DUNEDIN TECHNOLOGY SHOWS WAY
Cuttingedge virtual reality technology developed by Dunedin company Animation Research Ltd is letting America’s Cup rivals Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA effectively get on board each other’s boats, writes Richard Gladwell of SailWorld.co
WITH challenger and defender intently going over their America’s Cup campaigns and trying to evaluate the other’s performances, there is a fair chance they will be looking at the latest content from a new 3D video application which takes them aboard their rival’s AC50 — sitting in the ‘‘shotgun seat’’.
Earlier in the 35th America’s Cup Regatta, race director Iain Murray confirmed the teams would have full access to a suite of performance data from their competitors.
That is expected to include content that Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand have recorded from an onboard camera stack to gather content for a new 3D video viewing experience.
The application is the latest development from New Zealandbased Animation Research Ltd, or ARL, which first made its mark 25 years ago with realtime graphic animation in the 1992 America’s Cup in San Diego.
That product, now Virtual Eye, while originally designed for the TV broadcast, has been extended into a multitude of platforms and devices from mobile phones to PC’s smart TV’s. ARL has used its market leader position to dominate the sports animation space — covering everything from gliding to cricket, motor racing and golf, as well as sailing.
On the ferry back to Hamilton, Bermuda, Ian Taylor, ARL’s CEO gave me a quick look at 360VR (it lasted for the 20minute ride).
It runs off a mobile phone attached to a Samsung Gear Virtual Reality Headset (cost under $100) and provides a stunning 360deg view of what it is like to sail aboard an AC50, sitting in the centre of the wingsailed catamaran close to the aft crossbeam.
In March 2013, I sat in the same position aboard Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC72 as it did some runs in 25knot winds in the Hauraki Gulf.
That AC72 experience was the ideal vantage point to compare what really does happen on board an AC50 in an America’s Cup Race.
This 3D video clip came from Emirates Team New Zealand’s Louis Vuitton semifinal race against Land Rover BAR — when the Kiwis had an issue with their port daggerboard and handed the Brits a 26sec advantage at the start of the race.
With the daggerboard now functioning, you can hear Peter Burling say to his crew ‘‘OK guys, let’s go run ’em down, shall we?’’. And your AC50 ride begins.
Initially one stares straight ahead as you would in a normal movie, then as you turn slightly to the left (or port) you can see Ainslie in the distance about to turn and go around mark 1, in a shower of spray.
Look to your right, and you can see the four cyclors, with skipper and wingsail trimmer Glenn Ashby, tucked in behind, and with helmsman Peter Burling behind Ashby, looking as if he is out for a Sunday drive in the family jalopy.
Look to the left/port and Ainslie has rounded mark 1 and is heading down to mark 2.
Then the 3D video sequence jumps to part of the windward beat as a tacking duel starts between the two AC50s crossing in front and behind each other.
So you start looking to port and starboard to see whether you are catching the Brits.
Next, you have to turn and look over your shoulder to see them behind, as the chaser becomes the chased.
That’s what the 360VR viewer will be able to see — and with the opportunity to pick which boat they want to be aboard, using content from eight cameras per boat. For an America’s Cup race, video will be collected and processed from 16 cameras to show the race unfolding.
With the finals series set to resume, what will Oracle Team USA be able to see when they jump aboard the New Zealand Challenger and series leader?
Looking at the cyclors, Blair Tuke is mainly working on the daggerboard controls, with his head down while the three ahead of him do most of the most of the work. That will probably tell Oracle the Kiwis are capable of generating more power than they need.
Wingsail trimmer Glen Ashby is much the same, but below Tuke — again playing the switches and controls.
There is little conversation in the boat save for a countdown to the start of a tack, gybe or mark rounding.
The 360VR camera pack consists of eight GoPro’s — with one looking up, two looking down and five covering a 360deg horizontal radius. The prototype was built about a year ago, using a 3D printer in a basement at ARL’s Dunedin offices.
Having followed a few tacks and gybes, the next thing is to start looking at how the AC50 is being sailed from a technical perspective.
The most surprising feature is how much the bottom of the wing sail is being trimmed in and out.
From the photo boat, where I have been every day of the regatta, the bottom of the wingsail hardly seems to move and looks to be sheeted near central up wind and down.
But when you are on board you can see the bottom part of the wingsail is moving a lot and it is constantly moving, using the hydraulic power generated by the cyclors.
Then I looked up the rig, which was always one of the lasting memories from the time on the AC72.
The AC50 wingsail looks very flat in comparison, but clearly, the adjustments being tweaked by Ashby can be seen in the middle and top of the wing.
One disadvantage of being in the ‘‘shotgun seat’’ is that it is very wet. While I didn’t experience a big splashdown that are a key moment for cup photographers, a lot of water seems to be coming through the centre of the trampoline, which was also the case on the AC72.
But if you look out at the crew while you are getting soaked, they are missing the dousing and pedalling hard.
A tap on the shoulder and my AC50 ride is over.
There is no doubt that 360VR is a gamechanger, for the coverage of sailing especially, the reason being that the platform of the catamaran is sufficiently wide to give a realistic view out to either side of the boat, rather than just looking straight into the water passing by. Look to your right, and there is the crew working away in the starboard cockpits.
Look to your left, and there are the empty cockpits in the leeward hull.
When the crew tack or gybe the AC50 they run across the trampoline in front of you. You can see how Peter Burling reaches out to grab the slack wingsail sheet as he crosses. And if you look carefully you can see Glenn Ashby reach behind him to put a hand briefly on the AC50 wheel to keep control as the helmsman crosses the platform.
Of course, the next challenge will be to get 360VR to run in realtime — yes, live. So instead of watching from afar, you will experience the race yourself, as it is happening on the Great Sound.
It does not take too much imagination to realise how 360VR would look like in an event like the Volvo Ocean Race, when sailing fans can experience a ride through the Southern Ocean for themselves.
And yes, you will be excused for wearing your wetweather gear!