NTT Docomo Conducts Demonstration ‌Experiment to Broadcast‌ Real-Time Video Footage of Giants Games at Tokyo‍ Dome⁣ Using APN IOWN ⁤1.0

NTT ‍Docomo conducted ‌a demonstration ​experiment on September 18th ‌to broadcast real-time video footage of Giants games at ⁣Tokyo Dome using APN IOWN 1.0. The experiment was shown to the press⁣ as part of the company’s efforts‌ to realize a​ new way of watching professional baseball.

Docomo signed an official ⁤DX promotion partner‍ contract with the Yomiuri Shimbun ‌Tokyo​ Headquarters and the Yomiuri Giants in 2021. The⁢ company will begin considering new ways to watch professional baseball games using “IOWN” from October 2023. “IOWN” is a concept for a next-generation communications network centered on an all-photonics network of optical technology. It features ​high capacity and low latency, and various uses are being considered.

The demonstration experiment will utilize the features of IOWN to simultaneously transmit‍ multiple images from the ⁣site, including not only high-resolution broadcast images, but also free-viewpoint images using computer graphics and immersive images of the‌ spectator seats. By projecting images onto the floor and walls, an “immersive space” will be created, and it will be advertised as ⁣”an ⁤experience that makes you feel as if you are watching a game at ⁢the stadium.”

Technically, live footage ⁢of Giants games, including commentary and commentary, will be transmitted ‍via a different route than usual and projected in the center of the “immersive space” in near real time with little delay. In the⁢ demonstration experiment on the 18th, the⁣ footage of the spectators’ ⁢seats projected onto the walls and floor was a loop of archived footage, but this⁣ too is expected to be projected in real time from the venue.

Additionally, footage from a volumetric‍ video system consisting of 101 Canon cameras installed inside the Tokyo Dome will also be⁢ projected. This was verified by remote control, such as specifying the camera angle using a controller installed on the “immersive space” side, and switching⁢ between images.

This volumetric video (CG-based real-time game‍ footage) can also be viewed with VR goggles. Because it is CG-based, you can choose the viewpoint, and not only can ⁢you watch from the viewpoint of the spectators, but you can also watch from the same angle as the catcher, or even from a viewpoint close to the​ pitcher or infielders.

The First Step Towards a New Way of Watching Sports

Wakako Sakurai, Executive Officer⁤ and Head of⁢ Entertainment Platform Department at NTT Docomo’s ⁤Smart Life Company, ‌said⁤ that the company has been working to expand its fan base and⁢ enthusiasm in order to grow in the sports and entertainment sectors, and that utilizing digital assets will be important for the future of entertainment.

Sakurai said that the immersive space and experience provided by this demonstration experiment‍ is “the ⁣first step towards a new way of watching sports,” and⁢ expressed his enthusiasm that by combining it with Docomo’s FEEL⁤ TECH, “we will eventually​ be⁤ able to provide something that exceeds ​the actual experience of watching a game.”

Docomo has also invested in facilities such as the New National Stadium in ⁤Tokyo and ‌IG Arena in Nagoya, and will introduce this series of initiatives to these facilities, and will also consider new live viewing services.

Nishihara Kenji, head of the baseball ‌business department at the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo headquarters, said, “We can’t increase the number of spectator seats, but (the pilot project) has the potential to be a solution. We want people to experience the enthusiastic cheering at the stadium and even the sound of the players breathing. Docomo and the Giants’ collaboration ‍could deliver a new experience to all of Japan. We hope ⁢it will be a new​ step for the entire world of professional baseball.”