MLB To Add AR To Mobile App
Major League Baseball (MLB) is set to introduce augmented reality (AR) into its live statistics app, which will overlay three-dimensional graphics on top of real-life views.
MLB demonstrated the prototype at a San Francisco Giant same last week and plans to roll-out into its At Bat app by 2018.
Using Apple’s ARKit augmented reality platform, the new app will allow ballpark attendees to point their iPhone and iPad at the field and get real-time information about the players, their statistics and other relevant numbers.
In addition to the batter-pitcher matchups, users will be able to see a graphic indicating how big a lead a runner is taking off a base and in what instances he might be most successful stealing. The app will also provide information on fielders’ range and show the gaps in defensive alignments that may be fertile ground for hits.
The real-time information will be relayed by Statcast, MLB’s in-house analytics tool, and will be available in all 30 MLB ballparks. Beyond the basic information like a pitcher’s Earned Runs In or a batter’s home run statistics, Statcast will relay advanced statistics known as sabermetrics and other minutiae, such as launch angle and exit velocity for batted balls.
“We want this to be fun for fans in the stands, to tell them something new about the game they can’t see on the scoreboard or have to search hard for,” said Chad Evans, a mobile product executive with MLB Advanced Media, to CNET.
