On Friday 11 March, the H20 Virtual Sports Centre opened, the first of its kind in the Netherlands. In this new location, visitors can combine the technologies of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality with physical exercise, training and sport.
The brand new VR Centre has no less than 400 m2 of gaming space filled with different playgrounds focused on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. With this surface area, the VR Centre becomes the largest sports centre with a focus on these revolutionary technologies in the Netherlands.
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) is a simulated environment or reality that you can view using VR goggles. These goggles block out your senses and register your movements. This makes it feel as if you have entered another world. The possibilities with VR are endless. At the H20 Virtual Sports Centre we use the best equipment from HP.
Augmented Reality (AR) is another form of VR where the technology is an aid. With AR, digital images are added to reality, connecting the virtual world and the real world.
As part of the VR Centre, dozens of games and sports can be played and trained using these technologies. In addition, the VR Centre also offers various possibilities for team building and team/business outings.
Sports and gaming combined
At H20, we find it important that the digital generation does not lose sight of physical exercise and sport. For example, H20 has the Esports Wall where games and sports are combined and this principle is extended to the new VR Centre. Within the VR Centre you can also exercise intensively with the latest techniques such as the NextRound punching bag which measures how you train or you can use VR to cycle, row, race, train, etc.
Visitors can also venture into hybrid games such as HADO, the world's first sport that combines traditional sport with Augmented Reality. HADO combines aspects of the popular fighting game Street Fighter with dodgeball. From H20 and the H20 VR Centre, tournaments and competitions will be organised in collaboration with HADO.
Dirk Tuip, H20-Founder: "We hope that the H20 Virtual Sports Centre will become the ultimate bridge towards traditional sports, allowing them to see what gaming, gamification and the possibilities of new media and tech can offer to athletes, teams and interested parties."