Cutting-edge sports statistics
A new technology gives coaches and fans the ability to track how fast players
run, how far, what areas of the field players occupy and many other new
statistics. The technology uses HD cameras as to not interfere with the game.
Currently the system is being used for soccer matches, and NFL and NBA
games could be in the future. Northbrook, Ill. based Stats LLC and Tel Aviv
based SportVU joined together to develop the technology last year.
How players are tracked
Before each game an operator must “re-teach” the system, which includes setting up sensors that
follow player movement, marking boundaries and assigning player profiles to detected objects.
HD cameras, or sensors,
A. Three
positioned from the control booth
live video is fed into a computer
B. The
and the three camera views are
each record one third of the field.
brought together to form one field.
objects (players, referees, the ball)
C. Any
on the field appear on the operators
computer screen as a dot. The software uses
these dots to track player movement.
A.
SETTING BOUNDARIES
The operator traces the
out-of-bounds lines on
the computer-generated
field to keep the system
from detecting objects
not on the field of play.
SENSORS
3
3
RECOGNIZING TEAMS
Jersey color is used to group
players to teams. Since lighting
changes during the course of a
game, the sensors detect a spectrum
of the assigned color.
C.
2
1
2
1
PLAYER RECOGNITION
B.
PLAYER PROFILES
At the beginning of the game, the
operator assigns all players a profile,
which stores the current games
data as well as holding player
information from previous games.
DATA PROCESSING
Operator
EXTRA SENSOR
A fourth sensor is used
to detect new objects,
such as substitutions.
How players are measured
As the game progresses, the tracking software
compiles and logs how far players run, average
speed and what areas of the field the player occupies.
Coaches, broadcasters and fans can use this information
to evaluate players performance. Below is an example:
PLAYER GAME STATS
SPEED DISTRIBUTION
INDIVIDUAL POSSESSIONS
PLAYER LOCATION
Player speed and distance traveled
can be used to determine player
effort, conditioning and ability.
Game breakdowns provide average
speed in five minute increments.
Coaches can see speed over the
course of a game and use the
information to evaluate
conditioning. A late substitution
should walk less than a starter.
Possession indicates how
active a player is in the game.
Some positions, such as
center midfielder, should
have more touches.
The map indicates whether a
player is playing the position
correctly.
Minutes played
Distance ran
90
6.33 miles
Average speed
Sprints
Goals
Assists
SOURCE: Stats LLC, Tribune Reporting
4.17 mph
4
1
0
Jogging:
3.7-12.4 mph
Sprinting:
12.4+ mph
Walking:
Less than
3.7 mph
Red indicates where player
spent the most time
Touch:
Less than 0.5 sec.
Short:
0.5-1.5 sec.
Long:
1.5+ sec
PHIL GEIB AND ALEX BORDENS/TRIBUNE