The way sports is experienced in 2025 is much different than it was in 1995. Whether it is broadcasting or signage or scoreboard control, the evolution of sports continues as we head into 2026.
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Today, take a look at new innovations from Watchfire, Red Dot Digital Media, and Daktronics.
Watchfire Debuts Simple, Reliable Scoreboard Control
Watchfire recently unveiled TouchConnect, a scoreboard controller that is enhancing game-day operations with a faster, smarter, and more intuitive scoring experience. Developed alongside coaches and athletic administrators, TouchConnect is the next generation of scoring devices. It replaces traditional keypads and coded interfaces with a modern touchscreen experience that mirrors how sports are actually run. Anyone who understands how a sport is scored can operate the scorer confidently, without needing a manual.
“We set out to design the most user-friendly controller in high school sports,” said Kyle Dines, VP of sports and indoor for Watchfire. “The TouchConnect removes the frustration coaches and operators have long felt with complex keypads and cryptic interfaces. If you know how the sport is scored, you can master the TouchConnect confidently in 60 seconds.”
TouchConnect is built to streamline operations, reduce errors, and keep scoring simple in every environment. Key features include sport-specific layouts; fast, fluid editing; the freedom to score from the sidelines for up to eight hours on a single charge; and seamless system compatibility.
Red Dot Digital Media, AIM Sports Group Create New Interactive System to Measure Athletes’ Vertical Jump
Red Dot Digital Media recently collaborated with AIM Sports Group to design and deliver an innovative interactive vertical jump system that captures verified player measurables and integrates them into AIM’s Sports Group newly launched AIM+ digital platform.
AIM+ leverages AI to provide advanced analytics, and this activation gave athletes and spectators a gamified way to engage with the technology. The system made its debut at the SoCal Cup Showcase, AIM’s Sports Group national boys volleyball tournaments, where athletes could measure their vertical jump, view live leaderboards and even compare themselves to well-known professional athletes. Each jump was logged into AIM+, automatically updating the player’s digital profile with fresh stats and tournament highlights.
Red Dot engineered a custom-built vertical jump meter anchored by a 55-inch interactive touch display mounted on a truss-style stand. Before each attempt, an attendant entered the athlete’s information and standing reach into an iPad interface, which connected wirelessly to a BrightSign media player powering the system. When the athlete jumped and tapped the screen, the system instantly calculated and displayed their vertical leap with a dynamic graphic. Immediately following each jump, the display transitioned to a live leaderboard that highlighted the athlete’s score and showed their ranking within their age division. If their performance landed them in the top ten, their name appeared on the board until displaced by higher scores.
To inspire participants further, the leaderboard also featured vertical jump statistics from famous athletes, giving players a tangible benchmark to compare themselves against. When not in use, the system runs in a standby mode that cycles through sponsor content and promotional videos. The display is also pre-programmed with contextual icons for different sports, such as men’s and women’s volleyball net heights and a basketball rim, helping athletes better visualize their jump results.
To support AIM’s Sports Group digital vision, the system logs each participant’s results and uploads them to AIM+, allowing players to access their data long after the event. The design incorporated practical branding and usability elements, including a custom wrap around the truss to promote AIM Sports Group, while serving as a static measuring tool for athletes to gauge their standing reach.
Daktronics and Grass Valley Announce Show Control API Integration
Daktronics and Grass Valley announce a new milestone in their ongoing strategic partnership. Together, the companies are developing a next-generation, deeply integrated workflow that allows Grass Valley production switchers and control systems to natively access and interact with the Daktronics Show Control API, setting a new industry benchmark for unified venue production.
This advancement builds on the strategic alliance announced earlier this year, extending the collaboration into a powerful technical integration that goes far beyond the simple, industry-standard triggers commonly used in the market today. Grass Valley and Daktronics are co-engineering an advanced communication layer designed to create a rich, two-way exchange between Grass Valley switchers and the Daktronics Display Studio environment. The result will be a seamless, intelligent connection that improves coordination between control room and display operations while giving production teams the ability to tailor workflows to the specific needs of each event.
As part of this integration, Grass Valley switchers will be able to understand and interact with the full structure of the Daktronics Show Control and Display Studio workspace. This includes reading all available workspaces, pages, containers, tabs and button hierarchies, along with retrieving detailed button definitions and associated metadata. Operators will also have the ability to remotely control or trigger playback elements in the Daktronics system directly from Grass Valley interfaces.
