Come on, ref!
13 December 2022
The days of players arguing with the referee are over, or are they really? In the global spotlight right now is a sport/industry crossover application that involves sensors embedded in the FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament balls, no less.
Supplied by connectivity and automation specialist KINEXON, technology involving the integration of a localisation and motion sensor in each ball is being used at FIFA World Cup 2022, in much the same way as sensors are widely used in automated factory set-ups.
In Qatar, each match ball contains sensor technology that collects spatial positioning data in real time. Combined with existing optical tracking tools, the goal (sorry!) is to improve the accuracy of VAR and offside reviews, with the aid of AI.
Specifically, each ball has two separate sensors in it: an ultra-wideband (UWB) sensor, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor. Together, they provide precise positional data allied to granular movement in three dimensions, detecting movements at 500 frames per second frequencies, and sending data to local positioning systems (LPS) around each pitch.
Sports giant Adidas is involved also, providing KINEXON's in-ball device with suspension technology to house the sensor at the central interior point of the ball, and keeping it secure in a consistent location.
Also involved is well-known tennis technology company Hawk-Eye, whose optical camera tracking expertise is tracking both the ball itself and each player 50 times per second.
Together, the result, in theory, is the determination of highly accurate (and quick) offside decisions. So, is there a downside? Well, reducing the things we can argue about in the pub afterwards might be one?
More information here.
Contact Details and Archive...