National Football League is already no stranger to virtual reality tech as the Dallas Cowboys are already using it for training as of last year. Today, VR made another huge statement about how it doesn’t just have a huge entertainment potential after the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Tampa Bay Rays announced that it has started using this technology for batting practice. More specifically, the team has purchased the so-called iCube simulator from EON Sports VR and has started putting its players into virtual batting cages in order for them to practice their swinging skills.
Tamba Bay Rays’ coaches claim that they’re particularly fond of this method because it’s less physically wearing on an individual than the good old actual batting cage. Not only that but the method actually allows the players to basically have better training partners. The iCube simulator has no problem mimicking throws of some the best pitchers in MLB, for example. Imagine practicing batting with the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, or Felix Hernandez. Not a bad test of one’s skills, right? Brendan Reilly, the CEO of EON Sports VR admitted that “nothing can replace the at-bat experience” one has in a real game or during a “real” training session, but is quick to point that his company’s technology “enables players to maximize repetitions and their performance in the batters’ box.” Basically, Reilly doesn’t believe virtual reality tech will replace actual training any time soon, but is convinced that his company’s product is still an invaluable asset for any team “looking to gain a competitive edge against their opponents.”
It’s worth noting that EON Sports VR doesn’t plan on stopping on simply offering virtual batting cages, but is for now almost exclusively focused on expanding the client base with their existing products. As Reilly revealed, the short-term goal of the American company is to bring its virtual simulator to as many MLB teams as possible, and after that, who knows? In any case, if you’re interested in seeing how the iCube simulator works in practice, you can do so by checking out the video below in which Troy Tulowitzki and Jason Giambi delve into the technology described above. Apart from sports and entertainment, we’ve also recently seen a pretty neat implementation of VR into the world of interior design.