replicated with incredible realism." Mark Griffin - Product Development Manager, Airways New Zealand (July 2012) -Total Control 2006
"The... technology supplied by Animation Research Ltd is superior to anything seen previously, and testing has delivered the most consistent data our company has ever had." Jason Paris - Head of Emerging Business, TVNZ (Louis Vuitton Pacific Series 2009) -Louis Vuitton 2009
"We have all been truly overawed with the power... of the system, it's modelling, and it's operation. It is, by a long way, the best 3D that I have worked with anywhere..." Richard Carr, Senior Producer, Formula One, BBC. (January 2011) -Monte Carlo 2012
"We are thrilled with the energy and enthusiasm that (ARL) has brought to the table... It is a real case of a Kiwi company combining a No.8 wire attitude with world-class technology." Michael Glading - New Zealand Open Tournament Director (February 2014) -NZ Open 2015
