3D Sports Playbook

Abstract

This document generally describes techniques, methods, systems, and computer program products for providing a three-dimensional (“3D”) sports playbook. Such a playbook may permit someone like a football, basketball, or soccer coach to see a play executed in a classic X's and O's overhead two-dimensional (“2D”) view, and also in a 3D view.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving, at a computing device, user input to display a sports play that involves a plurality of players;   displaying, by the computing device, the play in both a 2D interface and a 3D interface using data associated with the play and the plurality of players;   in response to an indication for the 3D interface to use a camera view that follows a particular player from among the plurality of players, adjusting the camera view of the 3D interface based on a location of the particular player in the play; and   in response to an indication to run the play, displaying the plurality of players moving synchronously in the 2D interface and in the 3D interface in a manner determined before the play is run and according to routes associated with the players, wherein the 3D interface displays the synchronous motion of the players from the camera view based on the location of the particular player and a route associated with the particular player.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving input through the 3D interface that causes at least a portion of the play to be changed; and   automatically updating a display of the play in the 2D interface to correspond to the play as changed in the 3D interface.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving input through the 2D interface that causes at least a portion of the play to be changed; and   automatically updating a display of the play in the 3D interface to correspond to the play as changed in the 2D interface.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving one or more route attributes for the route that is associated with the particular player; and   adjusting movement of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more retrieved route attributes.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more route attributes are selected from the group consisting of: timing information for the route that indicates one or more times at which one or more segments of the route are to be run, and speed information for the route that indicates one or more speeds at which the one or more segments of the route are to be run. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving one or more player attributes that are associated with the particular player; and   adjusting movement or appearance of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more retrieved player attributes.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more player attributes are selected from the group consisting of: size information that identifies one or more physical measurements for the particular player, speed information that identifies a speed at which the particular player moves, ability level information that indicates an ability or skill level of the particular player, and appearance information that identifies one or more physical characteristics of the particular player. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the camera view comprises a point of view for the particular player that causes the 3D interface to display the play from the particular player's perspective. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the camera view comprises a view above and behind the particular player that causes the 3D interface to display at least a portion of the particular player. 
     
     
         10 . A computer program product tangibly embodies in a non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions that, when executed, cause a computing device with a processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, at a computing device, user input to display a sports play that involves a plurality of players;   displaying, by the computing device, the play in both a 2D interface and a 3D interface using data associated with the play and the plurality of players;   in response to an indication for the 3D interface to use a camera view that follows a particular player from among the plurality of players, adjusting the camera view of the 3D interface based on a location of the particular player in the play; and   in response to an indication to run the play, displaying the plurality of players moving synchronously in the 2D interface and in the 3D interface in a manner determined before the play is run and according to routes associated with the players, wherein the 3D interface displays the synchronous motion of the players from the camera view based on the location of the particular player and a route associated with the particular player.   
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving input through the 3D interface that causes at least a portion of the play to be changed; and   automatically updating a display of the play in the 2D interface to correspond to the play as changed in the 3D interface.   
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving input through the 2D interface that causes at least a portion of the play to be changed; and   automatically updating a display of the play in the 3D interface to correspond to the play as changed in the 2D interface.   
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise
 retrieving one or more route attributes for the route that is associated with the particular player; and   adjusting movement of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more retrieved route attributes.   
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise
 retrieving one or more player attributes that are associated with the particular player; and   adjusting movement or appearance of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more retrieved player attributes.   
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the camera view comprises a point of view for the particular player that causes the 3D interface to display the play from the particular player's perspective. 
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the camera view comprises a view above and behind the particular player that causes the 3D interface to display at least a portion of the particular player. 
     
     
         17 . A computer system comprising:
 a computing device that includes at least one processor;   an input device of the computing device to receive user input to display a sports play that involves a plurality of players;   a display of the computing device to display the play in both a 2D interface and a 3D interface using data associated with the play and the plurality of players; and   a 3D playbook application of the computing device to: i) adjust a camera view of the 3D interface based on a location of a particular player in the play in response receiving an indication for the 3D interface to follow the particular player from among the plurality of players, and ii) cause the display to present the plurality of players moving synchronously in the 2D interface and in the 3D interface in a manner determined before the play is run and according to routes associated with the players, wherein the 3D interface displays the synchronous motion of the players from the camera view based on the location of the particular player and a route associated with the particular player.   
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 17 , wherein the input device is further configured to receive input associated with the 3D interface that causes at least a portion of the play to be changed; and
 wherein the 3D playbook application is further configured to automatically update a display of the play in the 2D interface to correspond to the play as changed in the 3D interface.   
     
     
         19 . The computer system of  claim 17 , further comprising a data repository to store one or more player attributes that are associated with the particular player;
 wherein the 3D playbook application is further configured to adjust movement or appearance of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more player attributes.   
     
     
         20 . The computer system of  claim 17 , further comprising a data repository to store one or more route attributes for the route that is associated with the particular player;
 wherein the 3D playbook application is further configured to adjust movement of the particular player in the 2D interface and the 3D interface along the route based on the one or more retrieved route attributes.