September 2019. Several drones flying over the Sierra Nevada mountains two months before the ski resort opens its season 2019-2020. Its mission? Gather data about the topography, to map out the clues and analyze that data to distribute the optimal amount of snow at each point of the facility. So it is possible a trodden track is more accurate and a production of snow more effective in places with lesser thickness. All for a continuous improvement of the experience of the skiers. “The technology allows us to optimize resources and make the right decisions in record time, although it is necessary to collect the largest amount of data not only of infrastructure, but also of our visitors, always ensuring a anonymous use and confidentiality of information,” says Javier Sánchez, director of Innovation of Service of the Client of the Sierra Nevada.
With more than a million skiers per season, this season was one of the pioneers of our country to implement the big data, even when this technology that was exclusive to major banks and insurance companies. “Years ago, we investigated together how to leverage visitor data to personalize offers to different profiles and improve the experience of both those who wore the ski slopes as those that spent more time in other areas of the facility,” notes Carmen Alonso, manager of big data and artificial intelligence in LUCA, the business unit which develops solutions for data analytics that it markets, Telefónica Empresas in Spain . Now, the operator, and Sierra Nevada and return to work in order to deepen into the possibilities that the technology offers today to any ski resort. In particular, the expert LUCA highlights the following use cases.
Display of the occupancy in real-time.
When you install sensors of IoT (internet of things) at the entrances and exits of facilities, it is possible to know at all times the level of occupation of slopes, ski lifts, restaurants and other premises of the station. That information, which can be extended with the collection by using additional sensors on the outside temperature, the weather forecast and the thickness of the snow, browsing on interactive screens or from their personal devices of the user. “Among other advantages, so you make the most of the time you’re on the track because you can choose the ski lift where there is no queue, for example”, says Carmen Alonso. Some projects already underway include cameras with artificial intelligence that differentiate between people, objects and other elements of the images that capture, in such a way that they measure the volume of people to facilitate and expedite the calculation of the occupation.
Monitoring the user’s activity
With the help of wearables as bracelets or watches smart, skiers queried in real-time various data: miles traveled, calories burned, pulse rate, time of permanence in track, maximum speed achieved, number of falls… According to the expert of LUCA, with all of that information could be generated by motors of recommendations which help the user to improve their statistics, as a change to a track of less difficulty to continue practicing this movement, which has seen an increased number of falls.
Sierra Nevada
Application of strategies of ‘gamification’
through an app you can propose missions along the tracks with a double purpose: to enhance the use of the application of the ski or to redistribute to those skiers that do not focus on the same areas. “If there is a track with a lot of occupation, we can propose a mission, with the incentive of a particular award, in another where the influx is less,” notes Carmen Alonso.
Configuration of notifications about incidents
Using apps and personal devices will send alarms in the event of a fall or other impact for skiers, for the first responders come to the rescue. In the same way, if you anticipate a sudden change of the weather conditions or any situation that may put at risk the safety of the users, since the station would send alerts to avoid dangerous areas.
Sierra Nevada
operational Efficiency
crossing the data of the own facilities with those of external sources (including manufacturers of devices, weather stations, the influx of tourists…) it is possible to set up predictive models that help you be more efficient in the day-to-day: from passing to the failure of a lift because it replaces a piece that is about to reach its estimated useful life up to know when it is best to enable the snowmaking depending on the weather conditions and the anticipation of visits.
Customization deals
as of the step for different lifts, one can characterize the skiers into meaningful groups and with the sensing of the skiers and the slopes are created full profiles for known patterns of behavior, which provide the ability to offer a better service, and becoming more and more personalized.
Sierra Nevada
integrated Management
Some ski resorts already have a control center from which to monitor in real time all the data that they measure, both of its facilities to its visitors. “It’s much more convenient to manage the business and make decisions, because from a single control room is you get a comprehensive view of everything that happens, thanks to screens that also have alarm indicators,” says Carmen Alonso.
“The situation of a ski resort changes radically from one day to another, mostly due to the weather conditions, but thanks to the digitisation and the analysis of the data in real time, we can anticipate what is expected to happen and take appropriate action,” recalls Sanchez, Sierra Nevada.
