The new spectator experience realized at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games won the Award of Excellence at the 6th Annual HAGURA Awards.

NTT took on the challenge of re-creating a new sports viewing experience for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, using the ultra-realistic communication technology Kirari! This effort was highly evaluated at the 6th HAGURA Awards, sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Utilization of Advanced Expressive Technology, and received the Award for Excellence.

The HAGURA Award is for works utilizing cutting-edge expression technologies such as 3D stereoscopic images, holography, and VR. NTT has been working to create an experience that makes people feel as if they are at the game even when they are far away from the action. NTT has re-created the experience of watching a match from a distance, as if you were at the match site, in sailing, badminton, and marathon. In the sailing event, NTT used 5G to transmit real-time images of the competition to a 55-meter wide vision screen over the ocean. The experience was like watching a race from a particular seat on a cruise ship. In the badminton competition, only the players and shuttles were extracted from the competition video and displayed holographically on a full-scale reproduction of a remote court. The game's realism was conveyed directly to the audience, providing an experience as if they were actually watching the game at the venue. We connected the competition venue (Sapporo) and the cheering venue (Tokyo) for the marathon race via ultra-low latency. Until now, latency has been an issue. We have reduced delays to as close to zero as possible. We have provided a spectator experience that creates a sense of togetherness even at a distance.

The organization gave the award in recognition of our efforts to provide a sense of realism through communication technology, even in remote locations.

Sailing] 55m ultra-wide display floating on the ocean

Badminton] Holographic display environment of players and shuttles on a full-scale reproduction of a court.

Marathon] Display connected by ultra-low latency communication

Award-winning Achievements

Creation of a new spectator experience for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

(Reference) The 6th HAGURA Award Winning Results
https://soatassoc.org/hagura

(Reference) Value of new spectator experience at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Sailing] NTT floated a huge ultra-wide image on the sea during a live broadcast of a sailing competition using 5G. We fused the images, sky, and sea to provide a sense of presence as if the entire space had warped.

NTT release: https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2021/07/01/210701a.html

Badminton: For live coverage, images of players and shuttles transmitted from the competition site are projected holographically onto a full-size court reproduced at a remote location. It is as if the players are competing in front of your eyes.

NTT release: https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2021/07/29/210729a.html

Marathon] We have reduced latency in our marathon coverage. With a regular network, even if a remote supporter sees a video of the runners and cheers for them, their joy will not reach the runners. This is because the runner has already run too fast. We have reduced the delay to as close to zero as possible. As a result, we provided a sense of presence in Tokyo, as if runners were running right in front of us. In Sapporo, we made the spectators feel like they were standing along the roadside, cheering for the runners.

NTT release: https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2021/08/07/210807a.html