NFL Adopts Sony's 'Virtual Measurements' for Football's First Downs

theodp writes: America's National Football League announced that beginning with the 2025 season, Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology will assess and identify first downs after a ball spot. Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology, which consists of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the position of the ball, is operated from the NFL's 'Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center' in New York and is integrated with the League's existing replay system. It will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of having a three-person chain crew walk chains onto the field and manually measure whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball.

However, the chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.

The NFL's executive VP of football operations says their move brings 'world-class on field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence.' (The NFL's announcement notes the whole process takes about 30 seconds, 'saving up to 40 seconds from a measurement with the chains.')

The move comes a full seven years after Apple introduced its iPhone Measure app...

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