Touch2See: technology allows blind people to ‘feel’ football

Fans deserve the best possible conditions to watch any sporting event in the stadium. However, people with visual impairments or low vision have limitations in being able to understand all the movements and have the experience to know exactly what is happening in the field.

In these cases, they often need the help of a visionary who can “narrate” the events in the field. However, it can be difficult to understand exactly how a move is happening, and you may become confused by the noise of the crowd.

Technology created by a startup promises to change this and make going to the countryside an inclusive activity. device called touch2seeIt is seen as a possible revolution in terms of accessibility and should be seen more and more in stadiums around the world.

Teams such as Italian Cagliari have already tested the device in matches, and the satisfaction and happiness of fans who can now better follow matches in the stadium shows the importance of such projects.

How does Touch2see work?

Touch2see is basically a type of tablet with haptic and audio features. Instead of a screen, there is a surface representing the field of that sport.

The device consists of three mechanisms that complement each other: a magnet representing a ball and moved in real time, audio description summarizing the actions of the moment and slight vibrations indicating the intensity of the shotas a real goal risk.

For example, when a team goes on the attack, the magnet moves according to the current position of the ball — and by tracking this movement with his fingers, the fan can know exactly which part of the field he is on.

According to the manufacturer, touch2see is an intuitive and autonomous device to use, meaning it does not need to be connected to a power outlet. It is even designed for those who go to the stadium alone or who do not have the support of a sighted person.

It was created by businessman Arthur Chazelle, who was inspired by the work of a Colombian who went viral a few years ago: Cesar Daza, who “translates” football matches for visually impaired people using a miniature of the field, explanations and fans’ hands. .

Gradual application

To date, Touch2see has only been implemented in a few parts of the world and in certain sports. Testing was carried out with high approval rates at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Paris Paralympics, Africa Cup of Nations and 2024 French Football Championship.

Basketball is also a sport supported by technology, but the startup’s goal is have some other ball competitions have their own versions including tennis, handball, ice hockey and American football in the future.

However, the operation of the device This also depends on stadium capacities and availability of clubs.. Arenas need to have sensors and cameras to record every movement, a platform to convert material into video for data, and a stable 5G connection to transmit information to each user’s touch2see.

Some telephone operators, such as European Orange, have already shown interest in the technology and participated in some tests.

Since this is technology that already exists in many places for performance analysis and other functions such as video assistant referee (VAR), implementation may be faster than expected.