Can’t make the game? Now you can virtually

For the first time, Texans fans who can’t make it to Sunday’s game will have the chance to immerse themselves in some of its best moments.

Voke, a virtual reality company recently acquired by Intel, installed equipment in Houston’s NRG Stadium on Saturday ahead of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It will offer in-game and postgame highlights through its Voke VR mobile app, compatible with a Samsung Gear VR headset and several Samsung phones.

The company, based in Santa Clara, Calif., partnered with the National Football League earlier this month to capture virtual reality snapshots of four games during the final weeks of the season. It shot games in Jacksonville and Tampa Bay earlier this month and will finish in Seattle when the Seahawks face the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1.

To show game highlights, the company placed four cameras in the end zones and on the side- lines. The cameras hold 12 lenses each, positioned like six sets of eyes on the edge of a rounded platform, allowing viewers to switch between vantage points.

“It gives them the choice of where they want to be on the field,” said Voke CEO and cofounder Jay Jayaram.

Texans season-ticket holder Jorge Esparza doesn’t have much need for virtual highlights at this point — he hasn’t missed a home game in four years, he said. But if he couldn’t make one, he would consider using the tech- nology to catch what he missed. “That would be cool,” he said. Voke first tested its virtual reality technology in Houston during the NCAA Final Four championship game played at NRG Stadium in April. The company collaborated with Oculus, another virtual reality company, to create a 180-degree live stream.

Eventually, the company hopes to cover more live events, Jayaram said. He added that he expects more venues to use the technology next year as sporting leagues become more confident in its appeal.

“This is not just a flash in the pan,” he said.

Ken Hicks, a Houston barber and Texans season-ticket holder, has a virtual reality headset that he hasn’t yet used. That would change if he had the chance to watch game highlights regularly, he said.

“I’d do it in a minute,” Hicks said. “It would feel like I was in the game.”