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Google co-founder Sergey Brin dropped jaws at the company’s annual developer conference in San Francisco Wednesday morning with an enthralling demonstration of Google Glass, the company’s ultra-intriguing wearable computer project.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened: a team of skydivers logged into to a Google+ Hangout and jumped from a plane then sailed down to the roof of the Moscone Center where Google I/O is being held. Via streaming video, viewers watched the descent from the jumpers’ point of view in real time. As stunt bikers pedaled across the roof then rappelled down the side of the building and entered the conference hall, we saw all that from their eyes too.
It all raised a fascinating question: What about “real” sports? You know, football, basketball, baseball and the like. How could lightweight, POV cameras worn by players transform sports broadcasts? And how could products like Google Glass worn by fans at events revolutionize the spectating experience?
Changing the Game
Instead of watching a television broadcast of a game, imagine watching it via streaming video and picking your vantage point from traditional wide angle shots to feed delivered via camera glasses worn by different players. This isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound. TNT impressed NBA Playoff viewers with Overtime, a multi-angle streaming service, and Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics tried to play a game in sunglasses earlier this year. Baseball players wear shades all the time, so eyewear isn’t necessarily considered too cumbersome.
Google Glass’s still somewhat mysterious augmented reality features would really kick in when the devices are placed on fans’ heads — although there’s also the ethical conundrum of athletes being able to leverage information delivered by AR.
Eric Smallwood of the sports marketing agency Front Row described to us a scenario of fans sitting in the stands at a Major League Baseball stadium wearing glasses that project constantly updating pitch-by-pitch stats without forcing users to look away from the field of play. Augmented reality could also direct fans to nearby vending services.
“This would be a really unique opportunity,” Smallwood said, cautioning that it’s nowhere near practical today.
Would Leagues Do It?
Representatives from the NBA and Major League Baseball did not respond to Mashable requests for comment. But reps from the NFL, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) did.
“In addition to using this type of technology for game telecasts, we could also use this type of tech as a teaching tool,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email. “For example, a coach could playback video to see what the player was seeing and help identify particular schemes.”
A uniform, unobtrusive device (Google’s glasses and similar gadgets will only become more svelte before anything like this actually happens) with augmented reality capabilities is a radical departure from the short-lived “helmet cams” the NFL has experimented with for years.
Edward Muncey, the UFC’s head of digital, said more rudimentary forms of Google Glass made by a company called Pivothead have been used to tape fight training already, and that the organization is looking to live stream footage from the devices soon.
The WWE’s head of digital, Jason Hoch, said his organization was excited and intrigued by Wednesday’s demonstration and “will definitely be keeping an eye on developments around Google Glass.”
The Bottom Line
Of course, anything affecting a sports broadcast would have to get the go-ahed from broadcasters themselves and their advertising stakeholders. But here things get particularly interesting where Google‘s concerned.
It’s not unlikely that the majority of in-home sports consumption over the next decade will shift from traditional TV broadcast to streaming and web TV services, whether those services are operated by ESPN, Apple — or YouTube. YouTube’s partnership with NBC Universal for the 2012 Olympics is “just the beginning,” Smallwood says.
Is it really so hard to imagine YouTube, which is of course owned by Google, gaining exclusive broadcast rights to a major sports league in the U.S. or Europe in the next decade? And if they do, doesn’t it follow that Google Glass could be deeply integrated into that experience?
Sure, there are still plenty of variable and things to iron out: Google Glass’s $1,500 price tag and how to navigate contact sports, for starters. But if the past few years in tech have taught us anything, it’s that innovation is moving faster than ever.
In pro sports, as in the rest of the tech world, the future is wide open. And it may well include Google Glass.
What do you think? Is this the future of sports? Tell us in the comments.
Image courtesy New York Giants
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Presently, I would think it would be difficult for fans to make legal use of Glass at an event. Most tickets preclude broadcasting the event, which is what would be going on with this.
Huh? What do you mean?
Well these devices would be used as part of the “second screen” experience for home viewers, so obviously fans would have the consent of the leagues involved to have their views broadcast.
Would love to see Tiger Woods over a five foot birdie putt to win the British Open. Shaking.
Then we’d really have the “Eye of the Tiger” :p
^ haha
Yes Google glass change all things because Google is the best.
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I don’t know about Sports, but I could see porn being affected by them.
please, please, please….give MLB umpires Glass so they can have the strike zone transmitted to them (the same near-instant strike zone the announcers and fans get to see thanks to new technology). please…
Nice. If you like Google’s Glass, imagine if it could post to facebook! Check out this project:
http://www.indiegogo.com/socialvideoglasses?c=home
Social-video Electric Eyewear! Plan to make it layer nicely with Google’s Glass! Thx
As if FIFA or UEFA would ever allow this kind of thing to happen… Ha.
People seem obsessed with the POV camera angle, but the augmented reality is where Google Glass is really going to make it’s mark. Imagine sitting in the stands of a football game and seeing the first down line we’ve all grown accustomed to during TV games. Augmented reality stats, instant replays, directions for concessions, or even “traffic” updates for restrooms, there are some incredibly creative uses for this technology beyond streaming POV video.
Totally agree. POV of player can be distracting and disorienting, just see GoPro videos. But, enhancing the fan experience (be it in the stands or even watching a broadcast) is how this could have significant impacts.
Way too early to associate a beta product with professional sports. Some sports pro sports are still adopting instant-replays.
The possibilities are mind boggling!………….. Bring it on boys!!!!…………..
Jone <– is someone going to get rid of this spammer anytime soon?!