Alex Ovechkin entered the opposing teams zone, his Washington Capitals teammates set up the powerplay formation. After some passing, the puck came to the Russian’s stick, which he snapped forcefully towards the Blackhawks goal. The puck sailed through the air and into the back of the net. The NHL’s leading goal scorer had notched another one. Less than two minutes later, we were getting three different replay angles in our Google Glass-es.
APX Labs less than two weeks ago let me demo their new Skybox platform during the Caps vs. Blackhawks game at Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center. I walked away saying the same thing: we have literally seen the future.
Using the phrase “game-changing product” is something that writers try to stay away from; hyperbole and cliches are not generally encouraged. However, in this case, it is hard to describe this product any other way
HOW IT WORKS
Bringing Google Glass into sports venues is the brain-child of Jay Kim, Chief Technology Officer at the Herndon, Virginia based APX Labs. Kim, who has a background and education in electrical engineering has become part spokesperson and part super-developer of the program. Sitting with Kim for two-plus-hours in the Capitals press box is a conversational journey in sports, and a deep appreciation for hockey, while infusing high-end coding and complex content creation discussions in between.
The Glass has a home screen in which the user can select a variety of options by using the touch-pad. The user can see the roster, highlights and statistics in addition to some other hockey related data. The program interacts seamlessly with multiple video angles being cut by the Capitals’ internal video editing team, and includes play-by-play from the local broadcast. We were able to see live code being integrated into the application, the process, while complex, is fascinating.
Hockey and the NHL is not usually a sport first associated with technology breakthroughs (Google Fox Glowing Puck), but Kim thinks it was the perfect place to test and build Skybox.
“There was a reason we chose the Capitals and the NHL as the first adopter of this technology because hockey is a fast game and its difficulty to try and catch all the different intricacies and nuances of the action, so we definitely think hockey is one of the sports where it brings the highest value,” Kim explained.
CHALLENGES
Challenges exist though, in a new marketplace being plowed and seeded by APX it is more than fact that some people consider wearing Glass makes them look like a member of the Borg. Barriers to entry exists across the platform and include: wifi, design and cost.
Glass is currently $1500.00 and they have just been made available to the public. Google recently did a one-day release and sold out almost instantly but wide-adaption is still years away. In addition, Glass will mostly likely see a competitor in the space by Spring 2015, which will include a new operating system. A variety of things need to occur for Glass to be worn by thousands of sports fans inside a venue.
“Glass ultimately will need to come down in price for wide adaptation,” Kim said, he is optimistic though. “If we were to trend this out as more and more people are having access to this technology and more and more people are jumping in we will see a pretty significant reduction in price.”
APX is not the first venture into the wearable tech space. The company works with various eyeglass products and has made significant technological improvements for the Department of Defense. But building an app that must adjust in real-time within a sports venue is where Kim spends most of his time.
“There is a massive challenge in programing from just a user experience perspective,” Kim exclaimed. “For example you cannot use the color black because when you have a smartphone, you can give it contrast or a certain level of opacity, but whereas with glass with a transparent screen, the color black is now see through. There are a whole bunch of user experience and interface challenges that are quite difficult to program around.”
Kim and his team also work around the elephant in the room. Wifi in most large arenas is not existent and 3G/4G can be even worse in older arenas. Anyone who has attended a sporting event in the pre-2000 brick arenas has had the issue of not being able to get any information out or in on their smartphone. This creates a significant problem for Kim.
“It certainly is a challenge,” he stated. “It depends on the venues, some of the venues seem to be very forward leaning towards connectivity, but I would be lying to you if we weren’t having any connectivity issues.”
Kim explained that one way around this issue is to use a wifi multicast, which allows users to tie into a closed wifi network setup just for them. Bluetooth is not an alternative because it shares similar bands as wifi. Kim believes that as arenas modernize, that the use of iBeacons and Smart Bluetooth can be incorporated into Skybox.
Where issues exist, Kim and APX have found a willing partner to use as the BETA tester.
VERIZON AND THE CAPITALS: PERFECT PARTNERS
Not every arena is as progressive as the Verizon Center when it comes to digital technology. Owner Ted Leonsis, a tech maven in his own right has made it one of the focuses of the space. The arena which houses the Capitals, Wizards, Mystics, Georgetown University Basketball among hundreds of other events, is one of the better major arenas when it comes to tech presentation.
“It’s a top goal of our company and its been something since Ted has been an owner that he focuses on…to improve the technology within the building, its always a top priority,” said Sheila Francis, Director, Event & Venue Communications of Monumental Sports, the Capitals Managing Partner.
Francis believes its a natural fit between the Verizon center, Capitals and APX.
“We were already working to improve the WiFi technology in the building, so when APX Labs approached us it was kind of situation where we already had the basis and infrastructure that we were improving upon so it was a no-brainer to work with them to go the added step of doing a Google Glass app just for our sports fans. They are high-tech and want the latest thing and that’s what we are all about.”
One of the keys to the APX relationship with the Capitals and what Kim hopes will sell it across the sector is that costs to bring in the Glass product is currently low.
“The amount of overhead to bring this is in, is no different than bringing in a connected mobile application into the space,” Kim stated. “We haven’t had to make a hard pitch from a resources prospective.”