FOX Sports has renovated its Charlotte studio for the upcoming NASCAR season with new augmented reality and virtual reality technology. The new set will debut in February 2019 and will bring an array of new 3D graphic capabilities to Fox’s coverage.
The network has teamed with Zero Density, a company that has developed a virtual studio and augmented reality platform, to implement features that will make use of the studio’s large 50ft-by-47ft green screen area. Studio analysts can trigger augmented reality features on set via Blacktrax 3D tracking technology, making the Fox Sports studio appear to be on the racetrack, or give the appearance of a virtual race car emerging through the set.
“Innovation and ‘what’s next’ thinking have defined the FOX Sports approach from Day 1,” said Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports in a press release. “Working with industry leaders and integrating cutting-edge technology has produced one of the most advanced studios in sports. We are extremely excited to show it off early next year as we get viewers ready for the 2019 Daytona 500 on FOX.”
FOX will also use Unreal Engine, a software suite owned by video game developer Epic Games. Unreal Engine is the same technology that powers the graphics for Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular online video games.
“Unreal Engine gives new meaning to photorealism for real-time renderers,” said Zac Fields, FOX Sports SVP Graphic Tech and Integration, in the press release. “Being able to blend AR and 3D graphics better than ever before offers us the ability to deliver a seamless transition from the virtual set into the 3D world.”
SportTechie Takeaway
This is another step forward in immersive video for NASCAR after the league debuted live 360-degree views of NASCAR pre-race events before last season’s Cup Series Championship finale, accessed by fans via NASCAR.com and the NASCAR mobile app. FOX Sports also implemented Oculus Venues-powered VR during the network’s 2018 World Cup coverage. While the demand for virtual reality has been slower than expected for many markets, sports appear to be the exception to VR’s sluggish growth.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that Zero Density was a VR production company. Instead it is the developer of an AR platform called Reality Engine that is native the the Unreal Engine environment.