Spelfie, an innovative app that allows users to take pictures of themselves from space, is planning to explore a collaboration with FIFA for the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Specifically, the company – which was founded by Chris Newlands, who was named as one of the Top 10 space entrepreneurs of 2021 – wants to use its technology to capture the Qatar World Cup from space.
“We have approached FIFA around the opportunity to capture the Qatar World Cup, its venues and fans from space, creating an organic digital Mexican wave,” Newlands, CEO of Spelfie and Space2Consumer (S2C) Group, said Newlands.
“What an opportunity for attendees and fans back in their homeland to show their support for their nation and the event!” he added.
This comes off the back of Spelfie taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai, with the app creating an amazing buzz around the event as they captured UK National Day and its attendees from space.
Commenting on Spelfie’s involvement in Expo 2020 Dubai, Newlands said: “An Expo souvenir from a new perspective created real excitement in and around the EXPO site, amplified by TV news coverage.”
Beyond Expo, Newlands coordinated a Spelfie corporate event in Mexico, and the team will be soon hosting an event in London, before a “huge, currently confidential” event scheduled in the US for later in 2022.
How Does Spelfie Work?
Spelfie’s patented technology takes pictures from over 400 miles above Earth using cameras aboard Airbus Earth-observation satellites (they have launched 50 earth observation satellites which are continuously orbiting the Earth.)
Newlands’ United States patent, which was granted in March 2021, gives his company control of interactions between humanity and satellites imagery with user-generated content, in this case a selfie, via the Spelfie app.
The space entrepreneur described the patent as an “essential layer in a new digital revolution, powered by cameras in space,” and emphasised that Spelfie has a number of global patents pending
The app is available in both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play App Store, allowing anyone with a smartphone to capture luxury experiences or attendance at large scale events, from space, in real-time!
Spelfie was launched in 2019 and the app has already garnered millions of dollars in investment and has won several awards, including charting at 17th in the prestigious 2020 TechRound100 of global start-ups, and leading the way as the Number 1 ranked Scottish SME.
