Super Bowl goes high tech—except for drones

Sunday’s Super Bowl in Phoenix, AZ, will see the deployment of a variety of technologies that will boost fan’s enjoyment of the game and assist referees and coaches. One high-tech product that will be absent however, is the drone—unless it’s operator wishes to risk imprisonment.

Hiawatha Bray in The Boston Globe has the story on the technology that will be at the game. Describing technology’s evolution from his hometown perspective, he writes, “Thirteen years ago, when the Pats scored their first Lombardi Trophy, our TVs still relied heavily on technology developed during the Korean War. Today, we mostly watch in high-definition, and some fans are upgrading to ultra-high-definition or 4K sets.”

He notes that NBC Sports will be deploying several 4K cameras, whose images can be blown up many times over to assist officials in resolving disputed calls. In addition, Sunday’s game will be monitored by Skycam and Cablecam systems that can provide a birds’ eye view of the action.

In addition, Bray writes, the NFL has mandated high-quality Internet access at all its stadiums, so players at the game as well as at home can follow the action on their smartphones and tablets. He quotes Michelle McKenna-Doyle, who runs the league’s data systems, as saying, “If our fans don’t have connectivity, it’s like not having water.”

And technology isn’t just for fans. Bray reports that coaches are using Microsoft Surface tablets to review plays and alter strategies. In addition, wearable technology (with chips built into uniforms) is tracking player movements, and the NFL may at some point make this data available to fans at home. Read Bray’s full story here.

On technology product that won’t be in attendance at Sunday’s game is the drone. Kaveh Waddell at National Journal writes that the FAA is reminding people to leave their drones at home. Violators of the policy may be arrested and imprisoned.