A solid connection is essential when it comes to reducing latency, which is usually just an annoyance but here could completely ruin the experience. Even a slight delay meaning that the movement on the device lags a second or so behind the action would render the whole thing pointless, as the reaction of the crowd would give away that something significant had just occurred.
That is one of the main reasons Field of View decided to develop its own cameras, because it found the existing data being collected at the stadiums wasn’t always available in real time. It’s theoretically possible for the Field of Vision device to use third-party data as long as the delay is no more than half a second, but it’s yet to be tested without Field of Vision’s own cameras.
All three companies also have plans for their devices to be used somewhere that connectivity shouldn’t be an issue: in people’s homes. After all, that’s where technology like this is likely to be most widely used, with far more fans watching sport from the comfort of their sofas than in person.
Mace says OneCourt intends to build its home version of the product over the next six months, and while some hurdles are removed outside the stadium it does introduce some new ones: the tracking data will need to be licensed for use elsewhere, syncing with the broadcast will present a challenge to overcome, and they will need to work out how to offer technical support.
Full Circle
For now, all three companies are focused on making their devices available in as many stadiums and arenas as possible. Touch2See’s most high-profile uses have been at last year’s Olympics and at Ligue 1 soccer matches in France; OneCourt is now available at all Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings home games in the NBA; and Field of Vision has a deal in place with Marvel Stadium in Melbourne for its AFL games, plus its device is now permanently installed at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Irish rugby fan Martin Gordon, who lost his sight completely over two decades ago, used Field of Vision’s product for the first time when he attended the Six Nations clash between Ireland and England earlier this year. “They gave me a demonstration but within 10 or 15 minutes of using it you know the difference between the vibrations,” he says.
Gordon used to play rugby when he was at school, so even just with audio commentary he has a fairly good idea of what’s happening on the pitch in front of him, but he says using Field of Vision makes following the game much more exciting. “For somebody like me who has been on a rugby pitch and knows exactly what one looks like, when I listen to commentary I can picture where the play is, but being able to feel it exactly is incredible. Now somebody who’s never even seen a rugby pitch can really get a feel for the game, if you’ll excuse the pun.”
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