Great action between Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos was seen at the Super Bowl 50 on 7th Feb but the latest technology named Virtual Reality stole the show at the big sporting event. The innovative technology was used to provide the spectators with an engrossing and interactive experience.
For the big event, Virtual Reality Helmets with specialized Gaze-detection technology were offered to let the fans enjoy and experience football like never before. The VR helmets allowed the spectators to look across the field and see what the players were gazing at. Surely, it’s a unique way to promote VR among the general audience and so these VR helmets could possibly change the future of sports as we know it. VR helmets as far as till now, are set to go live for the Super Bowl 2017.
Quarterback Challenge, a simulative football experience introduced by SAP uses a VR helmet to allow the users to slip into a quarterback’s shoes and transform themselves into a pro. The application lets the users experience training drills, practice passes and even a win at a game-day scenario. Quarterback Challenge also uses the gaze detection technology which allows the fans to select a particular receiver of their pass along with a handheld trigger that measures the speed and accuracy of the throw.
Super Bowl 2016 was held at Levi’s Stadium which is one of the most technologically advanced stadiums and the home of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. It is located in Santa Clara, California which is situated in the heart of Silicon Valley. Similarly, innovators and pioneers such as Samsung are working hard to bring VR experience to the regular audience through VR movie theaters which will showcase specialized VR content paired with Samsung’s Gear VR headsets.
Social media too is changing the face of sports with hi-tech new features added to the websites such as Facebook which recently added a new feature that allows viewers to see live stats and comments from friends just by searching for a particular game event. Twitter as well has introduced a new highlight on the shape of a lightning bolt icon which is a separate tab for game and sports under “Moments” allowing fans to follow tweets about live events. It has also introduced special Super Bowl emojis for the fans.
So there is definitely something to look forward to this mystique combination of technology and sports since people relate and are emotionally attached to their favorite game which gives an edge to the acceptance of new technologies.
