In this week’s SBJ Tech newsletter, we put SBJ Tech Week to bed by pointing out the former athlete imprint across the three-day event and also highlight the theme of collaboration that rang throughout the SBA: Tech ceremony. — Ethan Joyce
In today’s edition of Power Up:
- The UFL announces the creation of Football Advancement through Sports Technology
- SportAI inks with pickleball equipment provider Shark
- Evolv to handle security screening at T-Mobile Park
UFL creates FAST innovation program to accelerate tech development
ARLINGTON, Texas — The UFL has formalized its technology innovation through the creation of FAST (Football Advancement through Sports Technology), a program to test, develop and iterate products for the benefit of its own league and also the broader sport of football.
Born from the merger of the USFL and XFL in 2024, the UFL already has introduced a series of new tools — drone and helmets cams, TrU Line first down measurement, expanded player-coach communications and sideline video — and now will seek to make further progress with FAST. Media partners Fox Sports and ESPN are key collaborators, as is Apple, which provided iPads to players and coaches and Apple Watches to the officials.
“We realized the UFL had become a tech accelerator, so we set out over the offseason to put some rigor around that and build a program all centered on our new headquarters,” said UFL SVP of Technology Scott Harniman, who oversees the program along with VP Bradley Campbell.
For the first time, all eight UFL teams are holding training camp and practices in the Arlington area, with meetings rooms and offices at the league’s new HQ. Having 600 players and coaches working in the area will expedite the feedback loop. Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers, has been converted into a football stadium and outfitted with private 5G networks.
“Being able to give all these partners a playground in Choctaw Stadium is, I think, really going to be what allows us to move, no pun intended, fast,” Harniman said, noting that the development cycle of idea-to-game field can be as short as weeks with proper validation.
The program is launching with three members in its first cohort, all of whom have been paired with a league objective:
- Mindfly will provide an immersive player POV camera. Unlike the prior placement on helmets, the new iteration will use a vest that affixes the camera to the chest plate of the shoulder pad.
- SkillCorner will use computer vision to provide tracking data from the All-22 camera feed.
- Sportable will offer sensor-based ball and player tracking that can be used for broadcast, officiating or performance metrics.
“We wanted to really make sure that there was an outcome for everything that we’re doing,” Harniman said. “Everything that we’re doing, from an innovation standpoint, is to improve the game of football. [CEO] Russ Brandon is unbelievable — a great mentor, great leader — and definitely provides us some great latitude with what we’re doing. But gimmicks are not allowed.”
UFL EVP of football operations Daryl Johnston said it was eye-opening to see the positive fan response to granting access to what he previously considered walled-off “earned spaces” — the huddle, locker room, sideline. He’s now an advocate for tech and noted the players are excited to be part of trials. The Mindfly camera vest will debut during joint UFL practices today.
A collaboration with Google Cloud and Syracuse’s sports analytics program will seek to develop new predictive models to aid coaches in deciding whether to try for a one-, two- or three-point conversions after touchdowns. Johnston also mentioned that Bolt6 and Sportable might be able to combine their camera- and sensor-based technologies to help officials spot the ball.
“As much as people looking at us and going, ‘Oh my gosh, they pushed the envelope with technology’ — the ‘tech incubator’ phrase comes out — it’s just a lot of good football people that are not afraid to step out of their comfort zones," Johnston said, “and when there is a better way to do it, let’s do it.”
SportAI to create technique analysis app for pickleball equipment vendor Shark
SportAI has secured its second publicized commercial contract, this time with pickleball and beach tennis equipment manufacturer Shark.
As part of the deal, terms of which were not disclosed, SportAI is developing an AI-powered coaching app for pickleball and beach tennis-playing Shark customers. The platform will leverage SportAI’s computer vision algorithms to provide technique analyses -- encompassing player movement, swing curves, ball striking metrics and more -- as well as generative AI for personalized training and equipment recommendations.
“[One of the groups] we really wanted to go after was equipment brands and retailers who want this data in for product development, but also product recommendations,” SportAI co-founder & CEO Lauren Pedersen told SBJ. “It’s super exciting for us.”
The app is currently in development and expected to release later this year.
Pedersen said SportAI’s models analyzing tennis and padel are more advanced than pickleball and beach tennis, but the Oslo-based startup continues to invest in technical development. SportAI closed a $1.8M seed round led by Skyfall Ventures last August and announced an additional $805K of funding through grants from Innovation Norway and Eurostars in January.
SportAI signed its first commercial contract, to supply its software for racket sports booking platform MATCHi’s tennis and padel courts, late last year. In addition to federations and academies (for coaching use-cases) and equipment manufacturers, the company is targeting broadcast clients as well.
Evolv to deploy security screening tech at T-Mobile Park
Evolv has been named the preferred fan security screening provider of the Mariners, with the company deploying its Evolv Express systems around T-Mobile Park. There will be 13 Evolv express machines deployed at the 26-year-old stadium for MLB Opening Day.
The Mariners are Evolv’s 12th professional baseball client, a group that also includes the Red Sox, Astros, Twins, Mets, Phillies and Pirates.
Last month, Evolv also announced a partnership with Sports Illustrated Stadium and the New York Red Bulls. Evolv appointed John Kedzierski as its CEO in December and Robert E. Marshall, Jr. as CRO in January in response to an internal investigation that found improper financial reporting.
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