FORMULA 1 Augmented Reality Experience

THE CUSTOMER

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. AWS provides professional services as well as hands-on programs to help their clients get started on and continue their data journey.

THE CHALLENGE

AWS’ largest annual event, re:Invent, explores new technologies from partners to keynote announcements, training/certification opportunities, and 2,000+ technical sessions. To bring a compelling demonstration to the event, AWS asked 900lbs to create a unique Augmented Reality (AR) Experience that would drive engagement and educate attendees on the power of AWS insights. Helping to tell this story, AWS partnered with FORMULA 1 (F1), the highest class of international racing. As their technology provider, AWS helps them innovate faster and leverage data insights to push their organization into the future. Through AWS, F1 is able to better understand the wealth of F1 data, and run analytics and machine learning to harness the power of that data, and so much more.

F1 is a battle between the world’s best drivers, but it’s also a battle of some of the world’s most innovative engineers. By using AWS, FORMULA 1 (F1) is utilizing innovative technologies, such as machine learning (ML) models and high-performance computing (HPC), to digitally transform the sport.

THE EXPERIENCE

Our full scale F1 race car was located at the center of the AWS Expo at the Venetian Conference Center in Las Vegas, NV. Together with AWS for Data, we created an Augmented Reality (AR) journey to showcase F1 Insights powered by AWS. Attendees used an iPad Pro to explore the F1 vehicle by selecting "nodes" on markers that sat in areas around the car. The F1 car was our backdrop for an AR experience designed to highlight how F1 and AWS digitally transforms the sport of racing. By using over 550 million data points from more than 5,000 simulations to enhance fan experiences, fans are able to understand the impact of drivers’ make split-second decisions and how teams devise and implement race strategies in real-time. Ultimately, the use of this data can impact the outcome of a race.

THE RESULTS

At the center-most point of the Expo, our AR experience was displayed for over 50,000+ attendees, taking them on a high-octane AR journey showcasing AWS’ partnership with F1, the pinnacle of international racing. This immersive experience placed users in the driver’s seat, offering a firsthand look at how AWS insights fuel data-driven decisions in the fast-paced world of F1 racing.