We love seeing our technology make a real difference in the world, and last week, it showed up in a big way at one of motorsport’s most iconic events.
At the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, PMY Group deployed its AI-powered crowd intelligence platform, Optic. Behind the scenes, the 3D –perception layer licensed from AMORPH.senses played a key role in enabling real-time spatial awareness across the event.
From Vision to Spatial Awareness
Traditional crowd monitoring has long relied on video analytics. While powerful, it comes with limitations, especially in complex, high-density environments and where privacy is a concern.
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) offers a different approach. Instead of capturing images, it measures space, delivering precise, real-time data on movement and density, while remaining 100% anonymous by design.
That makes it particularly well-suited for events like Formula 1, where hundreds of thousands of fans move through dynamic environments over a short period of time.
Enabling Real-Time Crowd Intelligence
Optic brings together multiple data sources, CCTV, ticketing, accreditation, point-of-sale, event systems, and LiDAR, to create a unified, live view of what’s happening on the ground.
As PMY Group’s CTO Joe Costanzo puts it:
“Optic provides venue and event operators with a single, real-time view of guests on-site, enabling teams to make informed decisions that can instantly improve the live environment.”
With LiDAR contributing real-time spatial data, operators can:
- Understand crowd density and flow
- Identify congestion before it escalates
- Improve safety and response times
- Keep the fan experience smooth and enjoyable
A Real-World Example: Keeping Fans Moving
One standout moment from the event was the monitoring of Overpass One, one of the busiest pedestrian routes at Albert Park.
Using real-time, LiDAR-powered insights, PMY’s team was able to track usage patterns and support operational decisions that helped keep foot traffic flowing smoothly. Thousands of fans moved seamlessly across the venue in no small part thanks to the quality of the data feeding into the system.
Our Role in the Ecosystem
The Optic deployment at Albert Park was led end-to-end by PMY Group. As part of that ecosystem, our LiDAR sensing technology was licensed to support the platform with precise, real-time spatial data, helping enable the insights operators rely on.
Beyond Formula 1
What makes this even more exciting is the scale of adoption.
Optic is already being used across Grand Slam tennis tournaments, major golf championships, airports, and retail environments with AMORPH.senses LiDAR technology contributing as part of that ecosystem.
The Bigger Picture
What’s happening at Formula 1 is a glimpse into the future of live events.
The shift from reactive to predictive crowd management is well underway. As venues become smarter, LiDAR-based sensing is becoming a foundational layer delivering the kind of real-time, privacy-first insight that modern environments demand.
For us, this is exactly the kind of impact we build for.
If you’re exploring new ways to better understand and manage crowd movement, we’d love to connect and share what we’re seeing across the industry.