The year 2015 has been a breakthrough for sports all over the world when it comes to technological progression. Tracking technology could now follow an athlete down to the millimeter. Virtual reality is changing sports forever, at the athlete, fan and organization level. Moreover, injury prevention technology is increasingly important to professional success, thus scientists are looking for ways to manage and prevent certain injuries that normally are just part of the game.
A great example of how virtual reality is gaming sports is the way that football practice is being revolutionized. Several NFL and college coaches believe that the system would be everywhere in a few years. In September of last year, football coaches at Stanford University helped football players with virtual reality goggles so the team gets experience on how to play a game. It is truly a wonderful idea since people who struggle with football can relax and improve. VR goggles are perfect even for beginners in the game, so they have more confidence and could even make them improve in the game.
Virtual reality technology is on the cusp of really changing sports forever. Many teams are now using virtual reality in numerous ways. Top examples are the Sacramento Kings that use Oculus’ headsets for selling and promoting their new venue to both investors and fans, making a life-like simulation of any are in the building. In a similar way, the Washington Capitals worked with STRIVR to offer fans an experience of ice skating with the athletes that they would truly enjoy. Nevertheless, marketing is not the only way that VR is making an impact. Tests were made to determine if the technology could be used in quarterback training. The idea hopes to eradicate the complexities of the playbook, allow quarterbacks to practice the exact plays using VR goggles and slash down on physical exertion but not cutting short the mental practice. A lot of NFL teams have adopted STRIVR’s virtual technology system to try and provide their quarterbacks’ a training edge.
Virtual reality levels the field, allowing the masses to experience what only the minority could otherwise experience. For broadcasters of live sports, VR provides the holy grail of sports fan engagement and monetization, to sell the same seat infinite times. Sports and event attendances are no longer limited by the physical capacity of the venues. Fans worldwide could opt to attend the games virtually that would otherwise be sold out.
With virtual reality opening up new possibilities for the already huge live sports market, it is not surprising that there are several new entrants playing in this field. Broadly, these fall into three categories,
- Stitched 180- and 360-degree film companies use a range of high resolution, usually 4K cameras to offer an immersive visual experience, along with a layered, audio experience. Examples include Next VR, Jaunt, and 3D-4U.
- Player training and performance enhancement technology. It enables elite players to run plays over and over again, boosting their understanding, knowledge and execution of the plays. Examples are SIDEKIQ, EON Sports and STRIVR.
- Immersive social networking for virtual reality. It is focused around embedded filmed content, with examples that include LiveLike and AltspaceVR.
The world of sports has a one-of-a-kind, almost unequalled power to permeate boundaries and draw people together. Yet, the viewing options for fans essentially are binary: to watch sporting events on television or go to a stadium and watch a live game. The former lacks the energy of a live event, while latter could be costly and, for most games, is too far away for people to attend. Thanks to the emerging technology, virtual reality offers sports fans the best of both worlds, delivering the electricity of a live game in the comforts of their homes or wherever they happen to be, as well as growing number of entrants who are working to make virtual reality the next big thing in sports.
The future is here and it comes via goggles. What was once considered as fantasy, VR technology is rapidly entering the world of sports and revolutionizing the way that coaches conduct practice and train young and veteran players alike. Things that would only have lived in someone’s imagination twenty-five years ago now are becoming realities. Virtual reality replaces the senses with the ones that are computer generated. Moreover, it is a constant technological system which tracks body movement and updates sounds, sights and touch based on the movements. One will feel as if mentally transported to a different place.
The technology has progressed a long way that a reality comparison is now the expectation and not the hope. This explains why VR is a perfect path forward in the athletic training scenario. Since the mind has no way of differentiating between a real situation and one that’s generated by technology, it is considered an ideal means to supplement work on the court, the field, on the court, the rink to boost the knowledge and skills of an athlete of a game.