AI Enhances Live Event Fan Experience: Viam and Cashierless Concessions

Revolutionizing Fan Experience with AI

• 🏟️ Live sporting events are seeing record attendance despite high ticket prices, but long lines for restrooms and concessions can lead to fans missing key moments.
• 💡 The startup Viam is leveraging artificial intelligence and computer vision to analyze data from existing security cameras.
• 🎯 This technology calculates wait times for bathrooms and concessions, sending real-time updates to fans via the Quick Cube platform integrated into the arena's app.
• 🗺️ Fans can also use the app to locate vendors and search food offerings, reducing time spent searching the concourse.

AI in Sports Arenas

• 🚀 Viam's tools, launched this fall, are already used by fans an average of three to four times per event.
• 🚗 Arena management is exploring Viam's technology for traffic and ride-share pickup management.
• 🎟️ The live events industry is increasingly adopting AI for various improvements, including preventing ticketing fraud and providing customer support.

Innovations in Concessions and Service

• 🤖 AFI is deploying cashierless concession technology with facial recognition at 17 stadiums, allowing fans to grab items and go.
• 🍸 Other arenas are introducing robot bartenders, such as Richtech Robotics' humanoid robot serving cocktails full-time.
• 🍷 Viam demonstrated a robotic arm capable of pouring drinks precisely, with future potential to combine with AI cameras for in-seat refills.
• 💬 The goal is to enhance the overall fan experience by making services more efficient and accessible.