| Title | PITCH-R |
| Brand | NISSAN |
| Product/Service | NISSAN FOOTBALL LAB |
| Category |
A04. Early-stage Technology |
|
Entrant
|
TBWA\G1 Paris, FRANCE
|
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Idea Creation
|
TBWA\G1 Paris, FRANCE
|
|
Idea Creation 2
|
DAN PARIS, FRANCE
|
|
Production
|
TBWA\G1 Paris, FRANCE
|
|
Production 2
|
DAN PARIS, FRANCE
|
|
Production 3
|
UNIT9 London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Credits
| Eric Pierre |
TBWA\G1 |
Executive Creative Director |
| Adam Mandelstam |
TBWA\G1 |
Creative Director |
| Luke Bartley |
Freelance |
Creative |
| Vanya Beloborodov |
Freelance |
Creative |
| Kiminori Suzuki |
TBWA\G1 |
Creative |
| Fabian Braun |
TBWA\G1 |
Creative |
| Darren Rosenberg |
TBWA\G1 |
Creative |
| Ewan Veitch |
TBWA\G1 |
President |
| Philippe Simonet |
TBWA\DAN |
President |
| Tito Favino |
TBWA\G1 |
Chief Strategy Officer |
| Julien Etheredge |
TBWA\DAN |
Digital Leader |
| Piers Bebbington |
TBWA\G1 |
Brand Leader |
| Bruno Toporovschi |
TBWA\G1 |
Account Director |
| Jake Annett |
TBWA\G1 |
Account Executive |
| Kate Lynham |
Unit9 |
Creative Director |
| Sylvie Brandl |
TBWA\DAN |
Production Director |
| Aurelien Durand |
Nissan |
Sponsorship & Partnership Manager |
| Xavier Diquet |
Nissan |
Content & Deployment Manager |
| Nicolas Macé |
Nissan |
Sponsorship Section Manager |
| Martin Jobin |
Nissan |
Content & Activation Director |
Why is this work relevant for Innovation?
Pitch-R. A super-smart autonomous robot capable of creating a football pitch anywhere, anytime.
Built to revolutionise the grassroots game around the world, Pitch-R was inspired by Nissan’s “Intelligent Mobility” technologies, and designed in collaboration with Nissan’s own Japanese designers and European engineers. Pitch-R is a triumph of innovation.
Background
Nissan is a car brand focused on technology. As sponsors of the UEFA Champions League they reach a global audience of fans. With this in mind, we wanted to find a way to bring innovative technology to the beautiful game for the benefit of football-lovers around the world.
Describe the idea
The problem is, tech and football don’t always mix. How did we get around this? Well, we still mixed technology with football, we just did it in an unexpected way.
With this in mind we developed Pitch-R - A super-smart autonomous robot capable of creating a football pitch anywhere, anytime. With a target audience of over 2.65 billion grassroots footballers globally we knew we had to produce a technological innovation that would be relevant to everyone.
That’s why no matter who you are or where you are in the world, Pitch-R can draw a football pitch on any surface and enhance your experience of the beautiful game.
What were the key dates in the development process?
- Approval Phase: 4 weeks (15/01 - 15/02)
- Discovery Phase: 6 weeks (21/02 - 11/04)
- Production Phase: 12 weeks (11/04 - 28/06)
- Launch Prototype: UEFA Champions League Final in Kiev (26/05)
- First Fully Functional Prototype: 28/06
- Production Fine Tuning: 6 weeks (28/06 - 13/08)
- Second Fully Functional Prototype: 14/08
- Final Sign Off and Delivery: 15/08
Describe the innovation/technology
Inspired by Nissan’s “Intelligent Mobility” technologies, the production process featured a technological team in Yokohama, a management team in Paris, while the final product was developed in London with the user testing taking place on the historic Hackney Marshes.
An EMLID GPS system allows Pitch-R to calculate its precise positioning. Once in place, it scans an area, chooses the appropriate pitch size (5, 7 or 11-a-side), and then sprays down the lines. A 4-ZED-camera system can detect moving objects and brake automatically should anything cross its path. It also incorporates line-detection technology, and bespoke a “step-over” system to avoid freshly-painted lines.
Describe the expectations/outcome
This is just the start of a great career.
Pitch-R is currently making its way across Europe; painting lines, creating games, and generally getting people talking about Nissan technology and football.
It is the first innovation to come out of the Nissan Football Lab - a global digital campaign showcasing the future of Nissan tech through the lens of football. The Nissan football lab will also give birth to further innovations in the future, all with the target of innovating the grassroots game worldwide.