PRACTICE FOOTBALL HELPS PLAYERS AVOID FUMBLES; AETNA, TEXAS HEALTH FORM JOINT COMPANY; AT&T, DFW AIRPORT PARTNER TO DECREASE WAIT TIMES

Every day Dallas Innovates staffers scour websites looking for the most interesting, important, and unusual stories about innovation and creativity. Here are three we thought you’d like:

The Dallas Cowboys implemented new technology that will, hopefully, have them whistling all season long. The High and Tight football design has sensors that help players avoid fumbling. A whistling sound means the football is in the proper position, and silence means players have lost contact. Football isn’t the only sport to invest in technology, as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Wired magazine recently that he’s invested in “countless tech companies that impact the Mavs,” including Synergy Sports, a web-based analytics platform.

Cuban’s latest investment, however, isn’t sports related at all. You may have seen Nuts ‘N More peanut butter and Tower Paddle Boards on Shark Tank. Now, The Dallas Morning News reports that these brands, along with others the billionaire has invested in, are available on Amazon’s Exclusives online store.

Aetna and Texas Health Resources are partnering together, making Aetna the first North Texas health system to pair with a national payer to form a joint company. The for-profit health plan company plans to sell to individuals and employers in 14 counties throughout North Texas, including Dallas and Denton. Texas Health Resources aims to make healthcare more convenient for its patients, as it consolidates two systems into one larger network. The deal is still pending approval by the Texas Department of Insurance, so more details are to come. Here’s more on the partnership.

Traveling might get a little easier this summer, thanks to AT&T and DFW Airport’s newest plan to shorten passenger wait times. If the contract is approved Thursday, airport employees will anonymously track cell phones used in AT&T’s Wi-Fi network at the airport. This data would identify traffic patterns so TSA employees can make the process as efficient as possible. This is part of the effort to alleviate the hour-long wait times reported at the peak of the summer. The Star-Telegram has more on the plan.

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