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Dentsu Lab’s Trippy “Fencing Visualization Project”

For creatives, being able to show things that aren’t really there is a huge boon. Computer graphics enable us to present nonexistent designs to clients. They allow architects to show fly-throughs, film directors to indulge fantasies, manufacturers to troubleshoot prototypes. And increasingly, they may take a role in helping us better enjoy sporting events by depicting that which our eye cannot see.

Earlier we looked into the NFL’s CG 1st-and-10 line, which had an analog in the flags and chains. But the faster-paced sport of fencing had no such equivalent, and viewers either developed eyes quick enough to follow the action or lost interest.

To combat the latter, Japanese design and technology collaborative Dentsu Lab created the Fencing Visualization Project, where they rigged Olympic fencing champion Yuki Ota and a partner up with sensor-laen foils and suits. They then created these stunning visualizations of the action:

Pretty cool, no? Those of you in the current generation don’t know how good you have it: Previously, if you wanted to see physical objects streaming light-trails like that, you had to buy mushrooms in a parking lot from some gentle but decidedly weird guy named Hal who drove one of those strange Volkswagen Rabbit pick-up truck vehicles and smelt like patchouli.

Via Rocket News