ASB GlassFloor’s roots, dating to the 1960s, are in the construction of temporary aluminum structures. The company developed its first glass floor in the early 2000s, designed for outdoor squash.
In recent years, a blend of those innovations has emerged as an intriguing alternative to the traditional playing surfaces of sports such as basketball and volleyball. ASB’s LumiFlex courts are embedded with LEDs that comprise a 4K-resolution video screen. They are covered by glass panels layered with ceramic dots and underpinned by aluminum suspension systems.
The potential impact of the court on the sports industry, ASB executives often tout, includes everything from invigorating commercial campaigns, by making on-court sponsorship and fan engagement activations more dynamic, to enhancing competition practice sessions through on-court play diagramming and player tracking.
ASB GlassFloor
FOUNDED: 1965
HQ: Stein, Germany
EMPLOYEES: 100
KEY EXECUTIVES: Christof Babinsky, managing director; Chris Thornton, director, the Americas
KEY PARTNERS: Abacus Alpha, NBA, FC Bayern Basketball, Panathinaikos B.C., University of Kentucky
“It is the only product in all of sport that will impact the game in a positive way from 360 degrees,” said Chris Thornton, ASB’s director of the Americas. “It’s a player experience. It’s a fan experience. And it’s a coach experience. There’s no other company that comes to mind, in any sport, that is hitting on those three levels all at the same time. That’s the innovation.”
ASB broke through in basketball in the summer of 2023, when its LumiFlex court was used for the U19 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Madrid. In 2024, its footprint expanded further with permanent installations for FC Bayern Basketball in Germany and Panathinaikos B.C. in Greece, as well as activations in the U.S. around NBA All-Star Weekend’s Friday and Saturday events and the University of Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness” exhibition.
The company recently rolled out upgrades to its GlassCourt OS software and is developing a system of tech integrations that will encompass player- and shot-tracking data. It continues testing the floors with athletes in a new facility in Orlando.
The next milestone?
“To be used in a competitive game here in the U.S.,” Thornton said. “We’ve already checked that box in Europe, and we’re being used at the professional level in Europe. We want to be used at the professional level here in the U.S. It’s just a matter of when.”
