With FIFA World Cup 2018 just around the corner, it made me think about how an event like this can benefit from Augmented Reality. I am actually quite surprised to see such limited AR apps for FIFA World Cup 2018. This was actually a great time to release an augmented reality app specifically for this event.
I’ve decided to share some of the ideas I have in my mind, so maybe one of you developers can make such an app. One of the ideas is related to an app that supposes to be used when the user is within the stadium. I think it will be perfect for AR glasses. Obviously, this type of app requires some unique computer vision algorithms to utilize many of those features. Having said that, this list of features might help you open your mind to some great other features.
This type of app can obviously be used in regular soccer matches, not just in World Cup 2018, but I do think that it could have gotten very popular if it was released before a big soccer event, like FIFA 2018 World Cup.
OK, let’s go over some of the features such an app might have.
- See the players names as the move
- See the distance of a free kick from the goal
- See speed of free kicks
- Guess which place in the goal line the ball will be shot at (see what other people in the field guess and whether you were right or wrong)
- Tap to see player’s statistic in real time, both general and for the current game
- See a location heat map for all players, specific team or player
- See social media profiles for each player in the game
- See live reactions send in the real world space from other fans in the same stadium
- Bring your own AR flag so other people with an AR-capable device (phone, tablet or AR glasses) can see it
- Replace the grass on the soccer field in front of you with a different texture
- Attack big cartoon head to a player (stay attached as they move) so you can easily recognize them in the field as they move, especially if you sit in a place far from the field
- See how many miles each player run, data attached to each player
- See a digitize trajectory pathing of the ball as the player kicks the ball
- Replace the ball with a fireball or any other type of ball just to make the game look cool in real-time
These are just some ideas I wrote from my head. I know that if I was a soccer fan, I would definitely use it. If you build such an app, also don’t forget to include some cool stuff, like the big cartoon heads, it’s easier to market the app when you have such cool features like that.
I don’t know how hard is to implement some of those features but what I do know that soon enough, we’ll get to see such an app with even more cool features.
I leave it to you, developers, I know that you are going to come up with something really cool. If you find this article useful, please don’t forget to share it.
Update: a few minutes ago I came across this article on newscientist.com that talks about an amazing algorithm that turns World Cup games into a 3D augmented reality experience. Now imagine taking those ideas that I mention and adding this to that type of AR soccer experience. Let your mind go crazy about that because this can really change the way people view soccer games in their homes. Of course, many of the things I’ve mentioned above still apply.
Soccer viewing is experience is going to change for both who are in the stadium or watching from home. AR is going to change that in one way or another. I can’t wait to see what developers are going to come up with to improve the soccer viewing experience. Whatever it will be, I’m pretty sure there will be a large audience that will use it and find it entertaining and useful.