BETHESDA, MD.—Video-enabled drones are stealing headlines in broadcast production and beyond, but “wearables” may be the next big thing.
Micro cameras and biometric sensors that hide in player jerseys gained some traction at last month’s International CES in Las Vegas, with Spanish vendor First V1sion announcing that its wearable sports broadcast system had been selected by Euroleague Basketball, Europe’s most prestigious professional club basketball competition.
First V1sion’s wearable sports broadcast system (L) is fully integrated into a “smart jersey” that allows full range of motion. In addition to 1080p HD video, it also includes a pulsometer and accelerometer that provide real time heart-rate and speed data. First V1sion—which showed its system at the Intel booth at CES—said its patented smart jerseys will be worn by teams during Turkish Airlines Euroleague games, enabling fans to see what the players see, and delivering an immersive viewing experience. Initial trials were set to begin during training sessions followed by Top 16 Euroleague Basketball games and Final Four games later in the year.
Integrating an advanced lightweight wearable camera and biometric sensors into a smart athletic jersey, the First V1sion system transmits real- time HD footage from the athlete’s own viewpoint for simultaneous live broadcast.
“Wearable broadcast technology will change how fans watch basketball by giving them the sensations of speed, emotion and excitement as experienced first hand by the players on the court,” said Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, director, brand and communications, Euroleague Basketball.
First V1sion’s patented system delivers zero delay 1080p HD video along with audio and biometric data in a plugand- play system that can be adapted for any sport. The technology is fully integrated into a “smart jersey” that allows full range of motion, and First V1ision says it is “completely imperceptible” to the wearer.
The product was first used in October by Cordoba CF in the Spanish Major Soccer Competition. Video samples of the Cordoba soccer deployment can be found at https://vimeo.com/113480849.
The system was a finalist in Intel’s “Make it Wearable” competition last year, and a basketball sample can be found at http://youtu.be/Oh55tHW_Llc.
