ice rink hockey ref in the US are taking to the cold hooey sportingApple Watch modelsequipped with a special app designed to help oneself them wrangle the rough and tumble on - meth action .
The NHL Watch Comms App on Apple Watch andApple Watch Ultramodels ( below ) will deliver haptic notifications giving refs biz clock and penalisation clock countdowns , while helping them keep tabs on which players have been banished to the punishment box .
The app is being introduced in line with the National Hockey League ’s Stadium Series , where biz will be play outdoors at Ohio Stadium . In ablog postthis hebdomad , the league said the app gives refs a helping mitt in lieu of the gargantuan scoreboard hanging above centre ice rink .
“ The normal in - secret plan environment – with ululate crowd and lightning - loyal speed – has certain challenges when it comes to communicating between official , and an outdoor environment can be even more challenging , ” the League said .
The app has been made by a developer called Presidio in quislingism with Apple and the NHL . “ We want to make indisputable that the official had really good awareness and were able to keep their eye on play , ” Andres de Corral , vice president of digital services at Presidio toldThe Verge . “ So by enabling haptic responses , we were able-bodied to provide non - visual cues to the officials . ”
It ’s not the first partnership the NHL has struck with Apple . Since 2017 , coach and participant in the conference have received real - time video on iPad model to help them “ make in game alteration . ” The league is bet into branching into lineal communicating between the four officials on the ice , other official in the scene of action , and those in the video recap centre in Toronto , Canada .
Opinion
devote the weekly controversies surrounding VAR in the Premier League and the wide football game world , it ’s nice to see some non - invasive technology helping the officials with no sense of controversy involved !