Today’s featured stories Microsoft partners with Indian cricket legend to develop a smart bat that tracks live analytics Alexa and Cortana can now control Xbox devices as new ‘skill’ for digital assistants rolls out broadly Photos: High-tech, video-mapping light show turns Seattle’s MOHAI into a pulsating projection surface Subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube. [Editor’s Note: TLDR is GeekWire’s tech news rundown show, hosted by Starla Sampaco. Watch today’s update above, subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube, and check back weekday afternoons for more.]
Microsoft deepened its connection to cricket and continued its edge computing push on Thursday, announcing a new smart cricket bat developed in partnership with Indian cricket legend Anil Kumble. The Power Bat is a connected bat that uses a non-obtrusive 5-gram Azure Sphere-powered sticker to capture real-time data on various parameters such as speed on impact, twist on impact, and quality of the shot as measured by proximity to the sweet spot. The data is sent to a mobile app so broadcasters and coaches can assess in real time. Microsoft worked with Kumble, a former Indian cricket team captain and engineer… Read More
Microsoft’s hardware has already made its way onto NFL sidelines, as the company’s Surface tablet is used by coaches and players to strategize during games. But now its software — specifically, Microsoft Azure and Power BI — is also increasingly making an impact for top professional teams like the Seattle Seahawks, which use the company’s latest machine learning and predictive analytics technology to help predict and prevent injury. Microsoft in June debuted its new Sports Performance Platform, a product born out of the company’s internal incubator that helps coaches and trainers gain insight into injury prevention, or analyze the proper workload… Read More
In a lot of ways, Microsoft’s big redevelopment project at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., looks similar to many tech companies around the world — a dense, modern campus centered around open spaces and an outdoor plaza. But there is one unique part of the redesign that will surely excite any employees who also happen to enjoy playing cricket. In what appears to be a first for tech giants, Microsoft plans to build a dedicated cricket ground in the middle of the new campus, adjacent to a soccer field. Greg Shaw, senior director in the office of the CEO at… Read More
Company executives across all industries can learn a lot from team sports. That was the message from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who joined us on stage at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Tuesday. GeekWire Editor Todd Bishop kicked off the fireside chat with a gift for Nadella, handing him a new Kookaburra cricket ball. Nadella, who took over as CEO in 2014, writes about cricket in his new book Hit Refresh, detailing his passion for a game that has taught him a lot about leadership and much more. In the book, Nadella reveals that he likes to hold a cricket… Read More
