Projects: Nike’s House Of Mamba Lights Up Shanghai Hoops

August 15, 2014 by Dave Haynes

When I first saw this video and read the descriptions, I couldn’t figure out how or why it was being described as an LED floor – because it looks like the basketball court was projection mapped.

But after watching it a few times, I realized, no, it’s a very big tiled HD-LED floor.

Screen Shot 2014-08-15 at 1.26.02 PM

You can tell because in single frames, the light is reflecting on the players legs, and the players are not acting as projection screens.

Wow.

The project in Shanghai, China is called the House of Mamba. and it was built as the showcase for a competition searching out the country’s top players. The big moment was bringing in Kobe Bryant to work with the kids.

I am not sure how the interactive piece works – whether it is floor sensors or cameras – but the fact that a basketball court can be made with tight-pixel LEDs immediately below a protective surface is fascinating, given how that could be applied in pro sports leagues like the NBA. Bit of a challenge with football, soccer, baseball and ice hockey, however.

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