While we were sad to see our 2014 Fantasy Football season come to an end, the football fans here at L-Tron have turned our attention to Super Bowl XLIX this weekend! Whether you are cheering for the Seattle Seahawks, rooting on the New England Patriots, or just watching to see the commercials, it’s sure to be an exciting showdown of football talent. But to us, there is more to the big game than just the football plays. From barcodes to RFID, we can’t wait to see the showcase of up-to-the-minute technology that will come into play on game day!
Here is our list of the Top 5 Uses of Super Bowl Technology:
In the Stadium. University of Phoenix Stadium is newly equipped with two enormous, high-definition LED video boards, one on each end of the stadium. Stadium Wi-Fi has also been upgraded for those who want to use smartphones and tablets during the big game. Fans can use the new Super Bowl Stadium App by Verizon to access Super Bowl commercials, stadium maps, game replays, and more. I’m personally hoping to see some of the players put the Wi-Fi to good use with their Twitter and other social media accounts.
- At Home. Ultra High-Def. Flat/Curved Screen. Digital. Televisions have never looked better. Although the popularity of watching TV and movies on smartphones and tablets has increased exponentially in the recent years, there is one thing that football fans seem to always agree on. Bigger is better during the big game! Retailers expect to see the purchase of 50-plus inch televisions boost their revenue during the days leading up to the Super Bowl.
On the Field. Our partner, Zebra Technologies, can be credited for tracking those awesome real-time stats you see between plays. University of Phoenix Stadium has installed Zebra’s RFID technology to measure the movements of players on the field throughout the game using Zebra Motion Works. This tracking system collects information from sensors that each player has embedded in his shoulder pads to track speed and distances run. Even the footballs are fitted with sensors in the balls!
- At the Gate. Super Bowl tickets are known for being scalped and they don’t come cheap! Priced at thousands of dollars, buyers definitely want to beware of fake ticket scams. To prevent purchasing a fake ticket, this year’s Super Bowl tix have two barcodes on the front, which must line up and have matching serial codes. Additionally, ticket holders can check the authenticity of their tickets by making use of a 1960’s fad – the black light. When genuine tickets are viewed under a black light, there are several holograms that should appear.
- Behind the Scenes. NFL fan shops in the stadium will undoubtedly be taking advantage of Mobile POS applications to keep the lines short and the customers happy (like the Seahawks are doing already in their own fan shop). But we think there are other ways that the NFL may want to consider using technology in future Super Bowls. Why not create an App that allows fans to order food and drink from the comfort of their own seats? Or have staff circulating around the stadium fulfilling food and beverage orders with a mPOS system? We’d love to see improvements like these in the future. What about you? Let us know on Twitter, @LTronCorp, with technology improvements that you think could be made in future years!
