Dallas Cowboys Train With VR

http://recode.net/2015/06/07/the-dallas-cowboys-will-soon-train-their-quarterbacks-in-virtual-reality/

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• By Eric Johnson
• @heyheyesj
• EMAIL

It’s been 20 years since the Dallas Cowboys won a Super Bowl — but maybe some cutting-edge technology will help them turn things around.

The Cowboys have inked a two-year deal with StriVR Labs, a virtual reality sports startup, to train all of its quarterbacks using a VR headset, according to a source familiar with the deal. After donning the headset, players see a live-action 3-D video replay of a football play from the quarterback’s perspective, and can review that play from a first-person view over and over, looking in any direction.

Currently, StriVR’s technology is not interactive, but instead aims to teach quarterbacks decision-making skills in the context of a real play. It also aims to make it easier to give both starters and backup quarterbacks more opportunities to learn without needing the whole team on the field.

Former Stanford University kicker Derek Belch developed StriVR as a master’s thesis in the school’s VR lab, and spun the company out earlier this year after the technology was credited with helping the school turn around its football season.

After Stanford, which continues to use the technology, StriVR previously signed deals with five collegiate football programs: Arkansas, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Dartmouth.