Ginza Sony Park is collaborating with the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM) to host the fourth installment of its experimental program, "#004 Future Ginza Sports Day," based on the concept of an "ever-changing park." The program will run from December 22 to January 27, 2019, at PARK B2 on the second basement floor.


In recent years, the introduction of media technologies such as AR (augmented reality) and real-time analysis has been accelerated in sports, and in professional sports, real-time analysis of game situations, improved training efficiency, detailed judgments that are beyond the human eye, and game broadcasts incorporating AR technology have become a reality. This current situation is leading to the advancement of sports, such as the improvement of athletes' physical abilities and adaptability, while also changing people's perspectives on sports. Our collaborator, the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), an arts center in Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, has been promoting the research and development project "YCAM Sports Research" since 2015. Focusing on the "modifiability" of media technology, the project explores ways to create and enjoy "new sports" using this technology in collaboration with external sports and technology organizations, while also creating a platform for this purpose. This event will be held at Ginza Sony Park, which, under the concept of an "ever-changing park," offers a variety of experiential events and live performances throughout the year, offering a surprising and playful experience. Leveraging the results of YCAM's past efforts to pioneer new ways to enjoy sports centered on media technology, the event will be a new "winter sports day" open to everyone.

Photographer: Ryohei Tomita, photo courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] 
For this event, Japan was divided into four areas: Hokkaido/Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu/Kinki, and Chugoku/Shikoku/Kyushu/Okinawa, with participants competing against each other based on their region of origin.
The "Sports Time Machine" is a sport in which past running records are projected as shadows onto a screen, allowing participants to run against each other in footraces. Participants can choose to challenge not only their own records, but also those of family, friends, or even animals like cheetahs and kangaroos. Running records are saved as 3D data, allowing someone in the future to take on the challenge again. This new sport creates physical communication across the past, present, and future through "recording." In the "Mo-Cap Ground," participants are treated as paintbrushes, painting their own movements with color. Participants can skillfully control the area of the paint spread with their own movements and try out several different sports.

Photo courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]

On January 13, a "Sports Hackathon" workshop was held for fourth-graders and above. This intensive workshop utilized media technology to realize new sports ideas, and participants used the "Mo-Cap Ground" set up at the venue to playfully create sports. Ideas generated during the workshop will be added as new sports. Participation is free, and details on how to participate will be announced on the Ginza Sony Park website (https://www.ginzasonypark.jp/release/20181210/) at a later date.

Also on display at the venue are panels introducing a variety of activities and their background, such as an exhibition of sports equipment developed by YCAM to date and programs born in collaboration with school education. Guests can also experience a demo of "Parallel Eyes," a viewpoint-swapping game of tag jointly developed in 2015 by YCAM and researcher Shunichi Kasahara of Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL).

Photography: Miyatake Takayuki, Photo courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]
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In the cold season when opportunities to get active are few, why not try a new experience by taking part in a new sports day held underground in Ginza?