Sports fans today have been fortunate enough to live in a time that continuously improves how we view our favorite sports. More specifically, 360 degree cameras are becoming more popular ever since they were first introduced in 2012 at the London Olympic games. With more developed technology in this field, Intel and Microsoft are working together to bring a sports and entertainment virtual reality experience to life with a brand new headset and studio.
“The idea is to be dedicated to push limits of our tech and understand how it can be used in production, to really redefine what is possible with the tech,” Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich told Venture Beat. “The whole field is digital. We’ll provide the technology to make it happen. You become the director of your merged reality experience.”
Intel is building on their 360 degree replay technology used in the NBA to create a virtual reality studio fans will have access to via a wireless headset. Unlike comparable VR headsets like Facebook’s Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive, the headset will be completely untethered to a PC, allowing users to freely walk around in the virtual space afforded.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
The headset has two depth-sensing cameras that enable hand and finger tracking movements to be assessed and realized within the virtual world. The depth-sensing cameras can also be utilized to map physical surroundings and warn users when they walk too close to a tangible obstacle.
“You can move anywhere on the court or field. You can watch a basketball game from the three-point line and, if you see a dunk coming on, move to by the basket,” Krzanich told Technology Review. “We can do that with almost any object: we can take the virtual world into the real world. This is going to be a big driver in innovation, because it’s different from anything out there right now.”
This headset technology will also open-source Alloy hardware, meaning many software developers will be able to easily create their own branded product tied in with the headset structure.
“You’ll be able to interact with your familiar Windows apps as well as these 3-D apps at same time,” Microsoft’s Windows group leader Terry Myerson remarked.
Intel and Microsoft are adding to a sports virtual reality trend that does not look to be stopping any time soon. The amount of innovation pouring out of this industry shows the sporting world benefits from this unique coverage while hopefully giving fans a terrific new viewing experience.