Wednesday, May 22, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology stories you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web
- Stanley Cup Finals Virtual Reality Highlights Available on NextVR: On-demand highlights of the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues will be available through the NextVR platform. After each game, fans can access the virtual reality highlights via the Stanley Cup Final channel within the NextVR app. Some of the highlights will include NextVR’s new “Goalie Experience” virtual viewpoint, which attempts to bring fans inside the crease. NextVR also produced virtual highlights for the 2019 NHL All-Star Game after the company inked an exclusive partnership with the NHL in January.
- USA Baseball Will Use Diamond Kinetics’ Bat and Pitch Tracking Tech: USA Baseball will utilize Diamond Kinetics’ SwingTracker bat sensor and PitchTracker systems as part of a new multi-year partnership. All USA Baseball national team and national team development program members will have access to the technologies. Both organizations will collaborate to design custom software tools to enhance the player-tracking technology. USA Baseball and Diamond Kinetics will also work together to produce free instructional content that will be accessible via Diamond Kinetics’ mobile apps and throughout all of USA Baseball’s online education platforms.
- Four-Part Amazon Prime Video Series to Focus on Borussia Dortmund: Amazon Prime Video is producing a behind-the-scenes documentary covering Borussia Dortmund’s 2018-19 Bundesliga season. German filmmaker Aljoscha Pause is directing the four-part series, which will be available on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries starting Aug. 9. Within the past couple of years, Amazon has released similar behind-the-scenes documentaries following the University of Michigan’s football program, the Dallas Cowboys, and Manchester City.
- European Handball Federation Final Four will Feature Kinexon Analytics: The European Handball Federation has partnered with analytics company Kinexon to use player tracking technology at the VELUX EHF Final4 in Cologne on Jun. 1-2. All players will be fitted with a tracking chip into their shirts, with Kinexon anchors placed around the court to capture data. Coaches, players, and fans watching at home and in-stadium will be able to view real-time data regarding running distance, playing time, fastest sprints, highest jumps, and fastest goalkeeper saves. Kinexon also embedded sensors into the ball used at last year’s tournament.
- VI Rock the World 5K Virtual Race Set for Global Running Day: Virtual training company VI announced the launch of Rock the World 5K, a virtual race set to take place Jun. 5 on Global Running Day. VI is a virtual coach that provides cardio workouts and real-time data feedback to runners through earphones. Registration for the event is open through Jun. 5. “It was important to us to replicate the social element of a race into our virtual experience, and [we] did so by integrating community shoutouts and a leaderboard for runners to see how they compare against others,” said Omri Yoffe, VI’s founder and CEO, in a press release.