EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Jets have been on a technology rip ahead of the 2017 season, announcing a wave of new products and technologies that the team hopes will better engage fans and improve their in-stadium and at-home experiences.
At the Jets 2017 Gameday Upfront showcase at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, team executives continued to ride that wave of technology announcements with a new artificially intelligent chatbot and a number of updates to its official mobile app.
Altogether, these technologies will help fans navigate the stadium, buy tickets and interact with the team and its sponsors through mobile games and in-stadium experiences. As the NFL season gets ready to kick off next month, here are five things to expect from the Jets:
JOAN
The Jets Official Answer Network, or JOAN, is an artificially intelligent chatbot that will answer fan questions in the team’s official mobile app. The system has machine-learning capabilities, which means that JOAN will grow more intelligent as it processes more questions, and will be able to read and answer questions in natural language.
Seth Rabinowitz, SVP of marketing and fan engagement at the New York Jets, said the bot represents a modern version of the FAQ section of the Jets website.
Mapping
At 2.5-million square foot MetLife Stadium, the Jets are working with Apple to launch a more elaborate mapping system that would enable fans to see exactly where they are in the stadium, including which level. Rabinowitz called it “extremely accurate mapping.”
Apple will use beacons in the stadium, plus WiFi hotspots and general GPS to figure out exactly where fans are standing so that the team can then provide accurate in-arena directions. While Rabinowitz says a “significant margin” of Jets mobile users come from iOS, the team will also provide a similar mapping update to Android this season.
Next-Gen Stats
Making use of the NFL’s player-tracking technologies, the Jets are set to roll out a new in-stadium experience this season that will visualize the data being collected live from plays.
With Zebra Technologies’ sensors embedded in player shoulder pads and in the ball, the Jets will have a person producing graphics for two of its four video boards to visualize these next-generation statistics in real time. It will be able to show — and visualize — how quickly a lineman caught up to a quarterback or how fast a running back traveled to secure a touchdown.
The graphics will appear alongside other second-screen experiences, such as RedZone, on the MetLife video boards during downtimes at Jets games.
Rabinowitz says he expects the Jets to grow more creative with these stats and visualizations as the NFL continues to embrace player-tracking data collection and teams come up with creative ways to use this information to enhance the fan experience.
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I Called It
The Jets will be the first NFL team to launch a predictive game called ‘I Called It” that will enable fans to make real-time predictions about game plays and outcomes while they watch at the stadium or tune in from home.
The team has hired a company called Xperiel, which builds technologies to enhance the in-stadium fan experience, to build out this mobile game and other augmented reality experiences that will specifically target visitors to MetLife Stadium.
Boarding Pass
In June, the Jets launched the NFL’s first season-pass subscription service called Jets Boarding Pass. The $725 package allows fans to sit in a different seat each time they attend a 2017 home game.
The system’s algorithms, built by a company called Experience, guarantee that fans will sit in a variety of places throughout the season. Seat assignments won’t be given until just before the game starts.
“There’s a little bit of a sense of adventure,” Rabinowitz said. “We think that’s part of the fun.”