The era of hardwood floors may be over, as the first eye-popping dynamic-display ASB GlassFloor has now been installed.
The seemingly magical floor houses millions of LEDs which are set beneath a safety glass surface and supported by an underlying double-spring substructure. Utilizing a separate touchscreen tablet running GlassCourt OS software, users can set the LEDs to display traditional basketball floor markings, animated advertising, game data (such as quarter and score), flashy player introductions, or whatever else they wish.
The system can also be utilized during AI-enhanced practice sessions, displaying information such as players' real-time and optimal floor positions, their current ball-passing options, and even their present running speed.
Imagine the amount of data it's going to generate. Let alone the almost unlimited advertising opportunities.
If you think it sounds like a recipe for slips and falls and broken glass, the floor's designers say the glass is approximately 2.5 times as elastic as hardwood flooring, plus an array of ceramic dots on its surface make it grippier (and less likely to cause friction burns) than hardwood.
The setup should last for 70 years, with the LEDs being good for a runtime of at least 100,000 hours. It also doesn't require resurfacing, unlike a wooden floor. And, even though the first one has been installed at the BMW Park arena in Munich - the home court of the FC Bayern Basketball club - it can't be long before they are installed all over America too.
Here's a short video that clearly demonstrates its visual impact. Could tennis be next? Or squash?