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PORTLAND, Ore. — Brian Vu has been a fan of the NBA for 14 years, but he has never experienced a game like the one he attended last week in Portland.
Not only did his hometown Trail Blazers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, but also for the first time in his life, Vu said he felt involved in the game, every bit a part of the 18,491 in attendance at Moda Center.
Vu, who has low vision, didn’t see one play during the Blazers’ 115-99 win. But he felt every score, every turnover, every shot.
The 32-year-old Vu used a haptic device that allowed him to follow the action in real time through vibrations felt through his fingers. The device was unveiled this season by Seattle-based OneCourt. After three pilot trials last spring, the Trail Blazers in January became the first NBA team to offer the service to fans. Since then, Sacramento and Phoenix also have been offering the devices at games.
Using a laptop-sized device that has the outline of the basketball court, visually impaired users feel vibrations that indicate ball movement. An earpiece gives updates on the score, as well as the result of a play, whether it’s a steal, block, 3-pointer or something else.
OneCourt founder Jerred Mace likens the concept to a tactile animator, creating the illusion of movement through pixels.
“We’ve basically built this display that functions similarly to a visual screen, but instead of pixels that you see, these are pixels that you feel,” Mace said.
So while Vu couldn’t see Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, his favorite player, zip through the defense for a layup, he could feel the play through his fingertips, which were spread out over the device that rested on his legs.
Vu attended the Blazers-Grizzlies game with his friend James Kim, the recipient of many of Vu’s elbow jabs and questions during games over the years. As the Blazers pulled away in the third quarter, Kim and Vu were in sync, oohing and aahing when Shaedon Sharpe dunked or Donovan Clingan rejected shots.
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(The text continues in this format, covering various topics, including the impromptu adoption of the OneCourt device by the Portland Trail Blazers, its impact on the fan experience, and future plans for the device.)
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