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| SK Telecom's self-driving car carries 13-year-old Lee Jeong-joon, the first pitcher for the opening game of SK Wyverns, while an AI avatar in hologram in the car sends a support message to the boy, at the SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, Sunday. / Courtesy of SK Telecom |
By Jun Ji-hye
Telecommunication companies are competitively showcasing their advanced technologies at ballparks as the Korean professional baseball league, which draws in more than 8 million attendees a year, kicked off Saturday.
Professional baseball is one of the most popular sports in Korea, meaning the companies can see great results from promoting their various technologies including the internet of things (IoT), 5G wireless networks and augmented reality (AR), at the ballparks.
The fact that telecom firms _ SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus _ have their own baseball teams makes them especially active in promotion.
SK Telecom, the nation's top mobile carrier by revenue, has recently upgraded its AR app, called Play Adventure, reflecting details of new players and records from last season.
The app can be used only at the SK Wyverns' home stadium, SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, offering AR games and baseball broadcasting service in real time.
At SK's opening game, Sunday, the firm also showcased its autonomous vehicle to carry on the first pitcher, while an avatar in the car was sending a support message with the support of an artificial intelligence (AI) hologram.
KT, the biggest fixed-line internet operator and the second-largest mobile carrier, has introduced a system, utilizing IoT technology, to reduce the level of fine dust at the KT Wiz Park in Suwon.
"The system measures and evaluates air quality in the stadium in real time," a KT official said. "When bad levels of fine dust are expected, drones and sprinklers drop water for 10 minutes before the kickoff."
At the KT Wiz's official app, wizzap, users can buy tickets, and order food at the stadium, and watch games in real time.
LG Uplus is focusing on enhancing content by adding four core features to its baseball broadcasting service app.
The new features include offering video clips taken from different angles, replays and comparative analysis of records between pitchers and batters. Users can also connect the app to their televisions so they can watch the same videos.
LG Uplus released the app in March last year, and the number of users has reached more than 1 million, according to the firm. The company expects the number to double after upgrade.
Game developers are joining the marketing competition utilizing baseball games.
NCsoft is planning to launch an early version of an AI-based app offering baseball information next month. The app, called PAIGE, utilizes AI technology to create, summarize and edit baseball content, and offer them to users.
"The app also offers features in which a user can ask a question such as match forecasting, and an AI gives an answer," an NCsoft official said.
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