VR technology evolving by Sportflashback

2002. The Beginning

The developments in the area of 3D modelling, animation and creating interactive 3D graphics applications stimulate SportFlashback to invent something new in the field of sports visualisation. The idea of the Virtual Replays originates. The first virtual replays realised on Java platform.

Development of the Formula 1 race animation in VRML format. The animation represents the 3D models of the circuit and racing cars and allows viewing the race from about 20 different cameras and viewpoints and different speeds.

2004. First Virtual Replay

The launch of the first version of the Virtual Replays web application. The first Virtual Replays of all goals in EURO Cup 2004 are published on the first customer's website - BBC Sports.

2004. 3D Video

The next step in the development of 3D visualisation of sports by SportFlashback is video representing EURO Cup 2004. Thus is developed 3D animated video for television.

2005. Rugby Video

Creation of 3D rugby football. The set of virtual cameras provided on the virtual replays application interactive interface is enlarged: another aerial - "flying" camera soars over and around the hub of the incident.

2005. Athletics. Speed Skating.

Combined video and 3D animation illustrates athletes' individual skill and technique in such events as high jump, hurdles and javelin. Special graphics help analyse where and when an athlete could have done better and compare the results with other performances.

Virtual replays of Can Am International in speed skating. This application is also intended to provide analysis, graphically compare skaters' results such as distance and time at particular marks and in particular laps, and some useful information about this sport, equipment and techniques.

2005. National Football League

Development of 3D American football for NFL. Virtual replays of the most exciting plays.

2006. Ice Hockey

Development of 3D ice hockey. Creation of 3D models of players and a library of animations. This product finds its realisation in virtual replays of IIHF World Championships at a later stage.

2006. Soccer Media

Production of 3D animated football drills for GrassRootsCoaching. SportFlashback developed an application, consisting of an administration module with a 3D scene editor for inserting pauses and text description of some particular moves in a drill, and a 3D drill wiewer, integrated in the GrassRootsCoaching website for football coaches to use these drills in their training sessions.

2006. Webcast

Development of a brand new method of 3D visualisation of sports. Real-time webcast of ongoing sporting events.

Another new sport taken up. Virtual replays from the Ashes series and launch of the real-time webcast application of all Test, ODI and Twenty20 matches on Cricinfo website.

Development of a football webcasting application for SIC (Portugal).

2007. New 3D Engine

Adaptation of a new technology. Realisation of our applications on 3D engine GESA (Graphics Environment for Scripted Applications). This technology provides a much wider range of visually rich facilities with more interactivity and user-friendliness. It provides such effects as dynamic shadows, material shaders, lights effects and others that are not available on Shockwave. Also GESA based applications are much less memory consuming, faster, lighter and easier to use.

2008. Quality Upgrade of the Virtual Replays Application

The new Virtual Replays application has an easier-to-use and up-to-date user interface, new 3D models of the sporting venues and an improved library of animations. The new application is developed especially for EURO 2008

2008. New Models of Football Players

Upgrade of models and animations is continually carried out. Production of new football players and a number of textures recreating a bigger variety of ethnic property and individual features.

2009. Baseball

The collection of sports visualised in 3D keeps expanding. New models, new animations and a new sport get together. Created for The New York Times baseball video illustrates a new level of development of 3D graphics.

2009. Mobile Video

SportFlashback starts producing video clips for mobile devices. The virtual replays of goals are created immediately after the goal was scored in the real match. The in-house technology enables our team to create a replay in a few minutes so that the fans are able to download it while still at the venue.

2009. Special Graphical Effects

Usual set of graphics like lines and arrows is replaced by a new, rather siphisticated and nifty design. Dynamic highlighting players, fancy trails left behind by the ball, designated areas on the pitch of any shape are now used to illustrate certain elements in a 3D scene.

2009. Field Hockey

Field hockey enlarges the number of sports that SportFlashback has taken up. This product was developed especially for the Men's and Women's EuroHockey Nations Championships 2009 in The Netherlands.

2009. Improved Models

New models of athletes are now available for all sports we do. We now use a greater number of skin colours and improved gear and equipment.

2009. Quality And Quantity

In the space of time from 2004 to 2009 the productivity rate increased by four times, the quality having greatly improved.

2009. 3D Model Improvement

A qualitative leap in modelling. The images of spectators in the stands are now 3D models. The model of the stadium is enhanced with technical zones and security. Players now have all possible tints of skin and hairstyles from bald to Mohawk.

2010. Basketball

Our ambition and the main principle is to achieve the level of 3D animation in any sport so that it would be difficult to tell whether you are watching a live broadcast or a piece of work created by an artist. Basketball video is a 3D animation that only proves that this beautiful game can be very well presented in 3D.

2010. Library of Animations Enlarged

The library of animations for all kinds of sport increases day in day out. As sports become more and more ingenious our visualisation products have to keep abreast.

2010. New Webcasting Technology

Previously, real-time webcast of football displayed only the main events such as shots, goals, fouls, substitutions, free kicks and statistics. Now processing of data that provides continuous movements of players and the ball around the pitch allows visualising the whole match in real time in 3D.

2011. Horseracing

Previously, all sports reproduced by SportFlashback included models and animations of human athletes. Equestrian sport is a new challenge. Galloping horses, jockeys' seat and taking obstacles have to look really lifelike.

2012. New HTML5 Video-based Player

The quick expansion of mobile devices use for internet browsing and decrease of applications traffic requirement allow us to develop completely new approach to Virtual Replays player. All goals of the UEFA Euro 2012 from group tournaments to the final can be viewed with the application of the next generation.

The 3D animated virtual replays of the goals are presented as an interactive streaming video. With the Flash or HTML5 technologies these videos can be viewed both on the websites and mobile devices. No extra plug-ins or accessories are to be installed – just click and view.

The application offers the whole schedule of the championship and all goals with the brief information on the scorer and the time of the event in the match. The animation is repeated automatically from different angles allowing the user to switch between cameras or players' points of view at any time.

2013. CDN-based video

Accessibility is the key factor of the modern media. To provide blazing fast Virtual Replay delivery to end-users from now on we are serving them via CDN to any device.

2016. Native Android application.

Modern smartphones feature more memory and better CPU than desktop computers decade ago. Many 3D computer games were transferred to mobile devices. Sportflashback follows this trend and creates native Android application for interactive Virtual Replays.

Explore details of the famous goals with the tips of your fingers - just pan and slide and look around – watch the incident from any angle.

2016. Slowmotion effect.

In our continuous effort in improving Virtual Replay visual quality we added a "slowmotion" effect and display of speed and distance of a goal kick.

2017. 360 degree videos.

Look around and see what was behind the scorers back! Sportflashback provide 360 degrees videos of selected incidents. Imagine that there was GoPro Omni (tm) flying at the football field - we give you chance to see everything.

See demo video on YouTube - Werner Goal (Germany vs Chile 2-0) from Conferedations Cup 2017

Next Item