In just a few days, the annual data-fest that is commonly known as Super Bowl 50 will begin when the Carolina Panthers take on the Denver Broncos here in San Francisco. Far be it for me to pick a winner (if I must, the Panthers), but this year’s game will feature some exciting wearable technology for the first time.

Since 2013, the National Football League (NFL) has partnered with Zebra Technologies to roll out radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology to track NFL players during games. The 2015 season saw widespread use in every game and this year we’ll see it adopted in the Super Bowl. Zebra has outfitted each player with a tiny RFID sensor on each shoulder pad and placed 20 receivers around the stadium to collect data on how each player moves. They’ll be tracking metrics, such as acceleration, velocity, direction and distance traveled, in near real-time.  

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here