It is never Game, Set, Match for Technology
Humans don’t have the eyes of hawks but they have designed technology which does not fall prey to human error...
Hawk-Eye Innovations has developed technology used in ball-tracking systems in tennis to ensure greater accuracy and analysis. The Hawk-Eye Officiating System completed its debut fortnight at the Wimbledon Championships in 2007.
This state of the art creation is vital for ensuring high pressure points are not compromised by umpiring mistakes and brings fans closer to the action.
How does it work?
The centre of the ball is identified within each frame of each camera using vision processing. By also tracking the lines of the court, it is possible to compensate for camera movement. The system provides the 3D positions of the ball and the process is repeated for each frame so that all the positions can be combined to produce a single trajectory of the flight of the ball. The trajectory is then used to calculate the exact bounce point area where the ball made contact with the court.
What the professionals say...
Andre Agassi: “In my 20 years in professional tennis [Hawk Eye] is one of he most exciting things to happen for players, fans and television viewers. This new technology will add a whole new dimension to the game”.
Maria Sharapova: “On top of getting just the calls right time after time, which will be nice, it’ll add another aspect for TV viewers. If a player has two challenges per set, it will add drama and excitement. This will add to tennis and take out a lot of human error.”
Key Facts
- Hawk-Eye made its debut at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
- Hawk-Eye has 40 full-time employees, together with numerous experienced free-lance operators.
- Hawk-Eye has won 2 BAFTAs, 1 Emmy, 1 Logie, 3 Royal Academy Awards and a recognition as “Best Technology” by the British Computer Society.