McEnroe
麦肯罗是谁？
约翰·帕特里克·麦肯罗（John Patrick McEnroe, Jr.，1959年2月16日－），前美国职业网球运动员，尊称“网球皇帝”、“大麦肯罗”，最高世界排名单打双打同时排名世界第一，7座大满贯男单桂冠得主，国际网球名人堂成员。
AI如何重现年轻的麦肯罗？
Premiering on ESPN+, Michelob Ultra, in collaboration with tech and production company Unit 9, presents “McEnroe vs. McEnroe,” the world’s first tennis match to feature a real person versus a virtual player — both being a version of the entertaining, confrontational tennis player, John McEnroe. In the match, the real McEnroe will face off against his ultimate opponent—his younger self. In this case, a virtual player powered by A.I.
Michelob Ultra（米凯罗啤酒，NBA的官方啤酒）与技术和制作公司Unit 9（单元9）合作，在ESPN+的首场直播中推出了 “McEnroe vs. McEnroe”（“麦肯罗 vs.麦肯罗”）的节目。这是世界上第一场真人对阵虚拟球员的网球比赛--比赛双方为两个版本的有趣好强的网球运动员麦肯罗。在这次比赛中，真实的麦肯罗将与他的终极对手——一个年轻的、由AI驱动的虚拟自己一决高下。
The team at Unit 9 spent a day with McEnroe in order to bring the vision to life via full-body scanning, motion capture, and Unreal Engine MetaHuman technology (a cloud-based app that creates photorealistic digital humans). The avatar game system will be projected on a hologram particle screen and will be a simulation of gameplay with a system of ball launchers and ball return robots.
单元9的团队花了一天时间对麦肯罗进行全身扫描、动作捕捉，通过虚幻引擎MetaHuman技术（一种基于云的应用程序，可以创建逼真的数字人类）制作出麦肯罗的虚拟化身。化身游戏系统将被投射在全息粒子屏上，成为一个由球发射器和回球机器人组成的模拟游戏系统。
Unit 9’s team analyzed hours of footage from McEnroe’s matches throughout his entire career and recorded hundreds of shots, strokes, and movements. In total, they recorded 308 shots with over 259 loops and blends to really capture his footwork and well-known shot-making and volleying skills.
单元9的团队分析了麦肯罗整个职业生涯中数小时的比赛录像，并记录了他几百个镜头击球、招式和动作。为了完全捕捉到他的脚步和著名的击球和排球技巧，他们总共记录了308个镜头和超过259个循环及混合。
When McEnroe sends the ball over the net, the avatar responds to the direction of the real ball. As the avatar swings, a new ball is fired from the ball cannon and then flies through a smokescreen at a precise point in space to make it appear from the avatar’s racket position. From what is shown in the trailer, the hologram particle screen makes the virtual John McEnroe look blurry and distorted.
当麦肯罗打球过网时，他的虚拟化身会对真球的方向做出反应。当化身挥拍时，一个新的球会从球炮中发射出来，然后在空间的一个精确点上飞过烟幕，使其从化身的球拍位置出现。从预告片中来看，麦肯罗的虚拟化身在全息粒子屏上看起来很模糊，并且有些变形。
The best part about this is the team recorded numerous key phrases and statements so McEnroe could talk smack to his virtual self (and maybe even smash a couple of rackets).
该团队甚至还记录了许多麦肯罗的“经典语录”，这样麦肯罗就可以和他的虚拟化身进行对话（砸几个球拍甚至也有可能）。
When McEnroe first heard of the concept, he wasn't sure how it was going to work, but it immediately interested him. "The more I got involved, the more interesting it became to me," he says. "I can't lose. It is a no-brainer there."
当麦肯罗第一次听到这个概念时，虽然清楚这将如何实现，但立即引起了他的兴趣。麦肯罗表示，“不断参与其中的过程也让我对此更加感兴趣。（在跟我的虚拟化身的比拼中）我不能输，因为对手没有自我意识。”
麦肯罗为何参与？
In 1979, McEnroe won his first career Grand Slam men’s singles title. While he was at the top of his game in 1981, he remained a controversial player, swearing at referees and yelling at umpires.
1979年，麦肯罗赢得了他职业生涯的第一个大满贯男单冠军。当他在1981年处于比赛的巅峰时，他咒骂裁判，并对裁判大喊大叫，所以仍然是一个有争议的球员。
“Who wouldn’t want an opportunity to literally be able to look back at where you started and celebrate how much you’ve grown and learned along the way?” said McEnroe. “I’ve had highs and lows just like everybody else, and what I’ve learned over time is to appreciate the journey. No matter what happens, you have to find time to savor the experience and remember it’s only worth it if you enjoy it.”
麦肯罗说：“谁不想有机会回顾自己的起点，并为自己一路上的成长和收获喝彩呢？我和其他人一样有人生的高峰和低谷，随着时间的推移，我学到的是欣赏这段旅程。无论发生什么，你都应该抽出时间回味人生经历。记住，只有你全心投入，人生才是值得的。”
avatar：
a new personification of a familiar idea
n.化身
They wanted to become more like their avatars.
hologram：
the intermediate photograph (or photographic record) that contains information for reproducing a three-dimensional image by holography
n. [激光] 全息图；全息摄影，全息照相
The outcome will be this 3D hologram.
原文链接：
https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2022/05/07/espn-debuts-mcenroe-vs-mcenroe-the-first-ever-tennis-match-between-real-person-and-their-virtual-avatar/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2022/05/05/john-mcenroe-playing-tennis-against-versions-of-his-past-self/amp/
编译｜沈佳璐 温馨 周奕言
排版｜沈佳璐
