Quiet please...

X-ray phones, work-place distractions and sarcastic departure boards. Brilliant.
This year, IBM technology is leaping forward to make the Championships even more exciting.

In 2010, we will see Heathrow's Terminal 5 using Digital Display Panels carry a live data feed directly from the Wimbledon Information System. Passengers will be able to see the latest scores in a visually striking format, which will carry the strapline: Lotus Knows more than you think. It's part of a global campaign to encourage people to re-think what they think about Lotus Notes - and it also has a humorous touch. For instance, if a player has been knocked out around the same time a flight to their home destination is called, passengers will be told that the player ‘could soon be joining them in the departure lounge’.

IBM employees will also be able to use a Lotus Notes widget that will take the same live data feed being used at Terminal 5 and run while people continue with their normal work, but will alert them when something interesting happens on court. Keeping with the real time approach to collaboration alerts the widget's colours will change when, for example, a player has served an ace, or has won a key point in a tie-breaker. Fastest Serve, longest match and events spectators will also be updated on a daily basis.

One of the most intriguing additions to IBM’s portfolio of products and services used at Wimbledon last year was the SEER application – named after a prophet who can see something that others can’t. The award-winning augmented reality application enables mobile phone users to point their handset in a particular direction to find out where the nearest café is, for instance, or how to get back to Court One. It was originally developed to meet the AELTC’s concerns that some guests were getting lost around the massive Wimbledon grounds, but users could also point it towards one of the show courts and get the latest match updates, and see images of the players on court. But this app has now been enhanced, so that if a user points the device towards the show court, they will be able to ‘see through walls’ and view the game – through live video. It has also been extended for use on the iPhone, so that most people with ‘smart’ handsets will be able to download it.

More information on these gadgets and gizmos will be made available during the Championships. [Might be an idea to start following the blog now...]