THE V-FAB
EXPERIENCE
BRINGING BACK
SPECTACLE AND ENERGY
TO LIVE SPORTS
As fans around the world hunger for the relaunch of live sports, SMT responds with V-FAB, a virtual platform that reignites the energy and excitement of cheering crowds while offering sponsors new ways of blasting brands and messages to consumers.
WE ARE
GAME CHANGERS
SMT has been serving the sports industry since 1985, with a focus on data visualization. Our experience is unsurpassed. The Yellow 1st & Ten line. The PITCHf/x virtual strike zone. NASCAR’s GhostCar . That’s all SMT. Our goal is to be a valued partner, sharing ideas and concepts that have been successful in the broader sports marketplace.
®
®
®
Play Show Reel
EMPOWERING CLIENTS WITH
VIRTUAL SOLUTIONS
SMT’s Virtual Fans, Ads and Brands (V-FAB) system infuses broadcasts with the high energy of virtual fans in the stands, while empowering sponsors and advertisers with in-game, geographically targeted virtual ads and messaging.
THREE CHEERS
FOR FANS
of respondents want sports to return even without fans in attendance
65
%
plan to watch as much sports as possible
88
%
ESPN CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN
FAN STUDY
April 2020
PARADIGM
SHIFTED
SMT shifted our R&D to find innovative ways to provide fans with the familiar comfort of cheering spectators in the stands, developing virtual opportunities that also include team logos, sponsored billboards, and animated on-field graphics.
PRIOR TO FIRST USE
-
Ingest 3D model
-
Choose V-FAB camera set
-
Enumerate set of Scene Target Areas
-
Ingest and maintain art asset library
-
Team-related assets (i.e., logos, artwork, color palettes)
-
Static sponsor/brand signage
-
Animating ads, brands, promos, mp4s
-
HOW WE DO IT
COMPUTER VISION
AND AI PROCESSING
SMT’s V-FAB system uses computer vision and AI processing to:
-
Recognize and track visible fiducials* in a V-FAB camera's field-of-view
-
Constantly calculate the V-FAB camera’s position in 3D space relative to the changing image in each new video frame.
* A fiducial is a known point in real space that a V-FAB camera uses as an image-processing reference point and visual anchor. Examples include painted lines on the pitch grass, or 3D scanned and modeled areas of the stadium.
The V-FAB rendering application uses the V-FAB camera’s POV tracking data, the 3D model of the venue, and a library of user-selected content to virtually insert video and animating graphical content into the video scene.
Cameras that run V-FAB are chosen by the broadcast producer from the set of existing cameras covering that sporting event. Some cameras are perfect for V-FAB; however, not all on-site cameras can run or should attempt to run V-FAB. Important limitations must be understood by the broadcast producer.
CAMERA SPECS
FAQs