UCLA Football Uses A Drone at Practice, And Your Team Could Someday, Too
The UCLA football team is using a non-military drone to observe practice drills and gather data, and the use of drones in other sports is skewing the practice toward the mainstream despite potential legal issues , according to an ESPN Outside the Lines report.
The U.S. Polo Association, Formula One Racing, and assorted high school football teams are using drones to take video and track various aspects of performance. At UCLA, the drone tracks the daily minutiae of Bruins players as they sweat and grunt on the practice field. From the ESPN story:
[fragment number=0]
The legality of using drones to track football players from above is an ongoing battle. Without specific laws banning the practice, many organizations are going ahead with it. UCLA’s video coordinator, Ken Norris, is the team’s official drone pilot. He has no special qualifications or licenses to operate the drone. An FAA spokeseman told ESPN it was working with “a few distinct industries’’ to come up with regulations for flying drones, and that while sports are not yet one of those industries, the FAA “would welcome’’ the chance to work with the industry.
Polo, a sport that traces its roots to 600 B.C., would seem like an odd choice to adapt the new technology, but with players competing over a space of about 10 acres, the USPA uses drones to train its officials.
[fragment number=1]
In addition to the legal concerns, there are safety concerns to consider, such as the skill level of the pilot operating the machines so close to human beings. In February, the NFL denied a request by a media outlet to fly a drone outside the Super Bowl for crowd shots, according to ESPN. There’s also the potential issue of nefarious uses, of bringing Bill Belichick’s Spygate controversy into a new era. Asked whether he’d be tempted to use his team’s drone to spy on a rival team, UCLA’s Mora said, “Nah, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to play by the rules.’’
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com