Blind Fans Get Vibrating Tablets to Feel the Super Bowl

Imagine attending the Super Bowl but having to wait up to a minute to find out what just happened on the field. For blind and low-vision football fans, that frustrating delay is about to become history.

Ten fans will use revolutionary OneCourt tablets at the Super Bowl on February 8 in Santa Clara, California. The iPad-sized devices have raised lines outlining a football field and vibrate differently for tackles, touchdowns, and other plays while delivering real-time audio through headphones.

"It will allow me to engage and enjoy the game as close as possible as people who can see," said Scott Thornhill, executive director of the American Council of the Blind, who will be among the fans using the technology. "As someone who grew up playing sports before I lost my vision, I'm getting a big part of my life back that I've been missing."

The device tracks the ball's location using the same NFL data that powers player safety systems and gambling statistics. Cameras and chips embedded in balls and jerseys generate precise information that OneCourt translates into unique vibrations and trackable movements on the tablet's surface.

Clark Roberts got to test the technology at a Seattle Seahawks game in December. Roberts, who lost his sight at 24 due to retinitis pigmentosa, said the real-time audio was the game changer he'd been waiting for.

"Usually when I'm listening to a game, there can be a delay of up to a minute or more and that can be challenging," Roberts explained. "Can you imagine how this can open up everything, not just football?"

The Ripple Effect

OneCourt launched just three years ago after founder Jerred Mace saw a blind person at a soccer match and realized sports should be accessible to everyone. The startup has already partnered with five NFL teams, along with NBA and Major League Baseball organizations, to provide free devices at games.

The NFL piloted the program 15 times during the regular season with teams including the Seahawks, Jaguars, 49ers, Falcons, and Vikings. Ticketmaster funded the pilot to ensure fans could use the devices without charge.

Now the technology is expanding to hockey and sports organizations worldwide. The company is working to bring the same experience to blind and low-vision fans across every major sport.

"The Super Bowl is such an amazing event and now blind and low-vision fans can use our technology in a way they deserve," said OneCourt co-founder Antyush Bollini. The NFL is evaluating how to implement the technology more broadly after the Super Bowl debut.

For fans like Thornhill, the impact goes far beyond football: "To attend a game and not have to wait for someone to tell me what happened, it's hard to even describe how much that means to me."