LANZHOU, June 4 (Xinhua) -- After taking off her VR glasses, Yang Yan returned to reality. Several minutes ago, she felt like she was running at the 2019 Lanzhou International Marathon.
Yang lives in Lanzhou in northwest China and loves sports. In a local branch of China Mobile, wearing VR glasses and watching 4K HD video, she was able to experience the feeling of competing in the marathon.
In recent years, with the gradual commercialization of advanced technology like VR, 5G, 3D, and autostereoscopic 3D, sports fans are increasingly able to simulate their appearance on the highest stages.
"Wearing VR glasses, I felt as if I was at the marathon. VR and 5G are amazing!" Yang said.
Before the 2019 Lanzhou International Marathon began, China Mobile staff installed a 360-degree panoramic camera at the finishing line of the marathon, allowing users to transfer 4K HD video to VR devices.
"All the VR devices and 5G are so cool. It's quite a different experience," said Liu Xinhui, a marathon amateur from Wuwei City, in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Si Shujian, marketing director of the Lanzhou International Marathon organizing committee, told Xinhua that 5G and VR broadcasting of the marathon required an extremely stable network and high-tech requirements.
"This year, Lanzhou will be among China's first batch of 5G pre-commercial cities," said Wu Jun, general manager of the Planning Department from China Mobile's Gansu branch.
The trend towards simulation and interactivity in sporting events is not limited to China. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas, Alibaba and Intel announced that they were jointly developing an AI for tracking athletes that would be used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. This technology is able to capture the 3D form of athletes in training and competition.
