Telefónica and Atlético de Madrid use 5G and VR to watch the games

The pilot experience is carried out by Telefónica y Atlético de Madrid allows you to enjoy the game from different angles thanks to tablets or VR glasses Meta Quest Pro that receive through 5G the images captured by four 360º cameras.

Telefónica and Atlético de Madrid have implemented a new immersive way to enjoy matches 5G y virtual reality, a pioneering pilot experience in the field of football that has been developed in the Metropolitan Cívitas, a stadium that thus strengthens its technological features.

The experience allows you to enjoy the game from different angles thanks to tablets or VR glasses Meta Quest Pro that receive through 5G the images captured in real time by four 360º cameras located at various points on the field, combined with the HD image of the match and the SkyCam.

With this development, The fan will be able to adopt the perspective of the north goal of the Atlético de Madrid field, the one in the locker room tunnel area that leads to the field, the one in the control room for the stadium show or the one in the stands where the media are located.

Besides, Three pre-recorded scenes with 360º cameras will be available to fans that capture the moment in which the shirts are put on in the locker room., the light show in which the local lineup is announced or the atmosphere that was experienced in the stands before the match in which the Club celebrated its 120 birthday.

One of the great challenges of the project has been real-time visualization. Since the experience is enjoyed from the Cívitas Metropolitano stadium itself, It is necessary that the participants can see and hear the goals at the same time as the spectators. To make it possible, has been achieved in less than 500 milliseconds to send video from the 360º camera to its processing in the cloud and subsequent visualization in the VR glasses.

Several technologies have been used in this innovative way of watching a football match.. On the one hand, 5G and its capabilities (low latency, higher speed, increase in connected devices…) allow the transmission to VR glasses of a large stream of 4K quality video at high speed with minimal latency.

In addition, Fiber optics are essential to send these video streams 12 Gpbs from 360º cameras to the server. The immersive experience is completed with the computation and combination of video streams in the cloud.

In this pilot project Telefónica has worked with mSurgery, a leading start-up in virtual reality and high-quality video distribution in real time.

“This immersive experience has been a technological challenge with which we sought for the fan to enjoy football in an innovative way.. The joint work with Atleti Lab -the Club's innovation division-, in a stadium at the cutting edge of technology like the Cívitas Metropolitano, has been fundamental to developing this experience. “The capabilities of the latest technologies such as 5G and connectivity have been used to pave the way for a different way of enjoying sport that puts the fan at the center of the experience.”, Leonor Ostos stands out, Innovation Manager at Telefónica Spain.

For your part, Alejandro Ugarrio, director of Atleti Lab, the innovation division of Atlético de Madrid, and deputy director of Marketing and Digital Development points out: “The challenge we set ourselves with Telefónica was to demonstrate how 5G can elevate the fan experience during match day.”. We thought it would be very attractive to place cameras in new spaces that would provide unprecedented perspectives of the stadium. With the launch of this project we continue to focus on technology as a vehicle to offer differential experiences to our fans.".