As a $1.5 trillion global industry, sports are big business. From playing on the field to live streaming a game to a mobile device, it’s no surprise that sports have always been quick to embrace new technologies from radio to television, and now mixed reality.
Applications of Mixed Reality in Sports
The iterations of mixed reality into sports is no longer a question of if, rather a question of when. In the near future, expect to see aspects of mixed reality gradually transforming the way you enjoy your favourite games. Here are some of the most interesting things that are happening in the space today.
In the near future, expect MR to place you at the heart of the action in the stadium, at the track, or on the course, watching live, with other fans.
TV broadcasters like Sky and BBC are already experimenting with VR, and broadcasting trial events in 360º video. In the future expect this to completely shift the paradigm, allowing fans greater insight and control over their viewing experience — following the single narrative of the TV director will be a thing of the past.
In some sports, like football, you can already choose to watch a specific player rather than the main broadcast action. Imagine if your MR headset allowed you to see multiple 360º views. Glance away from the main action at a specific players-eye view, to see movements off the ball, or the fans reaction around the stadium — even visit the changing room as part of a half-time virtual tour.
Add to this the commercial opportunity of MR. Clubs, sponsors and advertisers will use your personalised MR lobby to deliver smart, contextual content, messages and advertising in real-time. Direct links to the 3rd party sites and e-commerce will allow you to book tickets to a match, buy the latest team strip, make a bet on your team — the list goes on.
Aside of the sports brands themselves, we see the betting market as an early adopter. MR gaming lobbies will evolve from the home screen of your present day betting app. Event live streaming goes hand in hand with betting sites and MR event broadcast can add a world of potential value to users, and in doing so innovate new ways and reasons to bet.
VR + AR = a new reality for sport
With so many variables, moving parts and data to interrogate in modern day sport, the mixed reality of the near future will continue to leverage the Internet of Things, and drive the evolution of tech like wearables.
For years, companies like EA Sports have worked with top sportsmen to turn real actions into virtual ones for their video games. Soon, players could be wearing technology that will enable real matches to be augmented, while 360º film technology will give fans a reimagined viewing experience, at the heart of the action.
For us, of all the hardware currently available, perhaps Microsoft HoloLens most neatly demonstrates the concept of mixed reality experiences.
But expect the rate of change in hardware to be rapid. If you had picked up your View-Master in 1980 to look at football images, the idea of those scenes being an interactive live broadcast of 360º video would have seemed impossible. Pretty soon, we will be able to immerse ourselves in the 360º live action, virtually, from anywhere in the world. Or enhance being at a live event in ways we’ve yet to imagine.
I believe the reality will be no one winner from AR and VR — but only sport itself.
The future will see a blend of AR and VR experiences, intertwining with other tech like IoT and wearables, to give us ‘mixed reality’, that simply enhances the way we experience sport — on every level.
