NTT and NTT DATA Roar into the Indianapolis 500 with AI-powered Fan Experience

The 2024 Indianapolis 500 features NTT-delivered innovations for racing and event insights to enable remote engagement and enhanced fan experiences at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

PLANO, TX and INDIANAPOLIS – May 23, 2024 – NTT, a leading global technology and business solutions provider, and NTT DATA continue to expand innovative use of racing data to improve fan experiences across the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, including this year’s Indianapolis 500.

NTT is the parent company of NTT DATA, and they serve together as Official Technology Partner of INDYCAR, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the Indianapolis 500, and NASCAR Brickyard weekend. 

Through 140-plus sensors on each racecar, NTT DATA captures and analyzes more than 8 billion racing data points in the NTT Smart Solutions Platform. Leveraging advanced AI and predictive analytics, the company shares near-real-time insights and visualizations to fans both onsite and remotely for enhanced storytelling of key moments during events including head-to-head overtaking, race strategies, race winner predictions and more. Additionally, the 300,000-plus fans onsite for the race benefit from data on wait times and flow across the 600-plus acre venue calibrated every 30 seconds.

“NTT DATA has pushed the boundaries of how technology can impact motorsports, helping us tap into vast amounts of data in advanced and productive ways,” said Roger Penske, Chairman of Penske Corporation, which owns INDYCAR and IMS. “NTT DATA has delivered meaningful improvements to operations at Indianapolis Motor Speedway through their NTT Smart Venue technology, driving new levels of safety, security and efficiency for 300,000 fans in the stands, while also supplying real-time data feeds into race control as well as our INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.”

Eric Clark, CEO, NTT DATA, North America, added, “We work with the world’s leading enterprises in complex sectors, yet few organizations produce as much real-time data and analytics as NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing teams and venues. Partnering with INDYCAR helps us explore and pressure test our offerings in intense real-time settings. We use those learnings to help our clients innovate and transform their operations, improve sustainability, leverage AI and enhance customer experiences.”

SMART Venues Improve the Fan Experience

Fans at the Indianapolis 500 or other events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can experience NTT DATA Smart Venue technology, sustainability solutions and live race data at the Pagoda command displays. For example, AI-enabled optical detection technologies improve security and traffic flow, and when combined with digital ticketing, provide real-time and future prediction wait times at the event gates and concessions. This allows fans at the world’s largest single-day sporting event to move through the venue as safely and efficiently as possible.

Data-driven Racing Insights

Whether at the racetrack, at home or on the go, fans of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES can also tap into the INDYCAR App Powered by NTT DATA to stay up to date on all the latest developments. The App allows fans to get even closer to the action with real-time, AI and advanced analytics providing racing insights that include live scoring and viewing of the drivers in action courtesy of 15 in-car cameras. The App, which historically engages more than 70,000 users on race days, is available for download from the iOS App Store and Google Play.

NTT DATA also continues to enable other similar innovative experiences to benefit fans and increase engagement across all mediums including social media, the web and television or streaming broadcasts, through reliable technology and services that deliver deeper data insights.

Race Like the Pros

This year, a new limited racing demonstration will leverage Embodied Knowledge technology from NTT R&D. Embodied Knowledge powers simulators that blend physical sensations with digital innovation, allowing users to precisely experience a track as driven by a professional driver. Beyond the experience of traditional simulators, Embodied Knowledge adds the actual feel and performance of the professional driver at high speeds at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway including realistic steering wheel forces and car behavior like vibrations and forces exerted on seat, users can synchronize their movements with that of a professional driver via XR.

NTT Embodied Knowledge technology is being explored for future use cases including medical surgery training, coaching and fan experiences in sports. Future applications include employee training across retail, education, and manufacturing, as well as enabling AI-robots to learn how to move and react the way humans perform tasks from restocking shelves to in-home caregiving. The effort is part of the more than $3.6B NTT invests each year in research and development, uncovering innovations that have commercial impact for their customers.

“The Indianapolis 500 is the pinnacle of racing that leverages refined Embodied Knowledge where firsthand the movements of racers can be felt to understand what Embodied Knowledge truly means. Through various sensing technologies, we aim to technically recreate these movements and sensations.” said Kota Hidaka, Vice President, Head of NTT Human Informatics Laboratories.

To learn more about the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, visit: https://us.nttdata.com/en/about-us/content/ntt-indycar-series.

About Penske Entertainment

Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMS Productions. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has hosted the world’s largest single-day sporting event – the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race – for more than 100 years. The venue has also hosted NASCAR, Formula One and other racing series events throughout its storied history. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues to be the premier open-wheel racing series in North America and is one of the most competitive championships in the world. IMS Productions is a leading video services and production company.

About NTT

NTT contributes to a sustainable society through the power of innovation. We are a leading global technology company providing services to consumers and businesses as a mobile operator, infrastructure, networks, applications, and consulting provider. Our offerings include digital business consulting, managed application services, workplace and cloud solutions, data center and edge computing, all supported by our deep global industry expertise. We are over $97B in revenue and 330,000 employees, with $3.6B in annual R&D investments. Our operations span across 80+ countries and regions, allowing us to serve clients in over 190 of them. We serve over 75% of Fortune Global 100 companies, thousands of other enterprise and government clients and millions of consumers.