AR in Sports

ENGL 675: Writing for Electronic Media

Reading Response for Tuesday, 9/10

Craig, Understanding Augmented Reality (Chapter 1 – What Is Augmented Reality?)

In reading Chapter 1 of Understanding Augmented Reality, I continued to relate descriptions of the featured technology, as well as Craig’s definition of “augmented reality,” to experiences during which I’ve utilized, been immersed in the medium. Craig provides somewhat of a history and showcases the evolution of AR, and I questioned how dated this medium actually is. Upon hearing the term AR for the first time, I most recently considered it to be a new, up and coming medium; having now been introduced to the topic, I realize it’s been around a little bit longer than I thought and its presence is evident across disciplines.

According to Craig, AR is “primarily a visual medium” (1-2). Its origins can be traced to ancient times, but common examples are evident in our day-to-day lives. The field I think most of is sports television. Here are some images (compliments of Google):

We’ve seen the image overlay that Craig talks about in our participation with sports television and their affiliated programs. Sports reporters and anchors use virtual playbooks to assist them with their broadcasts; viewers use cues (e.g., first down lines, scoreboard-like reports, network logos, play clocks, etc.) to assist in their understanding of a game and its progress at a particular point in time and placement on the field. Viewing a sport on TV shows us the game as one in live attendance would see it, but with digital additions to the normal world. For example, our TV broadcasts come to us in slight time lags, and with closer, tighter — and in many cases, sharper — quality. The broadcasts use field indicators such as those listed above (the “information components” as Craig labels them) to show the viewer exactly what’s happening on a particular drive on the field (the “physical component”).

During my undergraduate years, I worked in Virginia Tech’s Athletic Communications Office. During televised games, the network would need an employee from our staff to communicate field placement and drives from our end to theirs via a headset. Our employee would verbally provide network technicians with individual drive stats so that these persons could accurately overlay the white and yellow lines on the TV screen for viewers at home. On the occasion that I filled this role — little did I know that I was participating in a common use of AR.

While these represent more dated examples of the medium, they illustrate my experience, understanding of AR. Of course, today we’re seeing complex, interactive, 3D variations created in the medium and we’re far more advanced.

Sources: 
Craig, A. B. (2013). What is augmented reality? Understanding augmented reality: Concepts and applications (1-37). New York: Elsevier.  

http://www.urban-survival-stuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/footballargame1.jpg
http://websterstyle.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/snapshot00576el.jpg
http://ictvictor.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/virtualplaybook2.jpg  
http://cdn.www.easportsworld.com/static/sportsworld-us/_assets/media/en_US/VirtualPlaybook3.jpg