The world of sport and the world of virtual reality (VR) keep colliding, and as always, we’ve got the very latest sports news rounded up for you right here. This week we’ve seen professional-grade baseball trainers, the opportunity for Europeans to watch the Olympics in VR, and a new application coming as the result of the BT Infinity Lab competition.
Make sure to check back on VRFocus every week at the same time for more of the latest VR sports news.
Monsterful VR Debut Baseball Batting Trainer
Training in VR is nothing new, but supplying the kind of software and hardware necessary for a professional grade VR baseball batting trainer and simulator? That’s a bit more difficult than many other sports, and yet that hasn’t stopped Monsterful VR from creating RibeeVR, the performance training tech that’s built for professionals.
Baseball America reports that Former Mariners scount and current Future Stars Series CEO Jeremy Booth was skeptical of the technology at first, but reflecting on his first experience he said; “It was realistic, it was in a stadium, you could center, you could hear the crowd noise, you could see the release point, the delivery–everything was game-like. And it certainly felt like the reaction time of 95 (mph). It certainly felt like it.”
Monsterful are recreating professional pitchers in the software, to give batters practising the very steepest possible challenge.
Watch Winter Olympics Live In VR With Eurosport
The Olympic Winter Games are right around the corner, and now Eurosport have confirmed that they’ll be the ones offering the first ever live VR coverage of the event in Europe. Users will be able to download the Winter Olympics Eurosport VR app and will be able to enjoy more than 50 hours of live event coverage.
Not every sport will be available, but there’s a good selection, including skiing, curling, skating, snowboarding and many more, in addition to the all-important opening and closing ceremonies. Of course the experience will be delivered by Intel, who we already knew would be supplying VR coverage of the games.
Advanced Television reports that Ralph Rivera, Managing Director of Eurosport Digital has said; “Discovery has set out to transform the Olympic Winter Games viewing experience, so being able to offer viewers across Europe every minute of the Games and now every angle of some of the biggest events in live VR goes a long way to delivering this promise. We want to do this to engage more people, on more screens, with the Games than ever before, offering something new to attract younger audiences. In this way, we hope to make fans care even more about the sports they are passionate about.”
Watching Sport In VR Wins BT Infinity Lab
Anyone who enjoys watching TV and movies in VR will have already experienced the simple pleasure of being able to do it in a completely new place, whether that’s sitting on a giant mushroom or sat in a cosy lodge on a mountainside. Now, BT’s Infinity Lab competition has chosen a winner, and it’s a communal sport viewing experience for friends and families who aren’t in the same room.
In a virtual room, families and friends will be able to watch the action together while chatting and interacting as if they were in the room together. Sceenic, the name of the application, will be trialled by BT Sport for potential future use.
BT Sport Chief Operating Officer, Jamie Hindhaugh, has said; “Sceenic reflects what BT Sport is all about – which is bringing our audiences into our content, driving engagement and being a broadcaster that speaks with our fans.”
We’ll have even more news on the latest sports happening in the world or VR, so make sure to keep reading VRFocus.