Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 07, 2009
MIT Technology in Sports

I'm trying a different panel this time, one that talks about technology in developing equipment. On the panel are Dr. Mike Caine of Loughborough U., Paul Litchefield of Reebok, Steve Solomom of Accrue Sports Entertainment Ventures, Dick Rugge of the USGA and Mike Leigh of the US Olympic Committee. Dr. Kim Blair of Sports Innovation Group LLC moderates.

Steve Solomon worked for the people who came up with the glowing puck, K-Zone, and the virtual first down lines in football.

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Caine, Litchfield, Solomon, Rugge, Leigh, Blair

Update: Rugge's job is to make sure technology doesn't overcome individual skill in golf.

Update: Mike Leigh made the point that technology helped older Olympians stay in the game and compete successfully.

Update: Mike Caine notes that we can now equip balls with chips that tell us more about what's going on in the game.

Update: Solomon notes that broadband allows low level sports (such as high school) to be available for viewing. In the aggregate, the market is huge, but it would never make it in the traditional broadcast market as a business.

Update: Leigh is looking for a way to get an edge in sliding events at the Olympics. You can't heat runners on sleds, so he's wondering if there is a way to transfer heat during the event. He's looking to bend the rules to get an edge.

Update: Dr. Caine used the term technological doping, that he sees as inflammatory.

Update: I got in a question, can technology replace umpires? Dr. Caine says yes, but thinks that human judgement is part of the game and should remain so. Leigh brings up the point that this technology can be used to help the umpire, for example, telling him that the ball was over the plate. Steve Solomon wondered, however, if fans really want strike zones called to the rule book.


Posted by David Pinto at 01:37 PM | Equipment | TrackBack (0)
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