The Australian Open might look a little different this year if you stream it live on YouTube. That's because the tournament has put an animated overlay in some of their matches to avoid broadcast license conflicts, which makes the players look very similar Wii Sports characters, As previously reported by the guardian.
Animated players follow the same movements as their real-life counterparts as they travel around a cartoon-like court, while the “hitting” of the ball, crowd chatter, and commentary remain authentic. But the animations aren't perfect, as the players' sneakers appear to get caught on the court at some points, while Naomi Osaka's animated jersey looked torn during her match against Caroline Garcia.
With animated live streams, the Australian Open can stream its games on YouTube without running afoul of the streaming deals it sold to networks and streaming services around the world, according to the guardian.
The technology, which the Australian Open first introduced last year, uses 12 cameras to “process the silhouette of the human in real time and stitch it together at 29 points on the skeleton,” said Machar Reid, Tennis Australia's chief innovation officer. the organization behind the tournament, said the guardian. “It's not as perfect as it could be (we don't have fingers), but over time you can start to imagine a world where that happens.”
Using sensor information, Australian Open systems can create an animated version of live events with a two-minute delay.
