A few Sacramento Kings players will be wearing Google Glass on January 24, 2014 when the team takes on the Indiana Pacers. No, players will not be wearing Google Glass on the court. Instead, they’ll be donning Google’s wearable computers while they’re on the bench (likely sobbing from getting trounced by the team with the best record in the NBA). Fans will be able to get a first-person view of what it’s like to be an NBA player (that’s getting trounced by the team with the best record in the NBA). Here’s from from PC Magazine:
Some Kings players will don Google Glass and use technology from CrowdOptic to broadcast exactly what they’re seeing as part of the NBA game experience to the Jumbotron of the Sleep Train Arena, as well as those viewing on smartphones or televisions. Also included in the broadcasting mix are the game’s announcers, the Kings’ mascot, and the team’s dancers.
Some of you are probably wondering, “Why the hell would Google and CrowdOptic use one of the crappiest teams in the league to promote Google Glass applications?” That’s a fair question. Just keep in mind that the Sacramento Kings are owned by a group that’s headed up by Vivek Ranadive. The man has made millions in Silicon Valley, most recently at TIBCO Software in Palo Alto. Google is based in nearby Mountain View, while CrowdOptic is just a bit north in San Francisco. I’m pretty sure it’s a case of awesome nerds banding together to do awesomely nerdy things. That or they just want to make the jocks look silly by forcing them to wear Google Glass.
Anyway, check out the trailer below to see what the Google Glass Sacramento Kings experience will be like. After that, let me know what you think of this nerdy sports experiment. Are there any athletes or sports teams you’d like to see wearing Google Glass?
