The premier league football club Manchester City is partnering with Cisco to bring to the fans the "Connected Scarf" that will track the the emotions, physiology and movement of supporters during a match.
Accordingly, the creation of the Connected Scarf will give the club a better understanding of fan behavior.
Cisco will Bring the Connected Scarf to Fans Starting Next Season
Manchester City wanted to know how the fans feel when they are watching the match. Thus, according to the Mancity website, starting next season, fans in Manchester and around the world will get to use the Connected Scarf.
Agency Octagon alongside the club's technology partner Cisco conceptualized the scarf. It uses an "EmotiBit" bio sensor, which is discreetly placed on the neck to capture "four main streams of anonymized data," as per Sports Pro Media.
The Connected Scarf has photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor. It can track the heart rate, respiration, oxygen saturation and hydration levels. Meanwhile, it is also equipped with an accelerometer that measures movement and activity.
Moreover, you will find an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor in the scarf. It is the same technology that is being used to detect lies.
The EDA sensor will assess nervous system responses that is driven by cognitive and emotional arousal. Additionally, a temperature sensor will be used to measure emotional reactions during a match.
According to the Manchester City and Cisco, the scarf will bring "fans closer to the game than ever before," as per Engadget.
"Being a true passionate fan is physiological, it has nothing to do with how many games you attend or where you are in the world. It's what unites us as a collective," said Chintan Patel, chief technology officer for Cisco UK and Ireland.
With the new Connected Scarf, Cisco will have the data to prove how a true passionate fan behaves.
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Manchester City, Cisco will Use Symbolic Scarf to Get Data on How Fans Behave
Using the four streams of data from individual fans, which is the aggregated with thousands of Manchester City supporters, the Connected Scarf will be able to obtain collective crowd responds to various events during a match.
While these data points could be obtained using more conventional wearable technology, the use of a scarf is symbolic since it is traditionally connected to soccer.
The Connected Scarf technology was tested during the concluding weeks of Manchester City's championship-winning season last year.
Nuria Tarré, chief marketing and fan experience officer at City Football Group (CFG), parent of Manchester City noted that the team keeps on exploring the latest technologies to bring high quality fan experiences and take them closer to the club.
Tarré added that a scarf is an iconic item owned by football fans across the globe. It is worn to show fans' passion and support. Therefore, this latest move with Cisco is an innovative, new way of bringing fans together.
In 2013, Cisco first partnered with Manchester City in a project that upgraded networking equipment at the Etihad Stadium and the wider campus.
Since then, their partnership has expanded to include more areas of technology.
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