Basketball is a well-established sport in the United States and is growing in popularity around the world. While 1892 saw Dr. James Naismith invent the modern day version of the game, the sport may have gotten its roots from a similar game played by the Olmec people of Mexico as early as 500 years ago.
Either way, basketball was meant to be a spectator sport from the beginning. Rough roads were traveled along the way, but fans have continually found ways to enjoy the sport.
Radio allowed fans to listen to the action and TV allowed fans to grab a seat at the game in their own living rooms – even if some NBA Finals games ran on tape delays.
The NBA and The Finals continued to grow and with them, so did spectator technology. HD TVs were probably the biggest piece of tech to change how consumers viewed games. Of course, television manufacturers are now trying to push 4k and 3D TV technology but have yet to make a huge splash in the market.
Those in attendance at games have seen major technological advances as well. No longer do we just sit and watch games; fans connect to stadium Wi-Fi to check stats, watch alternate camera angles, and share their experience.
New tech means the ushering in of new ways to enjoy the sports we love. Now, companies like Oculus VR and Avegant are shaping the way consumers are able to view the sports they love.
A World Fit for Augmented Reality
Augmented reality, for those that may not know, is defined by the all-knowing Google as “a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.”
So imagine the NBA Finals as seen through an augmented reality. If your mind immediately races to conjure up images from the science fiction action film Robocop, you’re on the right track.
In the film, Robocop’s helmet helped the man behind the machine evaluate the environment for things like detectable threats, human vitals, and other statistical data. Some futuristic tech like Google Glass, Oculus Rift, and the Avegant Glyph are currently able to provide a working foundation toward something similar to Robocop’s view of the world. The only difference is that these pieces of tech will help take sports spectatorship to the next level. If companies are able to continue developing these technologies, the future may be just around the corner.
A truly augmented version of the NBA Finals has as much potential as NBA scouts found in a young Lebron James. For instance, through the Avegant Glyph’s Virtual Retina Display, viewers may have the ability to watch a game on-the-go on the equivalent of an 80-inch screen at eight feet away.
With a 45 degree field of view, no TV outline, head tracking capabilities, and built-in audio, this level of immersion has the ability to take you from the backseat of a New York taxi, right into the front row of the Heat vs. Spurs Finals via a streaming media application.
This immersion technique could potentially offer fans a stadium-like atmosphere. The next level of something like this would allow fans to choose a seat they’d like to watch the game from and be transported, perhaps courtside, to American Airlines Arena.
Or maybe a fan likes a loftier viewpoint – the 100 level may be for them. Either way, if this turns out to be a hot commodity, it could even turn into a new revenue stream for teams. Pay-per-view seating anyone?
But to truly grasp augmented reality, the technology must be taken a step further. Gadgets like Google Glass, Oculus Rift, and Avegant Glyph are perfect products to kick The Finals up a notch in every fan’s book.
Augmented Reality: A True Fan Experience
The entire idea of augmented technology is straight from Iron Man. Google Glass does a great job and projecting a small heads up display (HUD) that allows the user to effortlessly view pertinent information. Because of this HUD, Google Glass would make it easy enough to get directions to the arena, view the latest Finals news, and even watch a few YouTube videos of last year’s matchup between the Spurs and Heat.
That’s all fine and dandy, but the direction this technology is heading will take spectating to the next level. Old game footage is great, but augmented reality is about the present (and the future).
If Google Glass and Avegant Glyph were to be combined, it could be an engineering marvel. So envision yourself walking into American Airline Arena and you need to find your seat. An augmented device would be able to point you in the right direction by displaying a few directional arrows.
Not only could you find your seat easily, but after spitting out a command, food, drink, and merch prices would be able to pop up when you look at concession stands and team stores. A service like Google Wallet could even be integrated to allow for an effortless payment.
More importantly, action on the court would be better than ever for those that follow player stats. Much like Ironman or Robocop, a command would bring up Tim Duncan’s stats. As you’re watching Duncan handle the ball, a small info panel would pop up next to him and show you things like shot percentage, fouls, assists, and rebounds.
With augmented reality, a virtual shot chart for Dwayne Wade could simply be placed on the court as you look at it. The hardwood could even be shaded to show his hotspots.
Instant replays could easily be viewed as a type of “picture in picture”. But what’s more, fan’s would be able to rotate the camera around the player to allow for a personalized experience. It would operate much like when Tony Stark manipulates the augmented projections in his lab.
A simple command would bring data that shows team timeouts, fouls, starting lineups, or names underneath each player on the court. A tracking ring, much like in video games, could even highlight any given player.
But perhaps you want to get a little more creative and fun with a game. Remember NBA Jams? An augmented reality option could place fire around the ball when a “hot” player has it in their possession. While the tech world is not quite on this level yet, we do have the proper foundations in Google Glass, Avegant Glyph, and the Oculus Rift.
Augmented technology will make a place for itself in sports and will one day promise an entire new level of indulgence. Anything a fan could possibly want to see overlaid on the NBA Finals will be a short command away.
Science fiction type movies like Robocop and Iron Man are just that: Science fiction. But with time, some advanced engineering, a few Kickstarter campaigns, and some late night caffeine-filled workshop sessions, fans of the NBA Finals (and sports in general) will be rewarded with some serious “future tech”.
As you watch Heat v. Spurs part II, imagine adding Augmented Reality to the mix. How would you like this technological addition to The Finals? Let us know on Twitter.