2022 FIFA World Cup will kick-off on November 20th in Qatar. However, most of fanatics might not be able go there to watch the matches in the stadiums for various reasons, such as pandemic is still out there, the expensive international air tickets/hotel fees, or the special restrictions in the Middle East countries. Back in 2018, VR was firstly introduced to the Russia World Cup by FIFA, who got a great success. This year, in order to ensure that every movement of the player can be accurately played back, 8 ultra-slow-motion cameras and 2 ultra-high-speed cameras were delicately implemented by FIFA to accurately capture the transformation of every pore of the player. Setting up a sufficient number of cameras on the scene, capturing every movement of the players, recording data, adding sensors on the players, position tracking, motion capture, etc., are all very important for VR live streaming. In this way, the audience may know whether the referee made a wrong judgment in a few seconds, and at the same time, the 360° panoramic experience allows the VR audience to watch the match from multiple angles.
VR technology inspires the new innovation to more and more of industries, because the technology is considered to be the next generation of internet with the subversive power to revolutionize every industry, so the imagination space is limitless. In the perspective of sports event, off-site fans can get an unprecedented experience of watching football matches through VR headsets like never before. The viewing angle can be switched freely, not only limited to the single viewing angle of the auditorium or the only one the director wants to show. As a football fan, you would not want to miss any wonderful moments, so when you wear the VR headset, you can choose the distance to watch the show. The kicking action and even the expressions of every player on the field are in the front of you, when it comes to penalty shoot-out, you can focus on the wonderful moment. More details you can see and all the highlights from the World Cup in all its 360°glory in the VR headset even beyond the audience experience. Ronaldo is standing in front of you. Neymar seems only 5 feet away, and come closer, you can still see the wonderful details of Messi’s dribbling. This is an unique experience for football fans. At that moment, you feel like you are sitting the center position on the scene.
FIFA has already done a brilliant job from the broadcasting source side. If you want to achieve a perfect VR world cup experience, you still need to solve the problems in the user side, such as comfortability, bandwidth, and streaming setting. Most VR headsets in the market are not very comfortable, not designed for long time use, due the heavy weight, head/face pressure and low power anxiety. Pancake 1 body is only 189g weight, and there is no any pressure in the head or nose, as it is a flap-up design, which is super comfortable for a 120-min match; wireless all-in-one headset with no lines bothers you; it can also allow you to quickly power it thru a power bank while using, which is safe and convenient; 5G high speed wifi connection can assure the stable signals supported by the much bigger data capacity; handles can allow you to fast the video forward or playback any astonishing moments in multi-angles.
So, are you ready for a VR world cup?