Sports fan engagement is upgraded with AR

Australian company is developing a suite of AR features to change the way fans engage with sport, from gamifying the in-stadium experience to AR stats in the living room and even city wide.

Australia-based Arival believes that AR (augmented reality) could create new opportunities for fan engagement during live sport events.

Smart devices are enabling easier access to online highlights, which means fans are no longer as captivated by live sport, either at home or in the stadium. Arival is utilizing smartphones and tablets; turning these distractions from sport into second screens as an opportunity to increase engagement. It’s first steps have been to explore social media avenues. Arival has partnered with Image Metrics to develop shareable Fan Masks. This sophisticated snapchat style facial-recognition system enables users to live stream themselves wearing their team’s colors as AR face paint.

That’s just the beginning. Future plans involve second screen experiences during live sport. Arival will begin by creating gamified experiences within stadiums. Fans could point their phone cameras at players on the field, draw up their stats, make predictions, receive rewards and share content with other fans. Big screens and AR visuals could then be used to screen all of that data, increasing fan competition. IoT (internet of things) networks could then be used to expand these engageable opportunities beyond the arenas. Stadium perimeters could feature interactable AR hotspots while fans are travelling into games. These interactive features could be pushed city-wide for major sporting events like the Olympics. Fans watching live broadcasts at home will also benefit from the technology, receiving similar access to stats and shareable features on their smart devices.

Arival recently won the HYPE Sports Innovation Pitch, which includes an opportunity to present their platform at the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. AR technology is attracting the attention of many diverse spaces. Recent examples we’ve covered include museum tours and Zara brick-and-mortar outlets creating enhanced user experiences. Music venues are also exploring VR (virtual reality) experiences. Where else could we see the technology appearing?