29 ESPORTS Weavr Consortium
THREE LEVELS OF IMMERSION Weavr is basically a B2B framework which focuses on enabling three levels of content immersion. The first is sensorial immersion, which is generated by the basic visual and audio content that most of us are familiar with. Sensorial immersion could even include AR or advance audio through headsets, or even, in the future, haptics engaging the sense of touch. The second level is cognitive immersion which involves engaging audiences in data, including game stats as well as using audience data to provide a better service. The third is social immersion, which is about sharing and communication. This could be about sharing between sports fans. “We take those three levels of immersion, and we combine them all,” explains Dean. “What we’ve seen is if these types of immersion exist in a siloed experience they tend to turn out fairly gimmicky. People don’t want to have ten apps open. They
DAZZLING DATA ESL’s James Dean shows off the Weavr app at ESL One Birmingham
just want one experience. So while we combine those three levels of immersion we also personalise it for each person. We use machine learning and AI to customise the narrative so it has more meaning and choice for those individuals. If we get that right, I think we’ll find that people will be willing to part with money rather than expecting all their content to be free.” Potential revenue models for a “Weavr’d” sports viewing service might be through viewer micro-transactions or the support
of a sponsor or as an inducement to buy merchandise. “Because it’s a framework, we can connect any number of technologies or platforms into one systemic experience, no matter how the user wants to engage.” In addition to University of York, the other partners in the Weavr Consortium are immersive content studio Rewind, Manchester-based studios dock10, machine- learning specialist Cybula and virtual reality company FocalPoint VR. The first major demonstration of the Weavr project
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