The European Tour is a global tournament circuit that spans five continents, but to get things back on track, it’s lately in the middle of an eight-week festival programme in the UK and Austria.
Organizers have created a biosecurity bubble around the field and players, caddies and operational groups are subject to strict security measures and social distance. As is the norm in those days, no fan is present.
If evidence of the seriousness of these regulations is required, the example of American golfer John Catlin and the disqualification of his English Open caddie by visiting an outdoor eating spot in the tournament bubble is sufficient.
Autonomous vehicles
At the Welsh Open at Celtic Manor this week, innovation will be implemented: autonomous vehicles.
British mobile operator Vodafone and Coventry Aurrigo-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer have created a driverless shipping service for players and cadets. Vodafone’s 4G network will require vehicle positioning and location facilities so organizers can monitor and track the vehicle remotely.
However, navigation is done locally. An inertial navigation formula uses a computer, motion sensors, and rotation sensors to calculate a path, while a Lidar camera uses lasers and sensors to create a three-dimensional representation of a target. All this means that the player and cadet are safely transported from A to B.
The service is operational from the clubhouse at the beginning of the Twenty Ten Course, used for the 2010 Ryder Cup, but this is the first time a self-driving vehicle has been used in a primary sporting event.
Self-driving cars were already known as a more sustainable and effective means of transport for athletes in sports facilities, but the realities of a post-Covid world mean they are also adapted to put into force social estrangement measures. Passengers will be separated at a minimum distance of two metres and the absence of a driving force reduces the threat of transmission.
“We’ve worked hard with the European Tour and players to reconsider the inside of the coming and going to make sure it’s fully secured through Covid-19,” said David Keene, Aurrigo’s CEO.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to show our generation to a global audience and, potentially, to provide information on how a Covid-19 safe autonomous vehicle can be a style for long-term transportation responses around the world.”
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics had been reserved for primary auto-self-driving car testing until the world sports festival was cancelled due to coronavirus. The Games have been reorganized by 2021.
I’ve covered the intersection of the game and generation for over a decade, observing how new inventions are turning the games we love into games.
I’ve covered the intersection of the game and generation for over a decade, observing how new inventions are turning the games we love, transforming gaming organizations into business and how we consume action as fans. As a game fan and editor and editor of a veteran generation, I have attended some of the biggest occasions in the global game and spoken to some of the biggest names in this transformation. From fitness programs to smart stadiums, back-end software and streaming, the game is experiencing its own virtual revolution.