Korean Baseball Team Builds Robots To Cheer For Them During Matches
@satya-swaroop-YDeBJM
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Oct 26, 2024
Oct 26, 2024
3.2K
Hanwha Eagles, a Korean baseball team has been going through tough times. The team which has lost 400 matches in the past five years finds it difficult to get spectators to watch their games. So in order to boost the morale of the team and attract fans, the team has decided to build robots to act as stand-ins for fans. These fanbots can cheer, chant slogans and even perform a Mexican wave. The human fans of the team can also take control of the bots via internet. They can send messages for the team on their official website or via SMS. These messages are displayed on the LED panels which are attached to the arms of the fanbots. Since it would be quite creepy to have a faceless army of fans in the stadium, the Hanwha Eagles have fitted displays on the face of the robot on which fans are allowed to upload their self-portraits. To get a better understanding of the fanbots, play the video embedded below the picture.
On the onset it might seem like a sad story of a struggling team who is employing a bunch of robots to cheer the team due to lack of fandom but the idea of cheering robots has its advantages. The cheering robots help the audience at home to get involved in the game. The team says that fans have uploaded over 87,000 messages on fanbots. The robots also encourage the fans present at the stadium to cheer for team. The cheering robot fans are never likely to get rowdy and interrupt the matches or destroy the stadium property. We think that this idea can be improved by adding a camera to the robot. This front facing camera will allow fans to have a first-person view of the game. If they manage to incorporate 3D, the fans will get a more immersive experience on the web.
What are your views on this development? Do you think that this idea has got a future or it shall remain a one-off example? Let us know in the comment section below.
Source: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28484536" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Cheering robots replace real fans at Korean baseball - BBC News</a>
On the onset it might seem like a sad story of a struggling team who is employing a bunch of robots to cheer the team due to lack of fandom but the idea of cheering robots has its advantages. The cheering robots help the audience at home to get involved in the game. The team says that fans have uploaded over 87,000 messages on fanbots. The robots also encourage the fans present at the stadium to cheer for team. The cheering robot fans are never likely to get rowdy and interrupt the matches or destroy the stadium property. We think that this idea can be improved by adding a camera to the robot. This front facing camera will allow fans to have a first-person view of the game. If they manage to incorporate 3D, the fans will get a more immersive experience on the web.
What are your views on this development? Do you think that this idea has got a future or it shall remain a one-off example? Let us know in the comment section below.
Source: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28484536" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Cheering robots replace real fans at Korean baseball - BBC News</a>
