Ice Hockey World Championship 2024: AR Photos with Czech Hockey Legends in Prague
Immersive Spectator Experience: Augmented Reality Digital Signage Steals the Show at Czech Ice Hockey World Championships
The Challenge
The Czech Ice Hockey World Championships needed a way to turn spectators from passive observers into active participants in the excitement of the tournament, at digital signage locations across Prague.
The Solution
TapGest developed an AR app, integrated into digital signage across the city, that brought a roster of Czech hockey legends — including iconic goal scorers and goaltenders — to life so fans could pose for photos and videos alongside their idols.
The Visitor Experience
Spectators walking through Prague encountered vibrant digital screens showcasing larger-than-life hockey players. Using the AR feature on the signage, fans could pose for selfies with virtual players or capture videos of goal celebrations, becoming part of the spectacle rather than just watching it.
Implementation
The hardest part was not the signage but the source material: each hockey legend had to be captured in a studio session and processed into an AR-ready figure that still reads as that specific player at full scale. From there the app composites the figure over the live camera feed in real time and runs on large-format digital signage at event locations across the city.
Technology Setup
Two stages, and only the second one is visible to fans. First the capture: every player is recorded in a controlled studio session, because the figure has to hold up when it is later shown life-size next to a real person — a source good enough for a small screen falls apart at full scale. Then the deployment: large-format digital signage at locations across Prague, each running the TapGest AR application, which composites the processed player over the live camera image in real time so fans can take a photo or a short video with them.
Scale is the lesson from this project. An AR figure standing beside a fan is judged against the person next to it, so capture quality, proportions and how the figure is grounded in the frame matter more than any on-screen effect. Getting that right in the studio is what keeps the signage side simple.
Results
The AR signage became a focal point during the World Championship, drawing crowds of fans who queued to be photographed next to a legend, and gave the organisers a branded fan activation that could be placed at several locations in Prague rather than a single fan zone.
Frequently asked questions
Which players appeared in the AR experience?
Czech hockey legends, including goal scorers and goaltenders, were captured so fans could pose for photos and videos alongside them.
Where was the AR signage installed?
On digital signage placed across Prague during the Ice Hockey World Championship 2024.
Do fans need an app or a headset?
No. The AR runs in the signage application itself, so a fan walks up, poses and gets a photo or a short video with the player without installing or wearing anything.
Why were the players captured in a studio rather than reused from broadcast footage?
Because the figure is shown life-size next to a real person. A controlled studio capture is what makes a player still look like that player at full scale beside a fan.