Lights, sensors, game on

Lights, sensors, game on A multitude of electrical and electronic systems helps fans enjoy sporting events Peter Feuilherade

Experiencing sporting events live in outdoor or indoor installations is a unique experience. In addition to suitable lighting that has made it possible to hold sporting events both indoors and at night, sports venues have seen the introduction of a variety of electrical and electronic installations that benefit followers by providing a safer environment in which they can enjoy their favourite games and events.

Lights please! Todays state-of the art sports venues enhance the experience of fans by providing real-time game updates on giant digital screens and free high-speed Wi-Fi allowing them to share their emotions on social media. But behind the scenes in stadiums, the latest lighting and sensor technologies also play a vital role in making events as compelling, comfortable and safe as possible for spectators who might otherwise choose to watch live sports on widescreen TVs in the comfort of their own homes.

Stadiums increasingly host different types of events, such as sports, concerts and theatre performances. Floodlights and other lighting must be adaptable, enabling the playing arena to be illuminated to specified levels at night or in low light conditions or to provide stage lighting, all the time ensuring glare and light pollution of the local environment are minimal.

The global value of the sports lighting market is estimated at more than USD 6 billion, according to the South Korean company LG Electronics.

The most common floodlights used as primary lighting in stadiums are HID (high intensity discharge) lamps such as metal halides, which can pack a lot of lumens into a small package. In these venues there is usually a requirement for at least 50% of the floodlights to have a hot restrike facility so they will come back on straight away in the event of a power dip.

Broadcasters also require the flicker present with these types of lamps to be eliminated for slow motion recording. This can be achieved by careful aiming, using mixed electrical phasing or electronic control gear which completely eliminates flicker.

Advances in LED (light-emitting diode) technology mean that LED floodlights are now bright enough to be used for illumination purposes on large sports fields. Although they can cost nearly four times as much as traditional metal halide floodlights, they radiate very little heat and last significantly longer. They can be switched on and off instantly, requiring no warm-up period. IEC TC (Technical Committee) 34: Lamps and related equipment, and its SCs (Subcommittees) prepare International Standards for all types of lamps and luminaires used in sports venues.

Mike Simpson, Technical and Design Director of Philips Lighting and member of six TC 34 WGs (Working Groups) and PTs (Project Teams), who was responsible for lighting the London 2012 Olympic venues, told e-tech: Although there is little in energy savings compared with a 2 kW metal halide system, the gain is in flexibility and reduced maintenance costs.

LED floodlights are also able to provide the high lumen output required for high-definition broadcast standards, with a significant reduction in flicker during slow-motion broadcast replays on high-definition TVs.

Ever changing moods Flexible colour-changing LED lighting is used in conjunction with sound and motion sensors to reflect the mood of spectators inside stadiums. The ability to switch and dim each floodlight individually allows venues to produce special light shows and create the appropriate atmosphere before and after matches. The interior and exterior of the arena can be illuminated based on fan sentiments on social media and on other factors such as goals scored and crowd noise.

One of the uses for laser technology in stadiums is to project field markers. A laser-projected marking displays a line of contrasting colour across playing surfaces, similar to the on screen lines seen by TV viewers, as a visual aid to help officials and spectators visualize important markers. Such systems have been demonstrated, but not yet adopted by international sports federations.

Give us a sign Another use for LED lighting in stadiums is in digital signage, using ribbon boards and video boards to display advertising, show scores and play videos. A 2014 survey of 70 leading American sports venues by MSR (Mobile Sports Report), a US website on stadium technology news, indicated that the primary use of signage was for advertising, followed by game information and player statistics, details of concession stands, video replays and safety announcements and messages.

Typically, a stadium will have two enormous digital video screens and scoreboards high above opposite ends, positioned so that at least one is visible from every seat, even in bright sunlight, complemented by a vast number of smaller flat screen video displays installed throughout the venue.

Analysts predict that stadiums could soon be exploiting the commercial opportunities of interactivity between digital signage and apps on spectators mobile phones.

Sport represents only a small part of the growing digital global signage market, which is dominated by the retail sector. The total worldwide digital signage market could be worth up to USD 14,87 billion by 2020, according to a March 2014 report by US research consultants MarketsandMarkets. The company expects the global market to experience a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8,94% between 2014 and 2020.

In November 2014, California-based consultants Grand View Research published even more optimistic figures, stating that the global digital signage market was expected to grow to just over USD 20 billion by 2020.

The spread of sensors A wireless sensor network consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to monitor ph

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