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Computer Vision to measure the distance covered

Technologies
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Have you ever wondered how the distance covered by Ronaldo, Mbappé, Lewandowski or Benzema is measured in football matches? Do not worry, in today’s post we will tell you everything about what technology is used, what can be known with this and other different ways of measuring distance. Of course, we anticipate that computer vision is used.

What technology is used?

First, we will talk about the technology that is used. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is that they wear a bracelet on their wrist that measures the distance each person travels. However, in this case it is not so. The technology used is older than these currently in-demand devices. This is computer vision with computer intelligence. And it is that, it has been in use since 1999!The system of the leading company in the market, StatsPerform, uses 3 4K cameras to obtain the coordinates of each player and the ball at all times. In addition, they have an additional system of six elevated chambers to support the results of the other chambers. In this way, an computer vision system is used to measure the distance traveled.But, how is this computer vision system constituted? This model has been composed with ‘good’ data in which the player is seen clearly and in stable light. This allows the system to learn and then work also when there are shadows or non-uniform light.
Currently, the Italian company Deltatre is in charge at UEFA to carry out this monitoring. In their case, they use 16 cameras that are installed in the upper area of ​​the stadium, at no less than 15 meters high. This type of computer vision systems are capable of performing calculations with only a 3-4% error. It’s amazing!

Also, due to this type of computer vision systems, a precision of 5-10 centimeters is achieved and it is refreshed about 25 times per second.

What can we know computer vision?

Thanks to this technology it is possible to calculate distances at all times and statistics such as dribbles, interceptions or distance covered in a counterattack. As you can see in the following video, this can be achieved thanks to the monitoring of the player in real time, through computer vision.

wordpress-03In addition, through this computer vision system, it is possible to observe and study the way in which the players hit the ball, as well as the body position of each one.
wordpress-02In this way it is possible to know that the Spanish League is the competition in which the greatest distance is covered. That’s why coaches always insist on outrunning the opponent.

Other ways to measure distance

Next and as we anticipated at the beginning of the post, there are other technologies that are not computer vision systems to measure distances, such as the sensors in the players’ own shoes. Although this type of technology is usually used more for personal use than to analyze the matches. For example, we tell you the case of Adidas, where they have an application, MiCoach Speed ​​Cell, which records strides and lateral movements, and sends them to the smartphone.

What is the technology of the future in football?

This paragraph is going to talk about future technology in football. Everything points to Data Augmented Video, also known as DAV. With this technology it is about showing infographics and data in real time to the general public. This is something that already happens when, for example, a line is marked on television to see if it has been offside. However, with the DAV it will be possible to collect more data and with the information superimposed at all times.
Foto_3On the other hand, if you thought that the tactics are designed by the coach thanks to his intuition with a blackboard, you should know that now computer intelligence with the help of computer vision is capable of collecting, calculating and even estimating the best plays. Isn’t that fascinating?
So when you see Ronaldo, Mbappé, Lewandowski or Benzema running again and you wonder how the kilometers covered in each game are calculated, remember that not only do they have a lot of television cameras following them, but also other computer vision cameras and their AIs are also aware of them at all times.
In conclusion , you can already know all the necessary information on how to measure the distance traveled in a match and on computer vision systems.
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