Pandemic results in new Pelahatchie company going worldwide

By Susie A. Wolfe Pelahatchie resident, Will Sims, formerly Human Resources Director at the Mid-South Baking Company, is one of two founders of TRU-SPOT Technologies located on Leesburg Road.  Sims and his Brandon, Mississippi childhood friend, Gregory Proctor, got the idea for this high-tech company when they both played football for Brandon many years ago. The idea was conceived during the pandemic, according to Proctor, who lives and works in San Antonio, Texas, as he watched each professional and collegiate sporting season cancel because of COVID-19. He said, “until social distancing restricting is fully lifted, stadiums and concert venues could utilize our technology to fill the avoid seats, based upon limited capacity. Our technology is fully scalable and adaptative to any situation for any largely crowded arena – worldwide.” They have a working prototype that is available for viewing on company website – www.truspotar.com + menu option + prototype.  Currently seeking the right investment funding to further define the apps AR and proof of concept capabilities.  They are seeking to launch the app in fall 2021, in time for the football. “The Idea was conceived during my senior year at Brandon High School after football practice,” said Sims.  “One of the assistant coaches asked me and two other players on the team, if we’d run the chains (or be part of chain crew) for the Brandon Jr. High football game that evening. Being dog tired after running sprints during earlier practice, I reluctantly agreed.  During the course of that Jr. High football game that night, the referee called for a first down measurement. I remember saying to a teammate on the chain crew, during science class today, we talked about technology advancing to the point of having household robots and flying cars by the year 2000. I hope one day someone invents a way to measure first downs by a computer or some type of laser on the field., and give the fans in the stands an opportunity to witness up close the whole spot measurement process with the official! Sims said that dream never went away.  “It’s a thought that remained with me for 0 years. The name TRU-SPOT is the only name that I’ve ever conceived for this dream for many years, because the name says it all... the purpose of the app. So that is how the idea for computer and machine learning for first down measurement was conceived. The idea for the virtual seating aspect part of the app was conceived by Greg.” Proctor said, “Rapidly, as the pandemic occurred, I discovered that being an avid NBA fan and concert goer, I would no longer be able to partake in these types of activities.  Also, I begin to contemplate how were the fans, team owners, and musicians/artists going to play live without fans. Realizing the potential for lost revenue and ticket sales, we began to brainstorm how to place fans into a stadium or concert venue seat virtually.” “Initially, we conceptualized if you were to attend a Drake, Adele, or Carrie Underwood concert in Toronto, Canada, by utilizing the Tru-Spot app, virtual seating technology Row 10, Seats , 5, 6, and 7 the experience would be interactive in a practical sense.” The result of their dreams and goals is an app used in conjunction with Augmented Reality features for purposes of online virtual seat purchasing.  The AR combined with positioning technology allows sport’s fan or concert goer to partake inside the real-time live sport arena, or concert venue without leaving the comfort of their home. Furthermore, we integrate the virtual experience of Sight, Sound & Feeling, just like you would observe through being physically present at the event. The app is also used as a distance measurement system using machine learning, visual recognition algorithms, and a visual positioning service used indoors/outdoors for purposes of establishing yardage measurement in a football game. The location and measurement technologies are used in conjunction with a mobile application device for displaying measurement results. There is also an option to add team logos, schedules, player position and stats. For more information on this new concept: