At the Sports Museum of Nice, a global exclusive was unveiled this Wednesday, April 13th, during a highly futuristic conference with a topic at the heart of the sports world.
In the Alpes-Maritimes department, a very ambitious project has been brewing behind the scenes since 2018, with the ultimate goal of generalizing intelligent drones in all sports spaces. The conference’s general theme was thus about AI & Sport, and more specifically, on how artificial intelligence could positively influence sports performances. In the company of the co-founder of the project and also world-class tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Alice Modolo, an apnea champion who joined the event via video call, and Charles Ange Ginesy, president of the department.
In recent years, the sports world has been increasingly opening up to technology. In some sports, it has become even indispensable, and many athletes seem to have already adopted it in their daily routines with, for example, the emergence of connected bracelets capable of processing and collecting a host of data to enhance athletes’ individual performance.
Drones and AI in Tennis
What makes a champion? It is while attempting to answer this question that the former world number 5 developed the idea of drones in sport.
A champion is an exceptional athlete capable of pushing their physical or mental limits and delving deep into their resources to achieve victory. In this perspective, drones seem to be the best instruments to make this possible, at least according to Wilfried Tsonga and Thierry Ascione, his trainer. According to them, the emergence of artificial intelligence in tennis, and more generally in the sports world, is a genuine opportunity that could significantly improve sports performances. Drones will be capable of making visible what is impossible to see with the naked eye, allowing us to observe and study the “invisible.” They will also be able to anticipate external factors such as weather, humidity, or wind to provide players with the best possible conditions.
Among other things, drones and AI will be able to record multiple training sessions with infinite potential, meaning that with a single drone, it will be possible to film dozens of courts simultaneously from different angles and viewpoints to get the best image of the player. Something impossible with simple cameras, which would considerably reduce costs and make this technology accessible to all academies.
However, despite the multitude of functions that AI and drones possess, a factor that will always depend solely on the athlete and cannot be influenced is, of course, their mental state and mindset.
Drones and AI in Diving
Alice Modolo explains that under the ocean too, artificial intelligence is indispensable. Accompanying divers, the arrival of underwater drones currently capable of descending to depths of up to 100 meters allows for a better appreciation of marine environments.
The drones will thus ensure the diver’s safety, avoiding the multiple dangers of the ocean, such as marine currents. Athletes will also be able to observe their swimming techniques and those of their opponents to improve their physical capabilities. It will also be an opportunity to make the vastness of the marine world visible to the general public, making marine sports more attractive and perhaps inspiring new vocations.
It will be within the framework of the WAIFC (World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival), which will take place on April 14th and 15th, that we will certainly learn more about the renewal of the sports world. It remains to be seen whether athletes will participate in this revolutionary project or if they will prefer to keep their distance from this new technology.
