Spark 5G Race Zone showcase

Meet the team

The Meet the Team zone gave guests the chance to swipe through touch screens of the Emirates Team New Zealand profiles.

Using Spark 5G and augmented reality, they could snap their own interactive photo.

They were prompted to select four sailors and jump into a photo with them plus snap a photo with the America's Cup. The photo could then be loaded to their personal mobile site for them to save and share.

Course Selection

Course Selection predicted the likely course that race organisers might choose. The Waitematā harbour offered a variety of courses, so no matter where the wind comes from, racing could happen.

Emirates Team New Zealand set up the boat to maximise conditions, so it helped to know the harbour, the sea state, tides and how winds impact the course.

Visitors experienced this map as a 12 hour forecast condensed into a three minute time lapse. It projected visualisations of forecasted wind speed, gusts and tides modelled by NIWA and showed how the team could decide which course to practise on each day.  

Te Aihe

The 2021 America’s Cup was fought in a virtual world as much as the real, with boats designed in a whole new way, relying more on technology and data than ever before.

Visitors were invited to experience a taste of real world testing onboard Te Aihe for an immersive sensory experience. 

They virtually joined the crew as they tested the limits, feeling what it was like to be at the front of the action as Te Aihe rippled across the waves. collecting data with Spark 5G, looking for more ways to make the boat go faster.

Wind Tunnel

Emirates Team New Zealand had a wealth of experience in analysing the weather, but that required the most detailed data possible. NIWA provided them with a daily deep dive into what was happening across the region.

We took the NIWA wind data and used 5G to create a wind visualisation unlike anything our visitors had seen before.

As they stepped inside, they saw weather data picked up from dozens of sensors and downloaded via 5G. It was then displayed as it was forecast in real time and guests could see the different visualisations for Karekare, Hauraki Gulf, Kaipara Harbour or Wynyard Quarter.

5G Portal

In this zone, visitors were able to connect to multiple data streams via Spark 5G to see what was trending in the America’s Cup world.

The 5G Portal gave people a taste of just how fast Spark 5G speed delivers masses of data, allowing them to tap into everything that was trending at the time.

In this Portal, they could snap a selfie and add it to the wall of supporters in the life-sized digital mosaic.

Boat Builder

This exciting zone gave visitors the chance to create their own high performance AC75 and put their design skills to the test, in a 5G streamed gaming experience.

The game was built with the help of Dan Bernasconi, the lead designer for Emirates Team New Zealand, with the use of mathematical algorithms. It contained thousands of potential combinations of boat designs.

Designing an AC75 is a careful balance of stability and speed. The Boat Builder zone was a chance to see if users could master the art.

AC75 Simulator

Race Zone participants tested their skills at the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand’s high tech secret weapon, the AC75 Simulator. 

From trying tactics in different weather conditions to experimenting with engineering solutions, this AC75 Simulator allowed Emirates Team New Zealand to make real-time decisions using Spark 5G collected on the water.

In the simulator there were two players: Helmsman and Foil Trimmer and the players goal was to pass through as many gates as you can in the fastest time possible.