NFL Aerial Camera Tech To Be Deployed in Building Construction

Mar 9, 2023 | Sports

CU-Brick, a cable-driven robot, building a wall with wooden blocks in a well-lit room

OUR TAKE

The NFL is constantly implementing high-tech features to improve the fan and viewer experience. We’ve talked previously about the NFL adopting promising technology, like AR in stadiums, but now industries are adopting and modifying the tech popularized by them. The CU-Brick has the ability to automate parts of construction work with improved precision and efficiency. Instead of thinking that the new tech will replace workers, think of it as replacing the backbreaking part of construction that, according to the creator Darwin Lau, “no human workers…want to do.”

Source Summary

During NFL broadcasts, the league uses a computer-controlled, cable-suspended camera, known as SkyCam, that’s capable of maneuvering through three dimensions to record the game at video-game-like camera angles. SkyCam has become a staple in the sports video space, but its uses are expanding beyond broadcasting. A team of researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is applying the same technology to construction. Their iteration, known as CU-Brick, is capable of piecing together complex structures in 3-dimensional space, replacing the NFL’s camera with a robotic arm that picks up bricks and places them in precise locations. Its creators see the potential to increase the speed, accuracy and safety of construction projects.

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