EE: 5G AR Foosball

The background

EE wanted to let people experience the impressive connection speed of their super-fast 5G network. So we helped the brand demonstrate the true power of 5G and put their network to the ultimate test with a shared gaming experience hosted at the most iconic sports venue in the world.

The execution

Together with Cake, we launched the world’s first 5G-powered AR foosball tournament live from Wembley connected by EE. Leveraging the incredibly fast speeds of the EE 5G network, we overlaid a new gamified version of the pitch on top of the iconic Wembley Stadium turf to allow users to battle against each other in AR.

Our team transformed the Wembley pitch into an AR foosball table complete with rows of players that competitors could operate in real-time using a custom app on their Samsung devices. Each character was designed and animated by us to have its own unique personality. Users could perform the usual foosball motions like kicking, sliding, and bouncing, plus some fun additions like duplicating the ball and freezing rows of players. The epic foosball tournament featured a star-studded line-up, including Peter Crouch, Gareth Southgate and Joe Cole, along with some lucky EE competition winners.

Thanks to the fast 5G connection speed, participants could all experience the same uninterrupted AR game session in real-time without any delays. Our biggest challenge was placing the 3D content on top of the pitch in a precise and reliable way. We used ARCore Cloud Anchors, which allow you to scan a physical environment and sync the AR coordinate space on every device. By leveraging the versatility of these positional cloud anchors, we were able to specify a point around the user as a reference. Through cloud processing, we were then able to share this anchor through all the devices, ensuring all players could see exactly the same content but from their own perspective.

We also designed a smaller scale arcade table for EE’s hospitality box and crafted a version of the game to work on this surface in addition to the larger Wembley pitch.

The results

After an intense tournament, Peter Crouch led his team to augmented victory, with all players commenting on the fun mechanics and smooth gameplay. The AR game will continue to be used in EE’s hospitality boxes at the stadium for their VIP guests to enjoy.

It was a dream come true for us to work with such an iconic venue and craft the world’s first 5G-powered AR foosball game. By leveraging EE’s high connection speed we were able to create a super fun gaming experience while showcasing the future of real-time, multiplayer AR live entertainment.