How can new technology enhance the stadium experience?

– Pascal Vuilliomenet, EPFL department of innovation and technology transfer
Professionals involved in the development of sporting arenas should investigate the merits of technology such as augmented reality and virtual reality in terms of how they could enhance the spectator experience.
That is the view of Pascal Vuilliomenet, vice president for innovation and technology transfer at the EPFL Research institute in Switzerland and co-curator of the Olympic Museum’s new exhibition on past, present and future stadium design.
"We can project ourselves in the future and see how technology can enhance new experiences for spectators,” Vuilliomenet told CLAD. “Something that will always remain is the evolution that being in a stadium creates from feeling like one single person to part of a crowd. Together, by sharing an event you will experience things that you cannot experience alone in front of the TV.
“The magic of the situation is supported by the stadium itself and everybody who’s been in a stadium knows this unique feeling. I believe new technology can be used to make this shared experience even stronger.”
Technologies ready to be used include augmented reality, virtual reality and smartphones – which can provide information and statistics about the on-field action, allow people to share their feelings with other fans, and give them access to different camera angles in real time.
“Take an Olympic stadium as an example,” he said. “You may be watching the athletics and you’re sitting in front of the pole vault but you’re also interested in the 100 metres taking place on the other side of the stadium. With a smartphone, you can watch from a second site. You get to both be inside the stadium and feel the atmosphere, while getting a better view through a screen.”
To give people at home or in fan zones a taste of the immersive stadium experience, he suggested both 360 degree cameras and augmented reality (AR) projections could be used to enhance the feeling of watching live sport at the same time as thousands of others inside a sporting venue.
Such technology has been developed by Microsoft, whose HoloLens – described by the company as the “world’s first fully untethered holographic computer” – has been set up to allow users to watch US National Football League matches as 3D holograms rather than on a screen, as well as projecting displays, players stats and instant replays.
“This is not science fiction,” Vuilliomenet said. “These technologies are all in the labs and ready to be implemented. The types of experience just have to be developed.
“For example, AR promises a lot in this area and has been there for a while. The question is how do we implement it to create a real stadium experience. We need to start a discussion about what we’ll do, how we’ll do it, and who we’ll do it for.
“Some people want to go to the stadium just for the live experience, and aren’t that interested, but another group want to receive information about the match in a different way. We can develop lots of new experiences for this subset of people that channel the joy and jubilation of the watching sport in a stadium.”
Vuilliomenet’s Olympic Museum exhibition, called Stadiums: Past and Future, focuses on the design and engineering of Olympic stadiums from the Olympia in Ancient Greece to the prospective venues of future Games.
Stadium design new technology sports architecture HoloLens Olympic stadiums architecture futureAugmented reality market to be worth three times as much as virtual reality by 2020, says report
'World's most technologically advanced stadium tour' debuts at Wembley
Microsoft adapts augmented reality for sports market


Bjarke Ingels-designed Oakland baseball stadium a step closer

London's Battersea Power Station prepares for major launch

Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hilderbrand reveal US$250m redevelopment for Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia

Baca Architects submits scheme for floating eco-wellness resort

MVRDV reveal ambitious plans to create Marble Arch visitor attraction for London

Coventry's former IKEA building slated to become arts and cultural centre of international importance

World's first entirely wooden stadium approved for use by EFL

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter and ASP Architecture create hidden nature retreat inspired by hygge and Nordic hospitality

Zaha Hadid’s Opus building houses spa designed by The Wellness

Meow Wolf creates mind-blowing Las Vegas attraction – Omega Mart

BRC selected to design new World Food Center – will explore sustainability and global food supply

Ritz-Carlton Reserve opens with luxury spa at Japanese alpine ski resort

Scott Brownrigg-designed Museum of Military Medicine in Cardiff given planning approval

Work starts on US$898m e-sports arena in Shanghai

Gyms added to the mix for new super-luxe retail roll-out

OMA designs Miami Beach's ReefLine – a seven mile-long underwater sculpture park

Ole Scheeren and Shigeru Ban team up to design art and cultural destination in Hangzhou

FIFA files criminal complaint over funding of €459m world football museum

ReardonSmith leads design of Heya – a hotel room concept offering personalisation for each guest

Disney reveals first visuals of ambitious Star Wars attraction – including designs for hotel 'pods'

Flaxmill Maltings – the world's first cast-iron framed building – is to be redeveloped as a visitor attraction by Mather & Co

LVMH announces Bulgari Hotel for Miami Beach, with design by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel

Technogym opens retail store in Los Angeles

AZPML and UKST win competition to design Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture

Delos partners with TPP Capital to advance access to health and wellbeing solutions in urban communities

The Well creates integrated wellness retreat in New England countryside for Auberge Resorts

Architects 10 Design reveal plans for ambitious Edinburgh city centre plans

Perth's Boola Bardip museum opens in new AU$400m building designed by Hassell and OMA

UK Government's £1bn scheme to decarbonise is 'a huge opportunity' for the leisure industries

Museum devoted to the history of the US Army opens its doors
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates