We have briefed our readers about the dangers of football-related injuries, time and again. Some injuries may even lead to severe concussions which may even end with the player losing his career. This is not uncommon!
Practice is where most of the players and sports fanatics falter and hurt themselves. While, we cannot claim that the solution we are going to tell you is an original substitute for football, but this tech can certainly be important for you. The VR is expanding popularly in the NFL and is becoming a hit source of virtual practices.
Derek Belch, the CEO and founder of the VR idea behind STRIVR Labs, stated that the company has been approached by seven different NFL franchises for the 360-degree virtual reality training software we are talking about. There is a lot of chances that many more teams will be a part of this experience before the actual 2016, September season begins.
The teams fast understand the importance of using VR for practices and we can only imagine that more than half of the teams would be using the tech for the actual season. The Dallas Cowboys was the first team in the NFL to buy STRIVR’s VR training, last June. Since then, six more franchises have signed an agreement with the company.
STRIVR’s NFL clients currently include the Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. These are the teams which have publicly announced their partnership with the Silicon Valley-based company.
Belch in a statement said;
“Truthfully, I’m surprised it hasn’t grown faster based on some of the results we have seen. There are a lot of reasons why football is a good fit [for VR].”
Belch also explained that as soon as the team contacts him for the VR experience he shows them the demo by connecting them to the VR headset and the world of STRIVR. If an agreement is made, the company captures 50 or so plays that the team runs during practice. STRIVR uses everything from GoPros to high-end Blackmagic cameras to capture footage, before using a combination of custom-built computer and camera solutions, and custom software which automatically fits video together at the highest quality.
The turnaround time for STRIVR to deliver a finished product to teams after initially recording them ranges from 90 minutes to two hours. After connecting themselves to the VR headsets, the players are allowed to behave and react like the way they do in practices. However, the best part is that no matter how much over enthusiastic and excited you get, you won’t be able to injure yourself.
Belch stated;
“I don’t think it’s going to prevent injuries. There’s nothing better than actual, physical practice on the field. But I will say because we saw it last year and we’ll see it again, I’m injured and can’t practice and shouldn’t practice on a Thursday or Friday and so instead of practice, I go into VR. I don’t think we’re going to prevent injuries, but I think we may be able to help players to keep their bodies fresh when they are injured and prevent further injuries.”
In the end, the STRIVR mastermind also claimed that a third of NCAA Division I football programs are using VR training technology. About 13 high-powered college gridiron teams are also using the company’s software. Belch believes that his tech is still early and needs some time to grow but has lots of benefits for the masses and the professional players.
[…] their part in eradicating this menace, especially from the professional sports like MLB, NBA, and NFL. However, FAIR Health’s study is something we cannot ignore at all. The study suggests that the […]
Comments are closed.