[28 September 2017]
Astucemedia, leaders in bridging the gap between broadcast graphics, creative design and data integration, demonstrated its new Interactive and AR Football Module at IBC last week in Amsterdam as part of Vizrt’s Big AR Show.
IBC exhibition visitors were enthused by the power of Astucemedia’s data integration and AR capabilities and the striking enhancements it brings to live presentations. The demonstration offered a comprehensive overview of its AR Football Module and its ability to generate 3D player models, heat maps, and an animated formation projection which enables users to move the virtual players across the football pitch; all controlled from an interactive touchscreen. The web app management tool is designed specifically for the Astucemedia Data Platform server to manage all incoming football data feeds from data vendors. It is configured to ingest, manage, schedule, and publish all levels of football and/or soccer data.
Alexandre Leclerc, CEO of Astucemedia, says that the company is continuing to push the data visualization boundaries: “We are working with more data every day, for finance, sports, weather and social media. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) we can come up with predictions and trends, which lead to better visualizations and tell better stories, all supported by the data. Whether it is for broadcast or streaming, uses AR or VR; we have the tools to offer the best experiences possible and this was compounded by the brilliant reaction that our demo received from visitors to Vizrt’s stand at IBC.”
Astucemedia’s Data Platform’s robust, dependable API adapts data-driven graphics to any real-time broadcast, Web or mobile application, integrating real-time streams from multiple vendors of finance, social, sports, weather, news, and election data into a unified workflow.
The company’s graphics design and creative services team enables its customers, which include ABC News, FOX Sports, NBC Universal, CBC, TF1, TV5, Al Jazeera, Bahrain TV and other high-profile media and entertainment companies, to engage viewers by providing data-driven, interactive graphics, augmented reality, and channel branding.
Earlier this year, Astucemedia opened of its own Augmented and Virtual Reality lab in Montreal. The new lab serves as a development ground for interactive AR and VR experiences, not only for Astucemedia, but for its customers, partners and the wider media & entertainment community.
The lab is fully equipped with the latest technology: a large green screen, a broadcast camera with tracking on a jib, a multi-viewer and a switcher that each feed into the graphics system. Experiences that Astucemedia have created so far include a virtual set for a news program, including with augmented reality news elements, an AR sports presentation with 3D players, and event recreation experiences with interactive control.
“The purpose-built lab gives us a dedicated space to develop the most advanced content in a high-quality environment,” says Roger Banna, Astucemedia’s Creative Director. “Previously, we would need to test AR elements at a customer’s facility with all the associated equipment – we can now check how the interactive experience will work for the presenter, ensure the camera angles are correct, and that the overall story is truly enhanced by the augmented and virtual reality elements and make sure it is amazing before it’s delivered to the customer.”
For more information, please visit www.astucemedia.com.