Would you play basketball on a glass ground? This German startup thinks it is best to.

Hardwood flooring have been a staple of basketball courts for many years, however one German firm is promoting an unconventional improve: glass. Whereas it might sound counterintuitive or harmful, ASB GlassFloor’s merchandise are already getting heat receptions from each NBA and college teams.

“I don’t know what I used to be anticipating, nevertheless it squeaks like an actual basketball court docket,” former College of Kentucky girls’s crew guard Cassidy Rowe said at the start of last season. “It simply capabilities like a traditional basketball court docket, nevertheless it’s exhibiting our image, which is loopy.”

Taking part in on a glass court docket isn’t as worrisome as it might sound. That’s as a result of ASB’s design depends on a number of layers of engineering and technological reinforcements, together with high-strength tempered security glass together with a double-spring aluminum substructure to accommodate shock absorption. The glass ground’s floor layer additionally receives a computer-controlled deep etching process to create a matte texture with low friction. Whereas enjoying on an ASB court docket could really feel almost similar to an ordinary court docket, the underlying physics allegedly affords a safer and extra exact expertise. That is due partly to a ultimate layer of ceramic dots that coats the floor, permitting for extra managed sliding in moist situations.

The tip result’s a basketball court docket that resembles an enormous tv or smartphone display—which is all a part of ASB’s plan. Their flooring, beforehand showcased at arenas in Germany and Greece, in addition to on the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend, are customizable due to a layer of LED paneling. This implies a crew or facility can mission nearly something onto the court docket by a smartphone or laptop. Other than participant stats, ads, and ornamental thrives, ASB flooring will also be programmed for follow regimens exterior of precise video games. Putting in the glass court docket additionally hypothetically decreases the necessity for a number of hardwood stacks, in addition to all of the money and time that goes into swapping them out or putting in updates.

The associated fee, nevertheless, stays a disadvantage for a lot of areas. Whereas ASB GlassFloor’s Americas division managing director Craig Thornton wouldn’t specify a pricepoint to the Associated Press, it’s confirmed to be rather more costly than a traditional hardwood setup. So whereas large-budget venues for universities and the NBA could also be open to investing in high-tech flooring, the glass different stays out of attain for most simple and highschool groups. However in keeping with Thornton, it’s solely a matter of time earlier than glass flooring turn into extra frequent in sports activities.

“I take advantage of this analogy quite a bit: We’re on the preliminary phases of the iPhone being launched… Approach again when Apple did that… the unique iPhone was only a cellphone, a textual content machine and music participant,” he stated. “Now you’re working your whole life and speaking to the world on it. I see this in the identical regard.”