In cooperation with the Bundesliga football team TSG Hoffenheim, the Bambergbased technology company Favendo is realising the largest beacon installation in German sports to date. In a first step, almost 700 iBeacons will be installed in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim. These small transmitter modules based on Bluetooth technology enable all users who have installed and configured the TSG fan app on their smartphone to communicate interactively and navigate within the stadium from the new season on. Visitors can also find out about the latest TSG offers. The extensive installation is the first of its kind in a stadium of the highest German league. Favendo has already equipped SAP ARENA in Mannheim accordingly. Bamberg
In a next step, additional location-based services such as parking space finder, reminder functions and a route planner for travelling by public transport or car will be integrated into the app. In that way, the user also receives a message on his smartphone when he has to set off for the stadium depending on the selected form of transport and traffic situation. If he chooses his own car, he can be navigated to the stadium via app.
“Since its opening in January 2009, we have developed the WIRSOL Rhine-Neckar Arena into one of the most modern and innovative stadiums in Germany at all levels,” says TSG Managing Director Frank Briel. “In terms of equipment, comfort, traffic infrastructure, lawn quality and sustainability, we have literally done excellent work. The cooperation with Favendo, a company specializing in location-based services, is now also setting new standards at TSG on the road to digitalization,” adds Briel, who also promises that “we will continue to work intensively to offer our visitors an extraordinary stadium experience”.
For Favendo Managing Director Richard Lemke, the cooperation with the Champions League participant from Hoffenheim is “a further step towards demonstrating the performance of our innovation-driven company in a prominent, demanding and highly frequented environment”.
The “Commander” SDK developed by Favendo was integrated into the existing app. In addition to positioning, navigation and notifications based on beacon and zone proximity, the “Commander” SDK also includes asset tracking and analytics. The associated MapView SDK allows app developers to store their own maps for navigation in the app and to plan routes.
For TSG Hoffenheim, the software development kit is used for the first time not in native iOS and Android apps, but in a hybrid app. Hybrid apps are HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript based applications that are connected via a container to a hybrid mobile architecture that uses the platform-specific browser of the mobile device to display the functions.