Microsoft Imagines ‘Future Of Football’ — HoloLens To Offer Ultra-Realistic Immersive 3D Perspective? [Video]
Microsoft is currently busy developing HoloLens, its augmented virtual reality headset. Though there is still some time before consumers will be able to wear them, the company has imagined an interesting scenario where people would watch NFL Football in an entirely different way.
Microsoft, in partnership with the NFL, posted a video which offers a glimpse of the future and how the game could be enjoyed using the HoloLens. The company’s augmented reality headset can bring the game to life in your living room and extend it way beyond the 2 dimensions of your television. Through the video, Microsoft seems to imply that one day in the near future, the HoloLens could allow spectators of the sport to see computer-generated objects, including players, goals, fields, referees, and the stadium as if they appeared in real life.
With Super Bowl 50 approaching fast, a majority of the spectators are undoubtedly gearing up to watch the game in as much detail as humanely possible. While those who can’t attend the games live, would undoubtedly be watching the same on their HDTV. While large screen televisions and High Definition (HD) broadcasts have enhanced the experience of watching football, Microsoft wants the viewers to partake in the action using the HoloLens.
In a video released on Tuesday, Microsoft and partner NFL envision a game-watching experience that’s equal parts sports action viewing and video game, reported Mashable.
The video is a part of the run-up to Super Bowl 50, which is being held in San Francisco and though the HoloLens is nowhere near ready for mass consumption, the company has dreamt of an immersive way to enjoy football. The company has confirmed that the video in no way represents present reality and that the HoloLens isn’t currently able to offer such a viewing experience. The demo is merely a mockup and many elements in the same are added with visual trickery, reported CNet.
Still, the HoloLens is a reality and its capabilities are endless, claims the company. The video merely allows your imagination to soar. Moreover, with the pace of the technology, combined with the availability of miniaturized and rugged components, the HoloLens can offer the scenario depicted.
How will Microsoft’s HoloLens offer 3D game viewing experience? Essentially, the HoloLens consists of a transparent lens with augmented reality projected on it in real time. Virtual reality components are overlaid onto the lens with near perfect synchronization with the real world. This offers a unique interactive experience for the user, who can not only interact with the real world, but can use digital components in conjunction. This blended experience has been tried in the past, the most notable example being Google Glass. However, with Microsoft investing heavily in the HoloLens, it could easily be one of the top notch products with a content library such as NFL, which would undoubtedly boost adoption.
Extending the 3D virtual reality augmented display to the game of football, viewers would get a feel of sitting in the stadium. Hyper-realistic, but digital, avatars of real players, who have had RFID tags sewn into their jerseys, will play right in front of your eyes. Gesture control will allow HoloLens wearers to control the augmented reality screen and to access game stats and other interactions. The video also hints about multiple family members watching with a shared perspective.
Though HoloLens will be launched for developer and commercial clients first, the clip was unveiled at a special Super Bowl 50 panel The Future of Football: How Technology Could Shape the Next 50 Years of the Game. Incidentally, Microsoft is currently the NFL’s technology partner. The company has deployed its Surface devices, running Windows 10, for on-the-field use.
With only a developer edition of Microsoft’s HoloLens launched, and costing $3,000, the technology is still a long way off from being bought by consumers.
[Image via YouTube]
