6 Ways Augmented Reality Is Disrupting The Sports Industry : Augrealitypedia

Augmented Reality In Sports Industry (Image Credit: Mark Hillary)

As a regular visitor of my blog, you must be aware about the penetration of Augmented reality into the various domains like education, marketing, manufacturing, advertising and healthcare industries. But, do you know that Augmented reality makes (augments) the sports more entertaining and provides you a jaw-dropping experience.

Today, I will explain the evolution of Augmented reality into the various sports-related activities. Here, you will come to know about many innovative methods to integrate this futuristic technology into every aspect of the sports industry.

In other words, I can say that “Augmented reality is going to revolutionize the sports industry completely“. A number of stunning and real world applications of Augmented reality in sports surely indicate the same.

6 Ways Augmented Reality Is Disrupting The Sports Industry :

Well, before proceeding to various professional ways to deploy Augmented reality in sports, let me tell you one hard-to-believe fact. And, the truth is that use of AR in sports industry not a new one.

Virtual path of a ball

You must have observed the virtual lines, representing the path of a ball during the live telecast of any cricket match. Yes, this is the most basic utilization of Augmented reality in the sports industry.

However, here I will introduce some more revolutionary integration of Augmented reality in below six aspects of the sports industry :-

1. In Sports Stadium.
2. For Sports Broadcasting.
3. For Sports Training.
4. In Sports Marketing.
5. Augmented Reality Techno Sports.
6. In Fantasy Sports.

So, let’s proceed further to know the 6 ways through which Augmented Reality is disrupting the sports industry.

#1. Augmented Reality in Sports Stadium

Many people prefer to go to the stadium for a full adventurous enjoyment of sports. Undoubtedly, watching sports live at the stadium, provides:

• An opportunity to meet new friends.
• An environment with thousands of fans cheering the team you support.
• The long lasting memories of your life.

But, don’t you miss the eye-catching visual contents enriched with useful information about the sports, players and the participating teams? I know your answer would be a big YES!

Augmented reality technology can bridge this gap by its characteristics of real-time merging of the virtual and the real world.

Is it possible in a stadium during a live match?

Well, Panasonic has made it possible and unveiled their unique AR solution during CES 2018. Here, they demonstrate the fusion of Augmented reality and 3D projection mapping to provide an out-of-the-world experience at future stadium.

In fact, with the help of Augmented reality technology, Panasonic infuses an interactive infotainment in every moment of the game and provides a rich user experience to the audience.

The below YouTube video uploaded by Abt Electronics demonstrates the Panasonic vision of integrating the Augmented reality in the future sports stadium.

Moreover, with the help of face recognition technology, Panasonic also aims for a paperless entry system in the stadium.

Nevertheless, the fusion of Augmented reality in sports stadium will encourage the sports-lovers to leave the comfort of their home and visit the stadium to enjoy the game to its fullest.

#2. Augmented Reality in Sports Broadcasting

This section is especially for those who love to watch the live telecasts of sports with the maximum comfort in their home itself.

Although watching sports at home does not provide the same experience as you get in the stadium. But, it enables you to enjoy the sporting events with a lot of commentary, discussion, and graphical analysis done in a very professional manner.

Do you know that, a match you see live on the TV is not exactly the live telecast from the stadium rather its an augmented (enhanced) version of the live video feed captured from the stadium ground.

Here, Augmented reality does the magic by merging the realistic 3D graphics and interactive visual contents onto the live video feed of the sporting events. 

Moreover, utilization of Augmented reality in sports broadcasting allows you to: –

• See a replay of the match on the studio floor in the form of 3D animations.
• Watch the footage of the live game projected in 3D on the studio floor.
• Visualize the trajectories of the ball (or player) with the help of virtual lines and curves.

Apart from the above mentioned list, AR offers a lot more to make sports broadcasting entertaining and interactive. And, major sports broadcasters like Fox Sports, Sky Sports, Star Sports, ESPN, etc. are already using this amazing technology during the live broadcasting of sports events.

Do check the below YouTube video demonstrating the integration of Augmented reality in FA Cup Final 2017.

Thus, the integration of Augmented reality into the broadcasting of sporting events creates a more immersive viewing experience. Ultimately, it improves the engagement and keep your eyes glued to the TV.

#3. Augmented Reality for Sports Training

Nowadays, professional athletes are very serious about their performance and health. And, they need to learn all skills and strengths to beat their opponent.

This is done with the study of recorded videos and by analyzing a lot of data about individual steps, strengths and weakness of athletes. And, that’s where the latest technology like Augmented reality comes into the picture.

Yes, Augmented reality enables you to overlay the various data, graphs, information, video, etc. onto the live video of your training session. And, only the relevant information pops up on the screen as and when required during each step of your training session.

Integrating Augmented reality in sports training activities can provide the following benefits: –

• Time can be utilized for training sessions and practice only instead of wasting in search and analyze the relevant video clip.
• Enhances the athlete’s performance and accuracy with the help of realistic 3D simulations.
• Eliminates the chances of injury otherwise common in the traditional approach.

Moreover, Augmented reality Apps are also available to do the practice and learn various sports by yourself. For example, an AR App from SGM Sports helps you to learn the numbering system for a volleyball attack formation.

Going one step ahead, a Brooklyn based startup, DribbleUp has developed an app-enabled smart soccer ball. Yes, you read it correctly. The company has designed a soccer ball with AR marker printed on the surface and bundled it with an Android or iOS based AR App.

Additionally, it comes with an adjustable tripod-stand to position your smartphone facing towards the soccer ball. Thus, just open the Android/iPhone App, keep your smart phone on the tripod stand and scan the AR marker of the soccer ball. That’s it.

The soccer ball will immediately get connected with your smartphone. No! this soccer ball has neither a Bluetooth nor any Wi-Fi hardware, instead the AR app uses only AR marker for connection. 

Once connected, you can practice more than 100 drills. Using the camera of your smartphone and Augmented reality, the app keeps track for each and every movement of the ball.

And, at the end of each session, the application does an assessment of your workout session with its inbuilt grading system. Do check the below YouTube video and see the DribbleUp in full action. 

Thus, the mixing of Augmented reality into your sports training session gamify your practice and improves the engagement. Ultimately, it enhances the team performance and effectiveness.

#4. Augmented Reality in Sports Marketing

Well, during the sports season, not only you become impatient to watch sports, organizers also eagerly wait to conduct the sports events. And, the quite obvious reason behind this eagerness is the availability of a large number of targeted audiences to watch the advertisement during such events.

Thus, organizers are always looking for the latest technology to keep the audience hooked up with the advertisement. And, Augmented reality suits perfect for this purpose due to its interactive and engaging nature.

Few of the ways, Augmented reality can be implemented in the sports marketing campaigns are:-

• By enabling the users to click and share selfies with the realistic 3D snaps of their favorite player or team.
• By integrating the video contents into Newspapers, which can be accessed by hovering your smartphone over an AR marker (e.g., Team Logo) printed on the corner of a page.
• To create custom face filters with nation’s flag and enable user to share it on social networking sites.

Apart from the above mentioned methods, nowadays organizers have started to use Augmented reality in more creative ways. And, one of the most innovative ways is “Virtual Hybrid LED digiBOARD“, developed by Supponor with ADI.

Using Augmented reality technology, this LED system enables the organizers to virtually replace the peripheral advertisement contents during the live broadcast of a match. More importantly, it does not affect the actual contents displayed in the stadium.

Thus, Organizers can display the advertisement in the stadium targeting the stadium-goers. And, at the same time they can live broadcast the same match in a different country with the peripheral advertisement targeting the country specific sports-lovers.

Confused! OK, do check below YouTube video to see the Supponor’s Hybrid digiBOARD in action.

Thus, integrating Augmented reality into sports marketing campaigns enables the advertisers to cater the right audience. Ultimately, it improves the engagement and encourage the sports lovers to buy the product.

#5. Augmented Reality Techno Sports

A Japanese startup Meleap Inc., can make your dream true to become a superhero with their Augmented reality Techno sport named as HADO. Yes, HADO is a new form of sport which combines the power of Augmented reality and the physical movement of the players.

So, what it does?

Well, It enables you to throw a virtual energy ball towards your opponent and he or she moves their body to prevent the collision with the virtual ball. Additionally, your opponent can also protect himself/herself with a virtual shield.

To play the game, all players need to wear a motion sensor on their wrist and a pair of specially designed HMD. The motion sensor detects the body movements and HMD (obviously, with your smartphone fitted in it) allows you to see the virtual balls and your surroundings.

Seems futuristic? No, Meleap has already demonstrated their game HADO to the world. In fact, they have organized HADO World Cup in Dec 2017. Do check the below YouTube video to see this magical sport in action.

Thus, by integrating Augmented Reality in sports, HADO has added the magical effects in the game, keeping the health benefits intact as same as of a physical game.

#6. Augmented Reality Fantasy Sports

Till now, I have discussed about the deployment of Augmented reality in the sports stadium, sports broadcasting, for the training of athletes, for sports marketing and techno sports. Next, I will discuss about the integration of AR in that aspect of the sports industry, you might not aware at all, i.e., Fantasy Sports.

So, What exactly are Fantasy Sports?

Fantasy sports deal with selecting and forming virtual teams in which each virtual player represents a real player from a team of professional league. And, based on the actual performance of real player from the actual game, score for the each virtual team is decided.

Also, the team whose players score maximum becomes a winner of the league. Thus, the game here is to draft, trade and remove virtual players in line with the results of the real sport.

CBS, ESPN, ICC, Dream11, NFL and Yahoo Sports are among the top Fantasy League Organizers. They all help you to organize (draft, trade and remove) your team members through their website.

But, a startup, named “AR Sports” comes up with their patented Augmented Reality platform for organizing the fantasy sports leagues. This AR Sports system can be used either as a stand-alone app or by integrating with the existing host sites. Additionally, this platform also enables advertisers to display interactive advertisements using Augmented reality.

Wrapping up

To summarize, Augmented reality is one of the best technology that everyone related to sports industry willing to experience. And, very soon this would be a mandatory ingredient mixed with the adventures of the sports.

Whether, you watch a match in the stadium or prefer to watch it in the comfort of your own home, fusion of Augmented reality in sports always provides a jaw dropping experience for you. And, at the same time, Augmented reality provides a great opportunity for sports advertisers promote their products and brand name in a very interactive manner.

Moreover, athletes can also be trained using the interactive nature of Augmented reality. Also, don’t forget to enjoy the awesomeness of Techno Sports and fantasy Augmented reality sports.

That’s all from my side. In the comment section, let me know what you have liked the most? And, If you like my post, do share it with your friends. Also, do let me know about your queries related to augmented reality, if any.

I will try my best to resolve them through my successive blog posts. To keep yourself updated about Augmented reality, don’t forget to subscribe to my website. Additionally, visit my Facebook page and do follow @Augrealitypedia on Twitter.

Summary

Article Name

6 Ways Augmented Reality Is Disrupting The Sports Industry : ARP

Description

These 6 ways effectively demonstrate the impact of Augmented reality in sports industry. Augmented reality provides an immersive experience by blending audio, visual and computer-generated data with the live video feed of the sports. Also, It holds enormous potential in sports marketing and training of Sports Persons.

Author

Satish Kumar

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Augrealitypedia

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