Nike has created a LED playing surface for a basketball court in Shanghai, China, that uses motion-sensors and reactive visualization to help train players.
The court is called the ‘House of Mamba’ after basketball star Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant, and was created in collaboration with AKQA, Rhizomatiks and WiSpark as part of the Nike 'Rise' basketball contest and reality show.
Over one thousand 60cm x 60cm interlaced LED screens sit on top of the court's wooden base, covered by a layer of thick glass and an adhesive basketball surface that provides bounce and grip.
The screens display a variety of graphics based on motion-tracking sensors, artificial intelligence and reactive LED technology.
The graphics are used to help train up-and-coming basketball stars, guiding them through challenges and drills based on Kobe Bryant’s own training methods.
Computers can plug directly into the court to control the screens and record player’s movements, speed and velocity, change of direction, time and completed drills during training and events.
The court took about three months to create, from the conceptual design stage through to its fabrication and testing.
The video below provides an insight into how Nike's House of Mamba LED basketball court works.
Video source: Nike
Courtesy The Architect’s Newspaper & Gizmag
