This four-part series examines the NFL’s $60 million investment in the Engineering Roadmap to develop research and technology to make football safer. Part one discusses the data behind the controversial helmet rule. Part two outlines the engineering work supporting the roadmap. Part three discusses the crowdsourcing of innovative solutions. This part looks at the future of the program and a new data collection device.
The University of Virginia football team’s season-opening 42-13 victory over Richmond seemed like just an unremarkable rout of a much smaller program. Hidden from public view, however, was something quite noteworthy: at least two-dozen Virginia players were wearing a new sensor technology embedded in their mouthguards that had been developed by NFL-commissioned engineers.