A former Stanford kicker may soon have more than enough money to get regularly liquored up.
Derek Belch, current CEO of STRIVR Labs and former Stanford kicker, appeared on Tuesday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio to discuss the growing use of virtual reality technology by NFL teams. Belch said that two more teams already have signed on to use the product, joining the Cowboys and 49ers. (Belch declined to name names.)
Belch also said that up to 10 teams could adopt the product this year.
He also explained how the technology works. Unlike EON Sports VR’s video-game product, STRIVR uses actual practice footage, shot by a 360-degree camera. (This video demonstration shows how it works, and it looks pretty good.)
Belch explained that STRIVR has developed the tool for use by positions other than quarterback, with the goal of eventually having all positions able to train via virtual reality. Hurdles include overcoming the possibility of motion sickness from using the headset, along with properly adapting the technology for use by linemen, who operate in close quarters, often with their heads down before the snap.
While STRIVR currently intends to focus on maximizing the performance of the product for NFL and college teams, Belch sees at some point an in-home gaming application, available for purchase during an upcoming Christmas season.
For those (like me) who find the current NFL video game options (or, technically, option) completely unfulfilling, that upcoming Christmas season can’t come soon enough.
The full interview with Derek Belch appears below.