Fraunhofer · Exclusive Technology Partner
AI
VIRTUAL
ADVERTISING
CUSTOMIZED ADVERTISING,
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE!
With AAITEC advertising billboards in stadiums showcase various messages tailored to each audience watching the sports event around the globe.
HOW IT WORKS
The industry's most advanced computer vision pipeline. Running at 0.002ms latency to deliver a flawless broadcast experience.
Surface Extraction
Algorithms map the pitch, player silhouettes, and the ball instantly. It discriminates between the foreground action and the background advertising boards.
Neural In-painting
Dynamic occlusion handling ensures that whenever a player or object crosses the ad board, the virtual ad accurately stays behind them.
Seamless Output
The final 4K HDR feed is encoded and distributed without delays. Multi-feed rendering allows different regions to see different ads simultaneously.
THE DIFFERENCE
Thanks to the performance And Characteristics of Our System, AAITEC adapts Well to the demands of each Sport.
VIRTUAL AD
ORIGINAL
AAITEC
Multi-feed ad replacement pipeline. Customized content for every global market in real-time.
AAITEC offers a technology that virtually replaces the advertising on perimeter boards around the edge of the pitch. Traditional advertising spaces are static and broadcast in the same way all over the world, although the consumers differ greatly concerning culture, language, advertising laws, etc. Furthermore, advertising spaces with a TV presence are limited (can only be sold once) and cannot be customized.
AAITEC enables broadcasters and football clubs to simultaneously stream unlimited and customized feeds of one game. While the technology makes no difference to what fans see on the actual pitch, the virtual advertising images digitally inserted on the advertising boards will be unique to their region. AAITEC allows clubs to tailor advertising that is most relevant to the respective international TV audience, whether they are watching from their armchair in Los Angeles, Beijing, Sydney or any other global market. The estimated uplift potential for rights holders is 50-100%.
AAITEC &
FRAUNHOFER IAIS
Virtual Advertising in stadiums is one of the applications of Fraunhofer IAIS computer vision research. Fraunhofer began development in 2012 and filed several patents worldwide soon after. Thus was born the ViBa system (ViBa stands for virtual banners). ViBa is a virtual banner system that can be used in live television broadcasts of sporting events. The aim of the project was to develop a system that virtually replaces the content of LED banners in the television image in real time with other, personalized advertising, without this being recognizable by spectators in the stadium or for national feeds. The system can be easily integrated into the existing production processes of professional broadcasting and works regardless of the transmission format (HD or UHD). Our experts let the LED banner send out a light pulse that is not visible to the naked human eye but is visible to video cameras.
The color of the light pulse we select can then fade into the television image. To do this, Fraunhofer used, among other things, a technology that is used, for example, for working with green screens in the film industry. Thanks to the use of AI, the ViBa system is characterized by its reliable operation even in difficult weather conditions, such as rain and fog. For example, it is able to project virtual advertising into the reflection of a board in a puddle. In collaboration with ViboTec AG, the AI algorithms behind this system was successfully field tested in Germany, Spain and the USA, and gained approval from UEFA. In 2024, AAITEC S.L. became the exclusive partner to Fraunhofer to commercialize and further develop the ViBa system into personalized advertising and other AI applications in the field of public event advertising.
ViBa Technology
Virtual replacement of LED banner content in real-time, personalized for any broadcast feed.
Invisible Signal
LED banners emit a light pulse invisible to the naked eye but perfectly captured by cameras.
Weather Adaptive
Flawless operation in rain and fog. AI-tracking handles reflections in board puddles.
UEFA Approved
Field-tested across Germany, Spain, and USA. Successfully gained official UEFA approval.
MULTI-SPORT
DOMINANCE
Thanks to the performance And Characteristics of Our System, AAITEC adapts Well to the demands of each Sport.
FOOTBALL
Perimeter board and center-circle overlays.
BASKETBALL
Courtside and backboard geo-targeted ads.
TENNIS
On-court dynamic tracking and replays.
GOLF
Topographical tracking and path prediction.
RUGBY
Dynamic side-pitch virtual integration.
BASEBALL
Behind-the-batter personalized backdrops.