iPhone replaces the VAR system in the Premier League
The Premier League introduces a new system for recognising offside. Thanks to machine learning, the positions of limbs are calculated even if they are not visible. The iPhone has a key role to play here.
FIFA system causes problems
How does SAOT work?
Genius employee Matt Fleckenstein explains the system like this: Around the pitch, 24 to 28 iPhones are set up in rigs of two. This gives Genius between 7,000 and 10,000 data points and allows it to create 3D renderings of each individual player.
The result is a kind of virtual 3D mesh that shows the referees exactly where the offside line is. Thanks to the many data points, missing details - due to lighting problems, for example - are negligible. In addition, the iPhones have very high refresh rates, which also benefits the quality. In test phases, up to 200 frames per second were tested, but the decision was then made in favour of 100 frames per second.
The system recognises individual body parts and can determine where they are located if they are not visible (for example, if they are obscured by another player). This even applies to the tip of a foot. In this way, the position of the ball and that of each player (including goalkeepers) and their body parts are calculated.
As offside occurs when the ball leaves the foot of the passing player according to the regulations, it is essential that the position of all body parts of every possible pass recipient can be calculated.
The measurement system is to be used in the Premier League by the end of the current season.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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