Allison Creekmore

Virtual reality technology is becoming more and more widespread. Basically, VR is a constant technological system that tracks body movements. In essence, virtual reality replaces an athlete’s or a viewer’s senses with ones generated by a computer. As this technology develops, it is used in sports more and more, primarily to simulate game play in training and enhance fans’ viewing experiences.

Training

Virtual reality is an incredible asset in training for many sports. From football to Nascar to just about any sport out there, virtual reality is helping athletes train for sports through simulations. For instance, three NFL football teams and three college teams are using virtual reality in practice. They can simulate weather conditions and possible scenarios to improve their play. 

In addition to football, virtual reality can be used to simulate any game or performance situation. Athletes can incorporate virtual reality into film studies to improve their training. Nascar drivers can strap on a VR headset to simulate different tracks and conditions. 

From Nascar race tracks to ice rinks to riding arenas, athletes can use virtual reality to learn how to handle different conditions, different plays, and ultimately improve their game.

Viewing

Another way virtual reality is used is to enhance fans’ viewing of different sports. For example, using virtual reality, a fan can watch a soccer match as if he or she is at the stadium. Teams can provide behind-the-scenes views of the game that allow viewers to experience more of the action. 

With a VR headset and an app, fans are more and more able to view sporting events as if they are right there watching live. On-player cameras allow viewers to experience sports from the players’ perspectives, which is a completely different experience.

The NBA, while it already uses virtual reality for training purposes, plans to use this technology to enhance the viewing experience for its global audience. As virtual reality becomes more and more mainstream, fans and viewers can expect to enjoy different aspects of sports and feel more involved and connected.

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/virtual-reality-uses-in-sports/
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Technology has dramatically changed everything people do, from how they watch the news to how they protect their homes. Not surprisingly, technology has transformed many aspects of sports, including how sports are played and how fans interact with teams and athletes. Here are five significant technological changes to sports.

Clothing and Equipment

Technology uses motion capture and 3D modeling to improve the design of clothing, footwear, and equipment. Baseball bats, tennis rackets, golf clubs, helmets, and much more have been completely revolutionized to be safer, give more power, and allow greater precision and control.

Training 

Technology is also revolutionizing how athletes train. Smart equipment evaluates athletes using sensors and computers. This equipment assesses skill and body function and helps to determine an athlete’s capabilities. Athletes are able to make small changes to improve their swing, stance, and a number of other mechanics.

Fans Are More Connected 

Fans have a greater connection to teams and athletes. Both small market teams that have a presence on the Internet or websites with comprehensive athlete stats enable fans to learn everything they want to know about their favorite teams. In addition, fans can watch nearly any game from their computers, televisions, tablets, or even their phones.

Tickets and Stadiums

Today, fans can purchase tickets online in a mobile format. Fans can also select their seats by looking at a virtual stadium. The stadiums offer a more luxurious experience with giant high-def screens and incredible sound. Some venues even have heated seats and wireless in-seat food ordering.

Media and Television

Fans learn the details of the game because of advanced technology. In football, the first down line on the screen makes viewing much easier. The high-def TVs make the action so real that fans feel like they are at the game. The score is displayed on the screen, and the replays can show what happened, what could have happened, and even what they wish had happened. Sports analysis can virtualize any concept to show fans the intricacies of the game.

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/five-ways-technology-is-transforming-sports/
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With the advances in technology, it should come as little surprise that artificial intelligence developers are attempting to implement robots in human sporting events.

There are actually two modern leagues: Roborace, an in-development autonomous motorsport series that is headed up by Formula E driver Lucas Di Grassi; and The Drone Racing League, which uses drones with first-person-view to race around obstacle courses. They are investing heavily in technologies that could see cars and AI drones not only compete with humans but potentially beat them.

Both leagues have yet to have a robot defeat a human but there have been significant gains from the AI side of things. The hope here is that advancements in the field of autonomous drones will benefit other industries and not just those in the sports field.

The Real Use of Autonomous Drones

The thought here is that AI drones could actually be used in search-and-rescue missions or in an emergency response situation. There is also hope that these autonomous vehicles can do what electric vehicles have and create a space to push the boundaries of car technology.

The largest independent automotive testing area, the Transportation Research Center in Ohio, just recently opened a state-of-the-art $45 million connected and automated vehicle-testing facility known as SMARTCenter.

The oval track in this facility is 1.2 miles long and sports an urban network of intersections, roundabouts, and “oblique intersection scenarios” that are movable. These tests are meant to test autonomous cars in conditions that can mimic public roads.

How AI Drones Work

These AI drones use sensors, machine learning, and cameras to perceive the world around them. And because of the customized level of design, there are definitely advantages over their human counterparts.

Field of vision is one of these. To see a full 180-degree view, a person must turn his or her head left or right while the drone has a full-scope view. This is just one of the ways that drone technology is being used to an advantage over human abilities.

AI has come a long way and manufacturers are hoping that this is just the beginning.

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/one-way-that-ai-is-being-used-in-sports/
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The five words that are sure to elicit groans, hope, and bathroom breaks among sports fans everywhere:

“The play is under review.”

Over the course of the past two decades, instant replay has come to be adopted by all of the major sports. The idea behind it is simple: with TV technology, viewers often get a better view of the action than the people calling the game, which is clearly absurd. Why not give the refs the tools that they need to get the calls right? Well, as logical as that point may seem and for as many calls as instant replay has fixed or confirmed over the years, it’s still a long, boring, and often frustratingly vague process.

Major League Baseball

After years of fighting it, there’s a whole host of plays that can be called under review in MLB, though not nearly all. That alone causes confusion. Balls and strikes aren’t reviewable because bad though those calls may be, were they to become reviewable, an already-long game could take ages. As it is, replay has added to MLB’s already-long length of game, demonstrating the tricky tightrope that leagues have to walk between getting calls right and keeping games interesting.

In addition, players taking their hands off the bag for a split second and the elimination of the so-called “neighborhood play” at second base have been accused of altering the spirit of the game.

National Football League

The NFL just can’t seem to win when it comes to instant replay. After the Non-Pass Interference Heard Around the World put the wrong team in the Super Bowl last season, the NFL changed the rule to make pass interference reviewable. That hasn’t stopped review controversy and endless questions over what is and isn’t a catch.

Pro Tennis

“That ball was on the line!”

John McEnroe’s famous temper tantrum is one of the big calls people point to when instant replay comes up. While it may not mollify McEnroe (what does?), tennis may have it the best of the sports impacted by instant replay. The Hawk Eye in the Sky mostly gets it right and there are fewer theatrics than the angry coaches and players in MLB and the NFL treat us to. That said, that also deprives us of moments like McEnroe’s, which is easily one of the sport’s most memorable.

It’s a tricky line between correct calls and entertainment value. MLB, the NFL, pro tennis, and other leagues such as the NHL and NBA try to get it right. And when they don’t?

Well, they’ll take it “under review.”

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/comparing-instant-replay-systems-across-different-sports/
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The relationship between coach and player is an important one. The coach is there to teach and to guide the players to success. The players are there to learn, listen, to grow into their skills, and refine them into a successful tool.

When communication between the two parties is disjointed, the coach’s message can get lost, and the player can feel as though they are on an island all to themselves. This can curb the learning process and stunt the growth that the player experiences.

Through technology, the way that players and coaches are able to communicate has changed exponentially over the years.

How Technology Has Changed the Coach and Player Communication Role

One of the most challenging aspects of coaching can be to convey just what it is that the coach is seeing. How it is perceived in their heads may come out verbally in a much different manner. This can lead to ineffective communication, which can lead to frustration by both parties.

Advanced data and statistics have helped to eliminate some of those communication issues. This data can help to visualize what it is the coach is seeing and allow him or her to explain it to the players with strong visual numbers.

For instance, perhaps a player plays faster during games than during practice. Before that was something that a coach could perceive, but with data and statistics, the coach can actually calculate that number and use it as an example.

Video Is Changing the Game

Another way that coaches can communicate differently is through the use of video. Perhaps the coach notices something in the technique that could use improvement. With video, that coach can accurately display to the player where the issues in his or her technique might arise.

This is a great study aid for players as well. Coaches can devise a game plan around a specific opposing player and give it to their players to allow them to visualize and see the strengths and negatives of that player. This allows for a whole new level of preparation.

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/the-role-of-technology-in-coach-player-communication/
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One of the most consistent complaints about sports has nothing to do with winning and losing. It has to do with the way that games are officiated. Technology has come a long way to allow officials to get more calls right than ever, but there are still egregious human errors that get made.

For some, this can significantly impact their view of and have a negative impact on their enjoyment of that game. There is nothing more frustrating as an athlete than feeling as though the officials have gotten a vital call wrong and cost your team.

But there is one piece of technology that has come to the forefront of sports to assist the way that youth sports are officiated. That piece of technology is known as Silbo, an AI-powered, digital referee marketplace.

What Is Silbo?

Created by three friends from Raleigh, N.C., Silbo is now a network of 7000 officials that spans a dozen sports and 20 cities across seven different states. Silbo provides personalized recommendations of referees for games.

Silbo was, in part, created due to a nationwide shortage of referees. This decline in officiating comes from the abuse and poor sportsmanship that many umpires and referees have faced while working games. This includes fistfights and even police being called to events. Who would want to deal with that?

Silbo tries to eliminate favoritism, bias, and other factors by using geolocation to help make the proper official assignments. This helps to manage weekly payments as well as ensure that officials check-in at the games.

That aforementioned digital payment system has helped to eliminate hours of writing checks that previously muddied the officiating process. Being able to streamline the way that officials get paid and assigned has helped.

But most of all, it puts a system into place that fairly assigns officials and puts them into a position to be successful at their jobs. And at the end of the day, that is what is the most important aspect here.

from Allison Creekmore on Technology http://allisoncreekmore.net/how-one-technology-is-improving-sports-officiating/
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