The UK soccer team Manchester United owners say they want to put augmented reality (AR) cameras on their top players. The technology would allow fans to experience a match through the eyes of their favourite players. For a fee, of course.

The Glazers, who own the football club, reportedly want international fans to be able to “pay to be Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes for 90 minutes”.

Sports are often huge early adopters of new technology, and the potential for offering viewers unique perspectives is enormous with both augmented and virtual reality (VR).

Football team Aston Villa already pioneered the wearing of body cams by players, allowing a first-person perspective of the game.

Similarly, Canon has been researching and experimenting with VR for sports stadiums. The technology consists of a network of several cameras placed around the stadium, which then maps the entire space. Viewers can feel as though they are on the field with the players and even switch their points of view around the stadium.

Presumably, an AR version would allow viewers to reveal interesting facts about the players, switch their point of view from player to player, or follow the ball.

The release of the Apple Vision Pro this month will surely fuel greater public interest in these experiences. Sports and entertainment are the ideal genres to explore AR and VR possibilities further.

The future is already here.

[via the daily mail]