Spectators and athletes at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships were among the first to see Thought Development, Inc laser-line system that displayed leading marks in field events. Actually, Wednesday’s women’s javelin competition was the first time an in-stadium laser system was used globally in a live sporting event. “Since the days of Bill Bowerman,” Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna said in a press release, “TrackTownUSA has been committed to enhancing the experience of the athletes and spectators. The technology developed by Thought Development, Inc represents the next step in a long traddition of innovation in TrackTown.” How it works is actually relatively simple. A three-man crew — one on the field with radio, one on the roof of Hayward Field’s west grandstand, and one on press row working with a laptop — operate a state-of-the art laser system that displays the current leading mark in field events on the field. At field level the laser’s inventor, Alan Amron, radios the leading mark to an operator on press row who plugs the numbers into a laptop. A third operator monitors the laser itself on the roof who can shut off the laser if anything goes wrong. more
