We live in a world where warp drives, interplanetary travel, and invisibility devices exist purely in science fiction stories. We can dream up this technology and imagine what it would be like to utilize it in everyday life, but that is where the line is drawn.
However, as our knowledge increases, sci-fi tech is slowly becoming a reality. Now, thanks to Oculus VR and their product, Oculus Rift, we’re slipping into the future with virtual reality. What is essentially a gaming “VR” headset may be good enough to find potential within the world of sports.
Not only is the VR headset good, but it’s affordable. That is half the battle when working with future technology. Much of the futuristic tech makes its debut, but with limited success because of cost to the consumer.
The Oculus Rift is different. With backing from Kickstarter, the resources have been present to push the system further.
Oculus Rift on Kickstarter
Through an extensive and successful Kickstarter campaign, the Oculus Rift headset is enough to make Spock jump for joy, let alone the consumer. With over 9,000 backers, the goal of $250,000 has been far surpassed.
Coming in at $2.4 million in funding, the project has successfully caught on with game developers. The first few pledge packages consisted of your typical “thank you” letters and t-shirts. But beyond that is where this campaign has hit its stride.
By pledging $275, game developers have been able to get their hands on a do-it-yourself version of the prototype Oculus Rift. By utilizing Kickstarter and allowing access to the headset before the final version is released, it gives developers the ability to work with and further enhance the product that will be released to the public.
In fact, over 5,600 people ended up pledging $300, which grants them access to the prototype version of the unit (as opposed to the DIY version). Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director at Epic Games, was thrilled:
“Needless to say, I’m a believer… We’re extremely excited here at Epic Games to get the Unreal Engine integrated with Oculus.”
The Rift is Special and Has Potential Within the Sports World
With virtual reality headsets currently available on the market, they aren’t what you would call “consumer friendly.” Many of the current VR headsets either lack true immersion into the virtual world, or cost upwards of $20,000.
With a spectacular 110 degree view and ultra-low latency head tracking, the Oculus Rift allows for true immersion into a virtual world. And while the Rift is meant for gaming, a virtual reality headset could offer a handy tool for athletes.
Imagine a quarterback studying game film for next week’s matchup. Part of a quarterback’s job consists of watching video of a defense line up in different formations and seeing how they execute plays. But with traditional video screens, they athlete is restricted to watching game footage on a video screen.
Now imagine a quarterback with the Oculus Rift headset. With video of the opposing defense being fed into the virtual world. The quarterback would be able to better understand what a defense is going to do in a nearly game-like environment. A 110 degree view will allow the QB to “look around the field” to ensure an in-depth look at different defensive formations.
And because the video game world is advancing, football fields already look spectacular in, say, Madden 25. Not only that, but players are becoming more realistic in their play styles. Standing under center in the Oculus Rift and seeing Troy Polamalu timing the snap and jumping at you over the linemen is something that would be fun to play out, and beneficial to real NFL quarterbacks. The realism is there, so meshing sports and virtual reality may not be far off. If a team thinks this is beneficial, I am sure developers will make it happen.
In the words of Gamespy:
“Rift could be the closest we’ve come to Star Trek’s holodeck.”
So consider for a moment the Sochi Olympics. The Winter Games are just a few months away, so we will step outside the box and take a look at sports apart from the “big four.”
In our situation, an Olympic bobsled team is traveling to Sochi ahead of the Games. They are flying in and are scheduled for a practice session on the Olympic track the next day. For all intensive purposes, there is a massive blizzard that delays the flight, thus causing the team to miss their practice session.
Because the world is so competitive, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that a team has either hired someone to recreate the track in a digital world, or had a full speed run of the track filmed.
The team is stuck in the airport, so to make up for their missed practice session they all pull out their Oculus Rift headsets. Because the track is being fed into the headsets, the team can study every twist and turn on their way down to the finish line.
Head-tracking within the Rift helps the sledders look through a corner and get a great view of the track, just as they would see it if our imaginary blizzard hadn’t caused them to miss their make-believe flight.
Potential for the Oculus Rift is evident. Given its capabilities, it could be utilized by a wide-range of sports.
The Oculus Rift Looks Promising Outside of the Gaming World
Once again, I will mention that the Rift has been designed for gaming purposes. But take a look at the technical specs of the Dev Kit (subject to change):
- Head tracking: 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra low latency
- Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal / 90 degrees horizontal
- Resolution: 1280×800 (640×800 per eye)
- Inputs: DVI/HDMI and USB
- Platforms: PC and mobile
- Weight: ~0.22 kilograms
With its capabilities, there is no reason this device couldn’t be used to help athletes train, prepare, and practice. The possibilities seem endless: a basketball team studying a player’s closing move, a soccer goalie taking a look at which side a player kicks his or her penalty shot, an F1 driver getting a look at that tricky chicane at next week’s track.
A feed into the headset may not stop at just video either. Although it may require a few programmers, imagine how useful a virtual race track would be to the above mentioned F1 driver. This probably isn’t that far off either. Given the fact that F1 2013 is already a game on major platforms, think about how great an “Oculus-driven F1 cockpit” would be. Looking through corners, checking mirrors, and seeing opponents right next to you would be as easy as a turn of the head.
With the Rift already in the hands of tons of developers, the future looks promising. Although it’s not a Star Trek Holodeck, I think it’s only a matter of time before we see a bobsled team training for the Olympics at the airport while they wait out a weather delay.