Super technology powers the Super Bowl - Foster's Daily Democrat

MJ Shoer

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and we are all hoping our New England Patriots bring home a sixth Lombardi Trophy.

While most of us will be watching the Super Bowl on TV as we always have, technology has really changed the Super Bowl experience from a one day television event, to a multi-day, immersive, 24x7 experience. There is a ton of technology in play at this year’s Super Bowl. Professional sports, across the board, have embraced technology to improve the player and fan experience. The company I work for, Onepath (www.1path.com) has had the pleasure of working with several professional sports teams in the Northeast and Southeast, to help them embed technology into their team experience.

This year, the Super Bowl will be available online, free of charge, on NBCSports.com as a live stream. The game will be broadcast and streamed thanks to the hundreds of cameras and microphones deployed throughout Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium. More than 20 cameras will be embedded in the end zone pylons. The views of this year’s Super Bowl should be the best, most diverse and high-definition video we have ever seen at a professional sporting event.

Intel has partnered with the National Football League to bring several of its cutting-edge technologies to the experience. Intel will deploy a 5G wireless network throughout the stadium to provide a high-speed, high-definition network that will provide fans onsite with a unique, app-enabled experience throughout the game.

You may remember the light show above Lady Gaga during last year’s Super Bowl half-time show. This year, Intel will be deploying hundreds, if not thousands of drones throughout the event. So far, it has been somewhat mum on what we can expect, but if last year was any indication, it should be an impressive light show, at least during half-time, but likely at other points throughout the day. The drones are also reportedly going to be used to capture unique field level views of the game; though care will need to be taken to be sure an errant football does not meet with an equally errant drone at any point. Rumor has it there have been a few near misses during prior uses.

Intel is promising some impressive and in technology terms, immersive 3D replays using their True View technology. This technology uses the latest high definition camera technology to create 3D replays in near real-time.

Not to be out done, as you probably already know, our own New England Patriots have launched their own “Not Done” network providing 24x7 coverage leading up to and including Super Bowl Sunday. And as you have seen throughout the last few seasons, the NFL has a deep partnership with Microsoft where all the teams and officials use Microsoft Surface devices during the game for play review and more.

LED technology will also be featured outside and inside the stadium, showcasing the latest energy-saving lighting systems available on the market. A local bridge will be lit using Philips LED technology to indicate when a team is in the Red Zone and to track the score of the game using light.

Hashtags, social media feeds, live streams, lighting, sound, video technology and more will be on full display during Super Bowl LII. It promises the deliver a technological marvel of blended technologies to create a full experience whether you are working the game, playing the game or watching the game.

While a good old fashioned football game will be underway on the field, technology will be making this a 360 degree, 24x7 technology packed experience for us all. At the end of the game, all that will matter is who takes home that Lombardi Trophy. Along with the rest Patriots Nation, here’s hoping our Patriots pull off the win completing their “Blitz for Six.” Go Pats!

MJ Shoer is director, Client Engagement and vCIO at Onepath, with offices in New England and the Southeast. Onepath is the one source for all things to do with designing, deploying and supporting and maintaining technology – from cable to Cloud. He maintains a blog about IT at www.mjshoer.com and may be reached at mshoer@1path.com.

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