It seems that every week a different NFL or college football team picks up virtual reality to train their players. The Dallas Cowboys did so a few weeks ago, and Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers are looking for a suitor, as you are reading this.
Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe imagines the future of sports as not just containing virtual reality, but augmented reality as well. Kluwe did a TED Talk on the topic, and also participated in a TED panel alongside Cynthia Bir, an engineer and producer on ESPN’s Sport Science, and David Epstein, a sports journalist with a focus on sports science.
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Inspired by Google Glass, Kluwe discussed the ability of virtual reality and augmented reality to first serve entertainment purposes, in his talk. He believes firmly that a mere visor on a football player’s helmet will be able to record every second of a game from that player’s perspective. So, a fan will finally be able to feel what it is like, as a player like J.J. Watt chases you down and lands a crunching tackle.
Kluwe also sees a world of possibility for augmented reality for the use of players in games and practice.
He included a graphic during his talk, which presented the x’s and o’s of a play on the player’s visor, making missed marks nearly impossible. Kluwe elaborated on this thought, imagining patches of grass lighting up in that same visor, which would tell quarterbacks where open receivers are and receivers where they should be positioned.
Epstein and Kluwe also talked of a type of augmented reality called occlusion testing, which Kluwe has seen Nike make. Essentially, this is blinding a player every other second or so, therein training a receiver to know where a pass is without looking.
All three panelists further talked about the future of psychology and neuroscience in sports, pushing players past their normal limits. Kluwe even added on a bit at the end, saying that he will be interested if artificial intelligence ever takes over the human element of sports, but that is another day’s work.
To see Kluwe’s full TED talk navigate to Steelers Depot.