Posted on Oct 7, 2023
A deaf football team will debut a 5G-connected augmented reality helmet to call plays
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https://www.npr.org/2023/10/07/ [login to see] /deaf-football-team-5g-connected-helmet-gallaudet
A first-of-its-kind football helmet will allow coaches at Gallaudet University, the school for deaf and hard of hearing students in Washington, D.C., to transmit plays to their quarterback via an augmented reality screen.
Players on Gallaudet's football team, which competes in NCAA's Division III, have long faced challenges against teams with hearing athletes, such as an inability to hear referees' whistles that signal the end of a play.
The helmet, which was developed in conjunction with communications giant AT&T, aims to address another of those long-standing problems: Coaches calling plays to the players.
A first-of-its-kind football helmet will allow coaches at Gallaudet University, the school for deaf and hard of hearing students in Washington, D.C., to transmit plays to their quarterback via an augmented reality screen.
Players on Gallaudet's football team, which competes in NCAA's Division III, have long faced challenges against teams with hearing athletes, such as an inability to hear referees' whistles that signal the end of a play.
The helmet, which was developed in conjunction with communications giant AT&T, aims to address another of those long-standing problems: Coaches calling plays to the players.
A deaf football team will debut a 5G-connected augmented reality helmet to call plays
Posted from npr.org
Football
College Football
Washington
AT&T
NFL
Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Players on Gallaudet's football team, which competes in NCAA's Division III, have long faced challenges against teams with hearing athletes, such as an inability to hear referees' whistles that signal the end of a play.
The helmet, which was developed in conjunction with communications giant AT&T, aims to address another of those long-standing problems: Coaches calling plays to the players.
"If a player can't see you, if they're not locked in with eye contact, they're not going to know what I'm saying," Gallaudet head coach Chuck Goldstein said in an explanatory video.
With the new helmet, a Gallaudet coach will use a tablet to select a play that is then transmitted via cell service to a small lens built into the player's helmet. Quarterback Brandon Washington will debut the helmet on Saturday in the Bison's home game against Hilbert College.
"This will help to level the playing field" for deaf and hard of hearing athletes who play in mainstream leagues, Shelby Bean, special teams coordinator and former player for Gallaudet, said in a press release. "As a former player, I am very excited to see this innovative technology change our lives and the game of football itself."
Unlike the NFL, college football generally does not allow the use of helmet-based communication systems. The NCAA has only approved the helmet for use in one game as a trial.
A deaf football team at Gallaudet pioneered perhaps the most iconic sports communication innovation — the huddle. In an 1894 game against another deaf team, Gallaudet's quarterback didn't want to risk his opponent looking in on his American Sign Language conversations with his teammates, so he gathered them around in the tight circle now commonplace in many team sports."...
..."Players on Gallaudet's football team, which competes in NCAA's Division III, have long faced challenges against teams with hearing athletes, such as an inability to hear referees' whistles that signal the end of a play.
The helmet, which was developed in conjunction with communications giant AT&T, aims to address another of those long-standing problems: Coaches calling plays to the players.
"If a player can't see you, if they're not locked in with eye contact, they're not going to know what I'm saying," Gallaudet head coach Chuck Goldstein said in an explanatory video.
With the new helmet, a Gallaudet coach will use a tablet to select a play that is then transmitted via cell service to a small lens built into the player's helmet. Quarterback Brandon Washington will debut the helmet on Saturday in the Bison's home game against Hilbert College.
"This will help to level the playing field" for deaf and hard of hearing athletes who play in mainstream leagues, Shelby Bean, special teams coordinator and former player for Gallaudet, said in a press release. "As a former player, I am very excited to see this innovative technology change our lives and the game of football itself."
Unlike the NFL, college football generally does not allow the use of helmet-based communication systems. The NCAA has only approved the helmet for use in one game as a trial.
A deaf football team at Gallaudet pioneered perhaps the most iconic sports communication innovation — the huddle. In an 1894 game against another deaf team, Gallaudet's quarterback didn't want to risk his opponent looking in on his American Sign Language conversations with his teammates, so he gathered them around in the tight circle now commonplace in many team sports."...
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I've been on the Gallaudet's campus...interesting place. Good to see this sort of invention put to this kind of use.
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I remember when I was in college, we went up to Morgantown,NC to the school for the deaf. We attended a football practice and had lots of questions. One thing we did learn was they were rarely called for offsides since the focused on the ball being snapped.
I agree, the technology here could really hel a number of deaf football players.
I agree, the technology here could really hel a number of deaf football players.
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