Telefónica seeks to involve football fans more using the latest technological advances. The Spanish telecommunications operator has implemented, together with Atlético de Madrid, a new immersive way to see the meetings based on the networks ultra-fast 5G and Virtual Reality. The project was premiered in the match between the club led by Simeone and Club Atlético Osasuna and will also be offered in the match that will take place at the Wanda Metropolitano this Sunday against Real Sociedad.
experience allows enjoy the game from different angles thanks to tablets or augmented reality glasses They receive via 5G the images captured in real time by four 360º cameras located at various points on the field, combined with the high-definition image of the match and the SkyCam. This makes the fan adopt the perspective of the north goal of the Atlético de Madrid field, that of the changing room tunnel area that leads to the field, that of the control room for the performance of the stadium show or that of the stands Where are the media located?
One of the great difficulties It has been, as explained by both parties, real time display. Since the experience is enjoyed from the same stadium, it is necessary that the participants can see and hear the goals at the same time as the spectators. To make it possible, it was necessary that the sending of the video from the 360º camera to its processing in the cloud and its subsequent display on the fan’s device did not need more than 500 milliseconds. “This immersive experience has been a technological challenge”explained Leonor Ostos, Innovation Manager at Telefónica Spain.
Latency for this type of project is key. It is about that time that passes in this transmission of signals. For this, 5G networks are key. This infrastructure allows the transmission to the virtual reality glasses of a large video stream with 4K quality without delays. Fiber optics is key to send the data to the server. The project at the Wanda has been developed together with the Atleti Labthe club’s innovation division, led by Alejandro Ugarrio.
The telcos continue to search and develop ‘use cases’ for the incipient 5G networks
The pilot experience has also been supported in the technology of the Malaga startup VectorPipe, specialized in virtual reality and the distribution of high-quality video in real time. develop platform mSurgerywhich offers an immersive experience where surgeons request remote assistance or offer training in advanced techniques.
Telecommunications operators they try to find use cases that try to exploit ultra-fast 5G networks. Beyond pure entertainment, where the experience carried out together with Atlético de Madrid or others linked to video games can be framed, there are other fronts where these high speeds and low latencies are being tested, such as the creation of a digital twin, the deployment of urban drones or the reinforcement of security in industrial and port traffic.
