Posted on 08/02/2014 12:45:22 PM PDT by TaxPayer2000
As a hardcore baseball guy, I often wonder why people needlessly waste their time on all those other, lesser sports. But I suppose everyone has a right to their insane opinions.
In any case, football fans may want to keep an eye on this development: The NFL announced this week that it will be using RFID tracking chips on players during select games in the 2014 season. The high-tech chips — RFID stands for radio-frequency identification — will generate precise positioning data on each player on every play.
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For the initial rollout, the RFID system will be used in 17 of the NFL’s 31 stadiums. (Astute sports fans will note that the NFL has 32 teams, but the Giants and the Jets share the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.) When squaring off in these stadiums, players will actually be tracked by two RFID chips — one in each shoulder pad. Data is broadcast in real-time to provide information on positioning, velocity, direction, distance run and even force-of-impact.
All of that data is instantly analyzed by the NFL’s MotionWorks system, which then generates statistics for every play. The data can also be instantly incorporated into the visual elements of the TV broadcast. In fact, the MotionWorks system crunches the numbers so quickly that graphics can be added within the broadcast’s standard two-second delay.
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The upshot of all this is that viewers — not to mention coaches and team executives — will be able to track every players’ movement in the often chaotic scrum of the typical NFL football game. When a blocking assignment is missed or a receiver is suddenly wide open in the end zone, fans will know precisely which player screwed up, and when and where.
The system will also generate an entire new field of statistics for fans to obsess over. In fact, the MotionWorks system is part of a larger initiative the NFL is calling “Next Generation Statistics.” The stadiums participating in the 2014 program: Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, New Orleans, Oakland, San Francisco, St. Louis and Washington.
via: Fastcolabs.com
Credit: NFL
Sounds good to me, but I’m not sure how I like what it might do to the pace of play. Maybe change the rules to standardize the strike zone based on batter height alone and not batting stance, otherwise I don’t see why base on balls wouldn’t skyrocket and slow down the game even more.
Freegards
With three RFID, you could calculate the orientation and position of the ball which would allow you to determine whether the ball crossed the line.
The NFL would be better served by implanting these chips under the skin of some of the less reputable thugs in the employ of certain teams. The data would help immensely during the inevitable trial to follow their eventual felonious exploits.
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