The United Football League (UFL) launches its second season on Friday, March 28. What has been happening behind the scenes is this spring football league is also positioning itself as a technology incubator for football innovations.
According to SBJ Tech’s report, the UFL is introducing several technological advancements this season:
The league is implementing MindFly BodyCam technology – a mesh vest weighing under two pounds with a shatterproof lens that attaches to players’ shoulder pads. This camera offers viewers a player’s perspective with broadcast-quality video and only 30 milliseconds of latency, making it suitable for live broadcasts.
“You’re going to understand the speed of the game,” notes Fox Sports VP Bradley Cheney. “You’re seeing a play develop at you.”
The UFL continues its partnership with Bolt6 for the TruLine virtual first down measurement system, which provides accuracy within four millimeters. he league is also working toward developing ball-spotting technology – what Bolt6 CCO James Japhet calls
“the holy grail of problems to solve in sports tech.”
UFL Head of Officiating Dean Blandino estimates this technology could be ready
“in the next two to three years.”
XFL Properties Inc, which owns all the XFL copywrites on teams name also has a copywrite on the name TruLine.
Unlike the NFL, the UFL permits coaches and players to access video analysis on the sidelines during games. Players can even telestrate video replays on iPads running DVSport software, with their annotations potentially being shown during broadcasts.
This technology-forward approach serves multiple purposes – enhancing the broadcast experience, improving gameplay, and developing talent at all levels who may eventually move to the NFL with valuable experience using these innovations.
This could also pave the way for revenue for the league, if they have a piece of the action for each of these technologies. This is good long term thinking by the United Football League.
