Intel just bought Replay Technologies, an Israeli startup whose 3D video products are used for immersive sports TV highlights and which could help Intel become a player in the nascent augment reality market.
The specifics of the deal, which Intel announced on its blog on Wednesday, were not disclosed, but according to the Israeli business publication Globes, it will cost Intel about $175 million to acquire Replay.
Replay Technologies may not be a household name, but it’s been making waves around sports circles with its 360-degree rotating video highlights. Last month, basketball fans got a taste of it when its video technology, in partnership with Intel, was featured in the NBA All Star Game, where it basically gave a Matrix-style, rotating replay of some of the highlights.
Here’s how it works:
28 ultra-high definition cameras & the @NBA leads to unparalleled views into #NBAAllStarTOpic.twitter.com/Vd8EWW1HHN
— Intel (@intel) February 17, 2016
Intel has been expanding its presence in the sports industry with new broadcasting technologies. Aside from its partnership with Replay, Intel has also partnered with the recent Winter X Games to promote its Curie chips, which helped display real-time data of some of the athletes.
But the bigger ambition may be in making broader in-roads in the augmented reality space, an area that many believe to be the next big thing. Augmented reality overlays digital objects onto the real-world environment that a user sees. It’s different from virtual reality which puts the user in a completely virtual space, blocked off from reality. In fact, just last week, it was reported that Intel’s working on its own augmented reality headsets.
Here’s an explainer of how the technology works:
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