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The NFL's new real-time player tracking data—including things such as player speed and team formations—undoubtedly promises to reformat the game in terms of fan participation, team practicing methods, and potentially game-time strategy.There's a larger story playing itself out as well. So while the NFL has instant replay to help officials, it isn't about to automate or dehumanize the game's officiating any further.Further ReadingFor the first time, sensors and a computer play umpire in a pro baseball game"We're not looking to replace officials with robots," Matt Swensson, the NFL's senior director of emerging technology, told Ars.According to Zebra, here's the data being tracked in real time:And here are all the technical specifications (PDF) of Zebra's player tracking system and servers."Basically, we can take all of the specifics that are tracked in a game and automate them," Jill Stelfox, a Zebra general manager, told Ars. So in total, 2 to 3 gigs of data are generated per game under the current operation. So while top-level game film and old-school coaching could catch that, so does the Zebra technology—and it does so instantly."It's super valuable data," Stelfox said.For now, fans watching on television will be some of the primary beneficiaries of the NFL's great data experiment. Broadcasters can instantly get a limited amount of real-time data to provide viewers—like how far and how fast a player ran and the route taken.But by making even this tiny of a fraction of data public, there are grand implications.Listing image by Zebra TechnologiesYou must login or create an account to comment.Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox.
As said here by David Kravets