Industry News
OZ Sports uses Augmented Reality to put football fans at the heart of closed-door broadcasts
OZ Sports partners with RVX to launch OZ ARENA, using innovative AR technologies that are set to bring fans from home into live broadcasts when football resumes in the wake of COVID-19.
Virtual fans can personalise their experience with their own avatars, club shirts, genuine cheers from home via an app – and even appear in their preferred seat.
OZ ARENA while standalone, also forms part of the OZ Connected Stadium, the one-stop-solution for leagues and federations to augment their sports by capturing, enhancing and distributing content.
Throughout history, there have been pivotal moments of disruption that have completely redefined the norm. Coronavirus is accelerating change, almost subconsciously, that will completely change the face of business, industry, our entire daily life, including sport.
When football returns post-lockdown, it will be in unprecedented circumstances. For the millions of match-starved fans around the world, there won’t be a quick fix to live match withdrawal symptoms once Coronavirus restrictions are lifted. Yet, there are opportunities for federations, leagues and broadcasters to transform and revolutionise the home viewing experience.
Venues might be physically deserted, but through cutting edge augmented reality and visual effects – the likes of which have been embraced in the world of esports and streaming – fans will still be able to be at the heart of the action. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Introducing the new game: welcome to OZ ARENA.
OZ Sports and RVX, whose most recent work has been seen in various Hollywood blockbuster movies and TV series, are rolling out new technology and services for rights-holders of leagues to make the experience more engaging for the fans.
With the new solution, which also integrates into the wider OZ Connected Stadium, spectators can be dynamically added to live broadcasts with the use of advanced augmented reality technology. Fans can pick their avatar, club’s shirt, have their face painted, and even appear in the stadium in their favourite seat. Fans can also get their voice heard, by participating as either audio-only or with immersive visual participation in the live broadcast.
OZ ARENA tech can either completely replace the stadium entirely or augment spectators into existing empty stadiums. The process is added to each camera feed in the workflow opening up support for multi-camera processing.
OZ ARENA has advanced audio support, where fans can use an app to add live audio to the broadcast. The servers aggregate all fan audio, using low-latency time synchronisation and AI algorithms, to manage volume levels, enabling fans to yell as loudly as they like remotely, without overpowering the audio stream. These solutions enable broadcasts to maintain full integrity and sound effects during fan-free games.
“Due to Coronavirus, we will see more games to be played behind closed doors with bans on large-scale public events. It is our job to keep the experience still as exciting as during the non-pandemic world. We do that by learning from esports, bringing new exciting elements into the real-world broadcasts. Our augmentation filters can be customised based on the branding strategy and the creative plan of the league,” said Gudjon Gudjonsson, CEO of OZ Sports.
“The idea is to protect the integrity and experience of the game, by turning the attention away from the empty stadium, and instead replacing it with appealing surroundings to make the game more interesting, and as close to reality as possible. These are times to explore and experiment, to make sports even more appealing and to bring it closer to the latest developments in esports” continued Gudjonsson.
“We have brought together world-class 3D visual artists, developers and technologists, with a range of honours and awards – including numerous Emmys, VES and D&AD Awards,” said Dadi Einarsson, CEO of RVX. He continues: “The team for this solution has previously delivered visual effects for blockbusters films, TV, video games and VR projects including Everest, Gravity, The OA, 2 Guns and Sherlock Holmes. Our experience with AAA quality visuals coupled with cutting edge AI and AR solutions put us in the perfect spot.”
The AI and machine learning team include PhDs and specialists on both player and ball tracking that have developed a low-latency perception framework for a detailed semantic understanding of sports games. This framework is a combination of state-of-the-art object detectors, trackers and classifiers which are trained to perform in sports environments. OZ Sports technology can uncover the true state-space of the sport and infer meaningful sport-specific abstractions from the game from velocity vectors in a 3-dimensional space.
The OZ ARENA solution can be applied to live production as a per-match service. It supports both audio-only and the full immersive audio-visual solution. The OZ ARENA system is an integrated part of the OZ Connected Stadium, and can also be installed at broadcaster’s facility, OB truck, or at the stadium.
Rights-holders and broadcasters can contact OZ Sports for quotes on deployments by visiting www.oz.com.
About OZ Sports:
OZ Sports mission is to give every sports league affordable technologies to create immersive and spectacular video experiences with no sacrifice in quality.
Centred around our global roll-out of the OZ Connected Stadium system at sports venues worldwide. A simple, one-time setup, offering sports leagues an outstanding fan experience with exceptional production, VAR, visual augmentations, player tracking, and global distribution via branded apps.
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Industry News
Vermantia Platform Offers Retail Operators a Comprehensive Solution Through Single Integration
Vermantia’s Aggregator Platform has earned numerous awards, establishing itself as an essential tool for retail operators. This unique platform seamlessly integrates diverse content with top-quality channels, offering retail operators a comprehensive solution through a single integration.
Vermantia, a pioneering technology company revolutionising the betting industry, offers a bespoke approach. It boasts a unique multi-vendor, multi-content platform delivering exclusive Virtual Sports Channels, premium international Live Sports, and Racing events, all accessible through a single API and Universal Scheduler. With an abundance of data, odds and videos spanning multiple virtual games, live sports, racing and information services, Vermantia ensures seamless integration with any bet acceptance system. Flexible delivery options include satellite broadcasting, ultra-low latency streaming and in-shop retail rendering solutions.
Content providers benefit from an API enabling them to deploy their entire product portfolio with a single integration. Meanwhile, operators gain access to, combine and schedule top-quality content from various vendors and product verticals through a unified integration. Vermantia’s platform features robust logging, reporting and financial monitoring capabilities, reflecting its commitment to customer and partner satisfaction through continuous technological advancements tailored to meet operators’ needs for superior content and performance.
This innovative Aggregator Platform has captured the attention of tier-one operators across Greece, Italy, the UK and beyond. Operators leverage the platform to produce and manage top-tier channels, including Virtual Games Channels, Live Racing and Live Sport Channels, customising them to their specific requirements. Vermantia’s platform solutions offer full flexibility, combining distribution, digital signage and content management tailored to each customer’s infrastructure.
Operators integrating Vermantia’s platform gain a competitive edge by enriching their live racing, sports and virtual channels with diverse, high-quality content through a single integration, a universal scheduler and robust reporting capabilities. In markets like Greece and Italy, partners now command over 50% of the market share, solidifying their leadership position in the industry.
Vermantia plays a crucial role in distributing content to retail operators, driving the development of innovative and engaging solutions. In the rapidly expanding retail market, access to seamless technological solutions gives operators a proven advantage, resulting in significant market share growth.
The post Vermantia Platform Offers Retail Operators a Comprehensive Solution Through Single Integration appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry News
NOVOMATIC Launches XTENSION LINK Volume 2 at FIJMA
Leading gaming technology Group NOVOMATIC was an exhibitor at the international trade fair FIJMA from May 7-9, 2024, boasting a stand full of innovative products for the Spanish market. The Group’s local subsidiary NOVOMATIC Spain launched the brand new XTENSION LINK Volume 2, which was the star of the show.
The international gaming trade show FIJMA took place from May 7 to 9 at the IFEMA exhibition centre in Madrid, bringing together a large number of industry leaders. NOVOMATIC showcased an extensive range of products perfected for the Spanish market.
This arcade game was presented in the high performing BLACK EDITION II 1.49J cabinet and attracted a lot of attention from visitors, especially with its GOLDEN SPINS feature which ultimately increases the player’s chances of winning. The XTENSION LINK Volume 2 with its ten thrilling titles, Expanding Reels Feature and Free Games takes the player experience to new heights.
“This cabinet is the result of hard and innovative work that has addressed the needs of our distributors and operators in order to offer a versatile and attractive experience for their gaming establishments,” Jordi Pedragosa, Commercial Director of NOVOMATIC Spain, said.
Other new products on display were the ROYAL LINK, “The Royal Seal for Arcades”, which offers extraordinary quality and excellence for an attractive price, and the NOVO LINE POWER LINK GOLD, which has come to Spain with a revamped and enlarged collection of games. Within this diverse offer for arcades, more powerful models were showcased, such as IMPERA LINK Series 2, CASH CONNECTION Fusion, River Queen Roulette or CLOVER LINK Xtreme, the latter from APEX.
NOVOMATIC’s local subsidiary also presented a wide range of products, exuding a level of freshness and innovation that positively captivated visitors. The section dedicated to the bar segment saw versatility resonating throughout these two new launches: NOVO LINE Supra Cash, with its fascinating games library including three roulette titles and IMPERA Cash Fusion, where Progressive Jackpot titles are combined with IMPERA classics. The second edition of NOVO LINE Power Cash was also shown with a series of new titles. All these models were showcased in the Winner HD+ cabinet, an evolution that features the NV22 bill acceptor. The nearly 1400 m2 of floor space tailored to the company stood out for the excellent way in which the company’s innovative products were staged and presented. Lighting and other decorative elements, fused with cutting-edge technology, played an important role in capturing the attention of visitors, for whom there were plenty of gifts and activities to be enjoyed. Of all the stand’s events, the one that stood out was the “Beat the Champ” event by Chris Mark, world table soccer champion, with whom guests could battle in an exciting duel.
Bernhard Teuchmann, Managing Director of the Product and Technology Division, said: “Participating once again in FIJMA has been a unique experience that has given us the opportunity to strengthen relationships with our customers and show our commitment to innovation. Our most sincere thanks go to all those who worked on preparing and attending this event with the same passion and responsibility that form the essence of who we are.”
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Industry News
CogniPlay Launches New Social Casino Platform
CogniPlay has launched its new software product, which aims to provide a robust online sweepstakes or social gaming platform to its clients. The system is designed to be modular, allowing customers to tailor their brand and offering to what they believe will give them optimal performance.
The CogniPlay system has several key integrations which help to deliver the product, including games integrations with the likes of Pragmatic Play, BetSoft, Mascot Gaming and many more, giving them 100s of games for their clients. There are other integration options for their customers to pick from too, including affiliate programme software, CRM platforms and associated products, KYC, ID verification, Geo-IP systems, Gamification and customer support.
They also have a very long and extensive development pipeline which will see the product offering develop at pace, giving clients an extensive list of options and USPs, and of course giving players a great user experience as a result.
As well as the platform itself the CogniPlay team, due to their considerable experience, also offer a whole host of managed services, with almost a menu that clients can choose from to fill any gaps in their own skillsets or experience.
CogniPlay’s Chief Executive Officer Allan Turner said: “We are very proud to take the CogniPlay product to market and are excited that people who want to start a new social or sweeps brand can get in touch with us to see what we can do for them, or in fact established brands that are unhappy with their existing provider.
“Our underlying principles are that we want to provide the most flexible platform in the space, to enable our clients to create the product they want to have, not for us to dictate the product to them. The two other main areas of focus are that we want to be the most future-proof product on the market with plans for any regulatory or legal changes that may arise in the future, and that we have all the right safeguards in place to ensure that we look after both our clients and players with our responsible gaming setup. This of course means having the right tech and processes in the key areas of KYC, Geo-IP tech, anti-money laundering, fraud, risk assessment and ID verification.”
The post CogniPlay Launches New Social Casino Platform appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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