Sky News offers machine-learning enhanced Royal Wedding with AWS

Sky News has teamed up with AWS Elemental to use new cloud-based machine learning technology to enhance its coverage of the upcoming UK royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Sky News will use machine learning and media services to name guests as they enter St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, and enrich the video content with facts about the attendees.

Sky News is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and two AWS technology partners, GrayMeta and UI Centric. As guests make their way into the chapel, AWS will capture live video and send it to cloud-based AWS Elemental Media Services for multiscreen viewing optimisation.

An on-demand video asset, including catch-up functionality, will also be generated. In parallel, Sky is combining the GrayMeta data analysis platform with the Amazon Rekognition video and image analysis service for real-time identification of guests and tagging with related information.

Sky News is using the Amazon CloudFront content delivery network to unify the content for distribution to viewers. UI Centric has designed and developed the front-end application and video player to enhance the experience and user interface accessed by Sky News viewers.

Video content from the application will also be made available on-demand after the event.

David Gibbs, Director of Digital News and Sports Products said: “Sky continuously searches for ways to innovate and bring better coverage to its customers. This new functionality allows Royal Wedding viewers greater insight into one of the biggest live events of the year, wherever they are. We’re excited by the software’s potential and ability to give audiences new ways of consuming content”.