How wearable technology is changing Super Bowl 50 and LI

Super Bowl 50 will kickoff at 6:30 PM ET on February 7, 2016 at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

Media covers a great deal of innovative commercials during the super bowl and why would they not be, it is anticipated thatSuper Bowl 50 will be the most watched U.S. broadcast ever and according to this infograph by The Forbes, for 23% of the viewers, commercials are the most important part of the game.

For viewers outside US, Super Bowl is simply famous for commercials!

But lets not carried away by commercials. Super Bowl is the highest level of professional football and athletes play at their peek to win this event. With news such as concussion rose 58% during the regular season, it is important to talk about safety of the athletes during the game. Here we have listed two ways how sports wearable devices are helping players remain safe in Super Bowl 50 and beyond.

Sensors

With the help of advances in sensors technology, it is possible to capture high-speed player movement and bio-metrics such as heart rate and hydration level. Teams and the coaches are able to apply science to this data to predict the fatigue level of the player. This in turns allow coaches to make substitutions to prevent possible injuries and game play strategy decisions real-time.

These sensors come in all shapes and size. A button size sensors by Zebra are already worn by NFL players. These sensors can also be worn by officials or attached to objects like the first down marker.

Furthermore, sensors are getting embedded into clothes such as player’s vest. NFL teams have been using Catapult Sports vest, which is one of the biggest suppliers of athletics tracking products in the sports world but with number of other startups such as Whoop, Hexoskin and Antelope focusing on similar products, we expect a lot stronger use across NFL. When worn, it provides real-time bio-metric data similar to any other sensors to help team make the right call at the right time to avoid injuries.

To add to this, in the future with Microsoft Hololens or with virtual-reality headset, it will be possible for viewers to see players bio-metric data visible real-time on their screen giving them a real feel and intensity of the game. However, the issue of privacy may still need to be clarified.

Helmet, Mouthguard and Skullcap

We have shared several products already that a team can use to detect the force or the intensity of the head related accident i.e. concussions. These products include Jolt and FitGuard. Apart from these two, SMRT Mouth and Reebok skullcap can also be used for similar purposes. Along with real-time concussion monitor system, a football helmet has been developed by a Seattle-based startup Vicis. These new helmets will replace the existing helmets in the upcoming 2016 season and are specially designed to combat concussion. The helmet has been designed in such a way that the outer shell buckles on impact before returning to shape, reducing the acceleration of a hit on the player’s head.