The second panel I went to on Saturday probably intrigued me the most leading up to SXSWInteractive; how augmented reality and virtual reality will impact the world of sports. Panelists Chris Kluwe and Derek Belch did an excellent job at providing information about the technology, how it could benefit all aspects of sports and pulled all of that together with a live demonstration.
To begin the panel, they explained the differences between augmented reality and virtual reality, something I was unable to distinguish prior to this panel. Augmented reality, as Kluwe explained it, is a way to view the world through another layer of information that allows you to enhance you own memory; it applies to real life situations. Virtual reality, as explained by Belch, is not an actual world. The technology puts you in an entirely different place.
The conversation began with Kluwe describing the development of augmented reality technology. Because of the extensive abilities of AR, Kluwe believes that it will ultimately be adopted by many sports organizations because it provides an ability to interact with the environment outside of the field, court, or stadium, etc. At this point in time, football seems to be the ideal test-case for AR because the players already wear a helmet that could easily host the device. Kluwe went on to explain that this technology could greatly benefit coaches, players and the fans. Players – it will allow them to go out and perform much more naturally. They do not have to spend as much time learning the nuances of a playbook because this technology will provide them with that “brain power.” Coaches – AR will allow coaches to better understand what their players are seeing and doing. It will also provide an excellent coaching tool off of the field. Fans – AR will give the fans an opportunity to see sports through the eyes of the player, it will allow them to better understand why players do, or don’t do out on the field.
The second half of the panel was dedicated to virtual reality and was presented by Belch, who is a football coach at Standford University and also does research in the Stanford Virutal Human Interaction Lab (this is awesome, check it out). Belch explained that VR immerses you in to another space; you go through a complete mental transformation and don’t even realize you left the natural space. Belch and many of his colleagues at Stanford have begun utilizing VR technology with the Stanford football team. The biggest issue within football is the lack of time; not enough time to practice, not enough time to watch film, coaches only have so many hours in a day, etc. Because of the limited number of hours players can spend on the practice field, VR is the perfect practice and training tool for players. This technology puts a player in a real lift simulation as if they were on the field. At Stanford, the coaches have used VR to test their players – giving them a certain number of plays to see how many times they execute the play as designed, or make a mistake.
Though this technology is in the early stages of implementation, these two panelists have already seen enormous benefits throughout sports. The key is having teams, coaches and players adopt it. The panelists went on to close with the future of AR and VR technology, saying that the future lies in the data collected. Through research and practice, Belch wants to be able to connect the results of AR and VR in sports to social science and to the Learning Theory to validate their efforts.
The best part of this panel was when I had the opportunity to try the Oculus Rift (virtual reality). When I put on the headset, I was immediately immersed in to the Standford offensive huddle as quarterback Kevin Hogan. After calling the play in the huddle, all of the players walked up to the line and I was standing in the shotgun getting ready for the snap. After seeing a specific defensive line up, I then called an audible to change the play and formation of the offensive players. I then sent the running back in motion, to the other side of me, snapped the ball and then threw it to the tight end for the first down. This was one of two plays that I ran. Everything these panelists say is true. This technology is awesome and I can’t wait to see how it is utilized and embraced in sports.