Creating Augmented and Virtual Realities

Chapter 12. The Fan Experience: SportsXR

Marc Rowley

Introduction

This is truly an amazing time to be a sports fan, and thanks to technology, the future of sports is unlimited. This chapter focuses on augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and sports. The connections that we as fans have with sports have driven developments in media and technology over the past few years at a ferocious pace. Sports has been one of the most consumed content categories in the global digital media marketplace and is moving technology forward for more sports AR and VR experiences.

Here are the ground rules that developers need to know:

• Sports are events in which rules are set, contestants compete, and there is a result.

• AR and VR use technology to create and enhance content. The best example of this is the “First-and-Ten line” from Sportvision in 1998.

• Live action matters, it creates a sense of wonder, an anticipation, a wanting to not miss out.

To explore this juggernaut more thoroughly, this chapter is separated into three parts:

• Five key principles of AR and VR for sports

• The next evolution of sports experiences

• Making the future

First, proper introductions. I’m Marc Rowley, and I consider myself an AR/VR pioneer, having worked on live AR in sports for more than 20 years. I have five Emmy awards, multiple global innovation awards, and I have founded several AR companies. As I see it, the best moment for a storyteller is to see the audience’s reaction when you show them something ...