Disguise and ASB GlassFloor announce official partnership to upgrade sports courts into platforms for fan engagement

Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customisable interactive digital surface. This will enable coaches to visualise ball tracking data as well as players’ live positions, movement speed and performance metrics right on the playing surface, allowing teams to win more matches. The technology will also enable more venues to become multi-purpose entertainment spaces by offering augmented reality (AR) floor experiences, such as interactive games, to fans and advertisers at halftime. 

In order to do this, ASB GlassFloor’s operational system for the digital court, GLASSCOURT OS, feeds directly into Disguise’s servers. Adopting the Disguise environment means that, on top of the GLASSCOURT OS solutions, ASB GlassFloor now enables all venues to use the most state-of-the-art media servers in the industry to directly feed interactive content to the floor. 

Disguise’s media server technology has already helped teams like the Portland Trail Blazers become the first NBA team to broadcast AR graphics from a handheld camera, and has been trusted to drive visual experiences across some of the most high-stakes stadiums and entertainment venues across the world. Now, that same Disguise technology will form the backbone of ASB GlassFloor’s LumiFlex LED floor platform, ensuring frame-accurate UHD playback, low latency and stability so that impressive graphics can be displayed on a massive scale.

As part of the partnership, the Disguise platform will be used exclusively on all ASB Arena and Event Services floors, as well as ASB GlassFloor sports courts and activations, including the NBA All Star Weekend, FIBA Basketball Champions League Final 4 and the EuroLeague, and the company’s own state-of-the-art facility in Orlando, the ASB Athletes Lab. 

Developed in collaboration with the NBA, the ASB Athletes Lab will be used to showcase the technology and allow teams and clients to see the immersive sports solution in action, as well as acting as a testing ground for future innovation. Disguise and ASB GlassFloor will also provide three full-sized, portable event rental basketball courts that will see usage at marquee sports events across the US and Europe this year.

“Through initiatives like our ASB GlassFloor Athletes Lab, we’ve already helped NBA coaches draw plays on their iPad, and see them instantly show up on the digital court floor, alongside real-time player data,” says CEO of ASB GlassFloor, Christof Babinsky. “By partnering with Disguise, we aim to take things even further. We previously worked with Disguise on an interactive LED court at the NBA’s All Star Weekend in 2024 and other events. Following the huge success of these activations, we hope to unify venue AV across more LED floors, banners, jumbotrons, lights and sound so they can be driven from a single system in the future.”

To support this goal, ASB GlassFloor and Disguise are co-developing a suite of applications built specifically to offer fans AR games and interactive halftime experiences they can enjoy from any part of the arena. These applications will also allow venues to use the floor for training, competition, fan engagement and non-game-day activations. From AI-assisted defenders in basketball coaching, to traffic safety applications for children and aiding larger, live TV productions on the weekends, the integrated platform aims to drive more traffic, impact, and utilization to existing arena infrastructure. 

“This partnership highlights a broader industry shift: sports venues are no longer static spaces used only on game day,” says Senior Vice President of Commercial at Disguise, Jake Stone. “Together with ASB GlassFloor, we’ll help teams not only improve their performance, but also increase their revenue by using their arena as an always-on, programmable environment that everyone can benefit from year-round, whether it’s used for a brand product demo or a band’s stadium tour. This is not just about changing how courts look or using LED floors as a novelty, but redefining how sports infrastructure is used for the future.”

Image Credits: ASB GlassFloor and FIBA Media