Top-flight sports is slowly returning to empty stadiums. But not necessarily, noiseless stadiums.
At the EPL, this is the situation. Elsewhere, things are looking to get even better.
Music instruments major Yamaha Corporation has rolled out remote cheering system --- ‘Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD’ --- to enable remote cheering for 26 football clubs at Japanese soccer league matches across three divisions.
The ‘Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD’ app, which is still in testing stage, is connected to 58 speakers around the stadium and more or less re-creates the atmosphere of a normal match.
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This is how it works
The app, basically, plays out fans’ claps, cheers, jeers and chants loud into the stadium
Remote Cheerer allows users to tap ‘support buttons’ via a mobile site as matches unfold, playing back their remotely triggered cheers and applause through speakers set up at the stadiums.
Most sports analysts feel that this could be the future as social distancing seems set to continue as the norm and crowded places are shunned.
The app's effect is being experienced from July 4 at the Japanese soccer league matches where 26 different football clubs are using the system at selected matches.
Fans from afar
As it happens, the app was originally conceived keeping in mind hospitalised children, the disabled and elderly. Quite evidently, it was thought up to help football supporters unable to attend matches at stadiums, allowing them to cheer together with supporters at the stadium and having their support reach stadiums.
“The shouts of the fans are an essential element of the match atmosphere,” said Junpei Takaki, from the sales division of soccer club S-Pulse.
Yuki Seto, SoundUD Group, Cloud Business Department, Yamaha Corporation, has said: “We are working to promote this system as a means of delivering cheering and fan support in a wide variety of situations. This includes not only spectatorless matches, but also matches with reduced spectator seating or where shouting is not possible, as well as accommodating fans who can’t attend matches. We look forward to continuing to work with not only league, club, and stadium personnel, but also with players, supporters and fans as well in order to further improve the system and service."
The system is available for iOS, Android, Google Chrome and Safari users.
Future of sports could be tech
The word from Japanese matches suggest that the app has been mostly successful and the response has been positive. Hence, a bigger rollout of the app is likely.
The use of technology for sports coverage is only starting, and it is said that with multiple cameras installed in stadiums, virtual reality video technology could allow spectators at home to control how they watch a match.
When the NBA restarts its postponed season later this month, similar technologies could boost the home viewer experience.
Source: Yamaha.
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