AUCKLAND, Today: Digital agency BKA Interactive – working for client Jaguar New Zealand – has created an app that accurately simulates the serve of a tennis pro with a smartphone in place of a racket.
The app works by measuring the speed, angle and power of the user’s serve and comparing it to the technical proficiency of a professional tennis player.
Unlike most smartphone gaming apps which require minimal hand movement to play, the Jaguar Ace Pace application engages the entire body.
BKA Interactive strategy director Nick Piper said: “CGI technology has advanced significantly since the days of Lord of the Rings’ Gollum. What used to cost millions of dollars and required cameras and computers to film can now be captured using smartphones.
“The result is a far more physically engaging app than what is currently available in the market and we believe it is the first time this technology has been used in a tennis simulation app.”
“What used to cost millions, and required cameras and computers to film, can now be captured using smartphones.”
Piper says the app uses the smartphone’s gyroscope to calculate the wrist angle, its motion sensor to determine the arc of the serve and the accelerometer to measure the speed of the serve.
A form of mathematics called Dynamic Time Warping which is commonly used in speech recognition and gait analysis, forms part of a complex algorithm used to compare the user to that of a tennis professional.
Jaguar NZ general manager Steve Kenchington says the aim was to introduce technology which provided Kiwis with a way to get behind the upcoming ASB Classic.
“Jaguar has had a long association with premium tennis events around the world and this year for the first time we will be partnering with the ASB Classic,” he said.
“For those that can master the Ace Pace app, we will be providing free tickets to the Auckland event this summer and even flying two people to Wimbledon.”
Kenchington says the I-PACE, Jaguar’s new EV, will also be on display for the first time at the ASB Classic, which runs from Monday 31 December 31 to Saturday 12 January.
CREDITS
Agency: BKA Interactive
Game Artists: OddBoy
Client: Jaguar
Public Relations: Impact PR
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