A look into the future of sports: A study of the actual state of the art - The Microsoft HoloLens and Augmented Reality Vid Stropnik Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Slovenia vs6309@student.uni-lj.si Rok Petrovčič Vižintin Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Slovenia rokrpv@gmail.com Klemen Babuder Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Slovenia babuder.klemen@gmail.com Matevž Pogačnik Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Slovenia matevz.pogacnik@fe.uni-lj.si Vid Črmelj Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Slovenia vid.cermelj@ltfe.org Abstract— This paper addresses the possibilities of implementation of an augmented reality solution for sports domain, using the Microsoft HoloLens device. The authors investigate the possibilities of the platform in its current state and present a prototype solution for visual presentation of match related statistics and other data, provided by the Sportradar company. The architecture and results of the solution are presented as well as its benefits and drawbacks. Keywords—augmented reality, Microsoft HoloLens, sports statistics, user experience I. INTRODUCTION In February of 2016, Microsoft – as the official Technology sponsor of the American National Football League (NFL), released a concept video that highlights the possibilities of enhancing the experience of viewing sporting events with their mixed reality headset, the Microsoft HoloLens [23]. In it, they highlight various cases of augmentation of the viewing area with the use of the device: broadening the field of view of the existing television screen, real-time display of player statistics and instant replays on the nearby coffee table [18]. Such conceptual 'looks into the future,' as author Yusuf Mehdi called it in the video's official accompanying blog post [13], had been nothing out of the ordinary not only for Microsoft, but many other developers in the field of VR and AR at the time. After all, the emulation of reality and the act of overlaying computer-generated imagery or other synthetic content over physical objects, has been one of the more common science-fiction tropes since the late 20th century, prominently featuring in works and franchises like Star Trek 1 , Ender's Game 2 and Iron man 3 . With this in mind, it is no surprise that companies behind the development of the 1 Star Trek is an American media franchise, with its beginnings in the television show Star Trek: The Original Series, created by Gene Roddenberry in the late 1960's. 2 Ender's Game is a science fiction novel written by Orson Scott Card in 1985. It has more recently been adapted into a blockbuster movie. 3 Iron man is one of the fictional heroes appearing in comic books, movies and other forms of media, published by Marvel Entertainment. new technology would want the general public's first interaction with it to be one filled with nostalgia and wonder. One without technological limitations – where just the proof of concept is necessary. When we at the Laboratory of Telecommunications and the Laboratory of Multimedia at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana were approached by the Sportradar Group to take on the project reviewed and analysed herein, we decided to investigate the possibilities of the platform in its current state. We were interested in the technological limitations of the platform on one hand, and the opportunities that an actually functional HoloLens application, that enriches the viewing experience by displaying statistical sports data provided by Sportradar, can bring, on another. A football match seemed like a natural choice for the prototype, as it is the most popular sport worldwide, while at the same we were able to obtain rights for usage of a football match recording. II. STATE OF THE ART As the HoloLens is still in developer preview and without a proper confirmation of a release date a consumer version as of writing this, one has to look elsewhere for the analysis of the competition. After all, the goal of the application is not to create a mixed reality solution that displays sports data using the HoloLens, but merely to achieve an enriched, augmented viewing experience with one of the aforementioned, new technologies. A. FOX Sports VR FOX Sports VR for the Gear VR and Cardboard compatible devices is an application that strives to achieve this goal with an approach, significantly different to ours [9]. In the stead of augmenting a sports stream on an existing screen in the viewing area, the solution is an in-app virtual viewing space in the form of a customisable 'VIP stadium suite', also called the 'FOX Sports GO Theater', thus fully immersing the viewer with the use of a virtual reality headset, instead of an AR/MR one. As the owners of the application are one of the bigger producers of sports programming in the USA, it comes as no surprise that the sports stream itself is accessed with a TV provider login. 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom) July 11-13, 2018, Graz, Austria ISBN: 978-1-5386-4157-6 1