Sports Illustrated is one of the traditional print publications which has most eagerly embraced immersive technology such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). This commitment has now been recognised with Sports Illustrated and the LIFE VR app receiving a Sports Emmy Award for Capturing Everest.
Capturing Everest was released in May 2017 on the LIFE VR app and on a Sports Illustrated micro-site. The episodic VR film followed the journey of a group of climbers including amputee Jeff Glasbrenner and breast cancer survivor Lisa Thompson as they attempt to climb the world’s highest mountain.
The VR film was not only given its own micro-site, but was also featured as an AR cover feature in the Sports Illustrated print edition. Capturing Everest received the Sports Emmy award in the Outstanding Digital Innovation category.
Sports Illustrated was one of the first print publications to introduce AR, bringing AR features to selected issues of its print magazine to allow readers to immerse themselves in the content. Since then, SI has integrated VR and AR into its website and social media presence.
LIFE VR has been responsible for a number of recognised VR productions, with Capturing Everest being only one. LIFE VR has also been responsible for letting viewers ride the world’s longest wave alongside surfer Laird Hamilton in Take Every Wave: Laird in VR and has shot up into space with famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin in Buzz Aldrin: Cycling Pathways to Mars.
The Sports Illustrated magazine was founded in 1954 and is still the most-read sports magazine, but has also added other strings to its bow, such as a digital network of websites and apps, Sportsperson of the Year, Sports Illustrated Films and its SVOD service Sports Illustrated TV.
For further news of developments in the VR sector, keep checking back with VRFocus.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is its own institution, but like much of print media in the modern world, it risks losing relevance in a digital age. Enter SnapChat, Trigger and the Mixed Reality Agency, who are turning the Swimsuit Edition into an augmented reality (AR) experience.
Sports Illustrated say that the latest Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated is the most immersive experience ever produced by the company.
The issue will feature exclusive AR experiences, such as a 3D hologram of this year’s cover model, to portals that let readers walk on to the set of an SI Swimshoot photo shoot. Also featured will be an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ virtual reality (VR) experience.
The immersive content can be viewed by using the LIFE VR mobile app available on iOS and Android, or through the LIFE VR Samsung Gear VR channel and LIFE VR Windows Mixed Reality app.
Sports Illustrated are also celebrating the launch of the 2018 Swimsuit Edition by working with SnapChat to produce a custom ‘World Lens’. This lens lets readers get a feel of what it’s like to be a cover model by letting them put themselves on the cover.
In order to unlock the special World Lens, users will need to focus the camera on the ‘Snapcode’ then press and hold on the screen. The snapcode will unlock the lens for a 24 hour period.
SnapChat and Sports Illustrated have been working together since 2016 to bring SnapChat users access to behind the scenes features for the Swimsuit Edition. In partnership with the Mixed Reality Agency, SI used Snap#s recently released Lens Studio in order to create the AR features for the 2018 issue, one of the first major publishers to use Lens Studio in this way.
Further news on new and upcoming VR and AR experiences will be right here on VRFocus.
It’s Saturday, so VRFocus brings you the usual slice of sports teams, companies, and sports stars all getting into swing of embracing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.
Sports Illustrated College Football Issue Features AR Covers
Using the Time Inc’s LIFE VR app, fans can active AR content by pointing their smartphone camera at one of the fours Sports Illustrated covers, unlocking an exclusive video which provides a preview of the upcoming college football season.
Additionally there’s further AR compatible content inside the issue such as 360-degree videos.
Balls! Virtual Reality Cricket Using Motion Capture for Greater Realism
For fans of VR and cricket there’s not exactly a great deal of choice when it comes playable videogames. If you happen to own HTC Vive there is Balls! Virtual Reality Cricket, an early access title which launched last year. In an effort to make the experience more realistic, developer Stickee Studios has collaborated with researchers at the University of Bath to motion capture all the movements needed.
With help from researchers at the University’s Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA), the studio used actors to record the movements needed for bowlers, fielders and even umpires, reports Phys.org.
While this particular data will be used for Balls! Virtual Reality Cricket – which will be available through an update – the university also plans on using it for other entertainment applications, aiming to improve other immersive experiences.
Head of Studio at CAMERA, Martin Parsons, said: “Working with commercial partners from the games industry gives us valuable experience with clients to better understand their needs and work outside the ‘research bubble’.”
Golf Pro Rickie Fowler to Offer VR Golf Lessons
Love playing a round of golf but find you tend to aim for a bunker, or your putting needs a bit of work? What you need is some professional instruction, and that’s where Success Series comes in. The new immersive company is a coaching and education platform showcasing champion athletes, and its first sports star is pro-golfer Rickie Fowler.
If you’ve not heard of Fowler, he’s currently the sixth-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour which he’s won four times, with a career high of fourth in the world after a win in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Success Series creates 360-degree – and 2D – training videos which can be viewed through its Android compatible app. Currently the platform has five videos available – all Fowler’s – which showcase how to get more yardage on drives and hit bunker shots for example.
“To be involved in the world’s first ever VR sports coaching series is an incredible honour,” Fowler said in a statement. “This new technology will give everyone access to a unique platform and hopefully I’m able to assist the weekend golfer save a few strokes and make their overall game more enjoyable.”
“Our main aim was to create a unique experience for all golf lovers and also an incredible and informative way to provide a golf lesson,” said Anthony Puntoriero, CEO and co-founder of Success Series. “We’re really happy to have a platform that not only provides golfers with solutions but also enhances their experience with Rickie.”
Sports Illustrated announced yesterday that their latest series of issues previewing the upcoming college football season will have covers enhanced through the use of augmented reality technology. Using your phone’s camera and the Life VR app for Android or iOS. you can point your phone at the cover of one of four different Sports Illustrated issues (listed here) and it will come to life with a full video.
What makes this impressive isn’t just that a video loads — that would basically just be the same as a normal QR code — but the fact that the video appears on top of the magazine in 3D space, even as you move the camera around and change angles and perspectives.
Sports Illustrated, TIME, and Life VR have all been contributing to the VR ecosystem for a while and this newest feature for magazines is an interesting evolution of the otherwise static print medium. However, until everyone has glasses or some way of easily seeing these sorts of videos and features they won’t be as widespread. Typically I’m not inclined to pull out my phone to experience a magazine that’s already in my hand.
What do you think of this feature? Do you think this is the future of magazines? Let us know down in the comments below!
Some traditional publications have been slow to embrace new advancements in technology. That cannot be said of Sports Illustrated, however, who have embraced immersive technology such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and are once again offering readers an enhanced experience with the AR-enabled covers for the College Football issue.
Sports illustrated has released the 2017 College Football Preview Issue, which features four variant covers spotlighting different star college football quarterbacks, Alabama’s Jalen Hurts, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and USC’s Sam Darnold. Readers can activate an AR experience by using the LIFE VR app, provided by Time Inc. and pointing their smartphone camera at one of the Sports Illustrated covers to unlock an exclusive video from Sports Illustrated, which will provide a preview of the upcoming college football season.
Additional AR content will be available on pages inside the magazine as well, including 360-degree video content. The AR content is presented by Holiday In Express and features Holiday Inn Express Creative director Rob Riggle hosting a video clip titled ‘The Readiest’ introducing the AR content available in the issue. The LIFE VR app is available to download for free for iOS and Android.
The 2017 College Football Preview Issue of Sports Illustrated is the second time that the magazine has introduced AR content, with the first being the launch of the Capturing Everest issue in May 2017. Further information on the AR content and the latest Sports Illustrated issue can be found on the official SI website.
VRFocus will continue to report on new uses and innovations in AR technology.
Another week has gone by and as ever there’s been plenty of virtual reality (VR) sports news about. Sports Illustrated has created an experience for the New York City (NYC) marathon, New England Patriots have invested in Wi-fi for a more connected stadium and NextVR has partnered with NFL for immersive post-game experiences.
Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated along with media company CyberLink have collaborated on an exclusive VR experience for the NYC Marathon. Called “26.2 in 360,” puts viewers in the shoes of a 10-time NYC marathon runner at the 2016 race.
Recorded by runner Alex Christison using a special stabilisation rig and a Samsung Gear 360 camera, the experience is available on Time Inc.’s LIFE VR app for iOS and Android, with a 360-degree version on SI.com.
“With the launch of 26.2 in 360, we’re able to not only take our viewers on a journey that many will never otherwise take, but we are particularly excited about the timeliness of offering this experience,” said Mia Tramz, managing editor of LIFE VR. “This year’s world-famous NYC marathon took place just a day ago, and by collaborating with the talented teams at Sports Illustrated and CyberLink, we’re thrilled to be able to offer this to our viewers the morning after the race.
“Each year millions cheer from the sidelines and tune in to watch the runners of the NYC Marathon, but the technology advancing as fast as the marathon’s participation, we wanted to create a method to allow viewers to experience the marathon firsthand as a runner,” said Richard Carriere, Senior VP of Global Marketing from CyberLink. “We looked to Sports Illustrated as the natural partners in this space, and with Time Inc.’s LIFE VR pushing the envelope in offering new and immersive experiences to the masses, this collaboration was the perfect fit.”
Extreme Networks Expands Partnership with the New England Patriots to Complete the Industry’s First Wave 2 Stadium Implementation at Gillette Stadium
Extreme Networks, Inc., the Official Wi-Fi Solutions Provider of the National Football League (NFL), announced this week that it’s extended its partnership with the New England Patriots to deploy its advanced flow-based 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless technology at Gillette Stadium. The aim is to meet demands for fans demands for connectivity including augmented reality (AR) functionality.
To ensure that the stadium continues to meet the needs of its ever-growing fan base, the Patriots are upgrading to further leverage ExtremeWireless, ExtremeSwitching, ExtremeManagement, ExtremeControl and ExtremeAnalytics to elevate Gillette’s Wi-Fi to a newfound level of efficiency and meet the growing expectations of fans.
Fred Kirsch VP of Content, New England Patriots and Kraft Sports Productions said: “We recognize that in-stadium, high-density Wi-Fi connectivity is the next frontier for the NFL and we’re proud to partner with Extreme to deploy such an advanced solution. Looking ahead, we’re confident that we’re prepared to meet our fans’ increasing connectivity demands. Whether it’s wearables, augmented reality or accessing next-gen player stats, we’ll be ready with the best available technology to support our fans.”
“As one of the first NFL stadium venue Wi-Fi deployment in 2012, and now the first in-stadium Wave 2 implementation in 2016, we’re thrilled to bring our relationship with the Patriots to the next level with the expansion of our most advanced wireless technology available in the industry today. With more devices on the network and a higher demand for engagement at Gillette Stadium, we understand that advanced Wi-Fi technology is necessary to connect fans with their favorite apps and deliver an exceptional game day experience,” commented John Brams, Director of Sports, Entertainment and Hospitality, Extreme Networks.
NFL and NextVR to Produce VR Post-Game Experience
The National Football League and NextVR, the VR broadcasting specialist for live events, are collaborating to bring fans a immersive post-game experience featuring highlights from three 2016 NFL regular season games.
Available for free to fans worldwide following the San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals game on 13th November, two additional post-game experiences will be produced and distributed following the Chicago Bears at New York Giants game on 20th Nov. and the New York Giants at Cleveland Browns game on 27th Nov.
“Adding the NFL to our growing portfolio of content partnerships further validates our unmatched technology and our ability to deliver an incredible virtual reality experience to sports fans,” said Brad Allen, NextVR Executive Chairman. “NFL fans are constantly craving more football and this partnership will meet this demand by delivering an unprecedented virtual reality experience to fans both in the U.S. and around the globe.”
“Virtual reality is a rapidly evolving technology, and this is a great opportunity for the NFL to continue experimenting with the capabilities and distribution of VR experiences,” said William Deng, Director, Media Strategy and Business Development at the NFL. “We’re excited to work with NextVR to bring this first-of-its-kind experience to our fans.”
The VR experiences will be approximately 10 minutes in length and hosted by veteran broadcaster Danyelle Sargent and 13-year NFL veteran Ephraim Salaam, providing expert commentary alongside game highlights. As with all NextVR content the app is freely downloadable for the Samsung Gear VR headset.
