44 THE LIVE LIFE AI Production
panned, or zoomed as directed by the AI software, which is trained to follow the action as a human director would, all of which the system does with about a one-second latency. At its crudest, the AI can track groups of players (that being the most likely location for the key action), but more sophisticated applications can be taught to anticipate where a ball might be passed to. AN EYE ON THE BALL The camera was originally built by China’s Hikvision for surveillance purposes, but it has proved well suited for this solution, not least because it is relatively cheap (around �5000 per module) and is designed to withstand all weather as well as vandalism. Plus, the camera’s four 4K feeds are reliably in sync, which, Bais says, is not always the case. The second part of IQ Sports Producer package is hardware
THERE ARE PLENTY OF SMALLER SPORTS THAT COULD USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO BECOME CONTENT OWNERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT AT A LOWCOST AND THENMONETISE IT
containing three Nvidia GPU boards, plus the AI software and, of course, Mobile Viewpoint’s forte, the mobile connectivity. “IP links are our bread and butter,” says Bais. The AI software can combine motion-tracking with positional and other biometric data gathered from sensors (RFID, accelerometers, GPS) worn on special vests by the players themselves. The first (currently only) system with the 32MP camera in Europe
is installed at Amsterdam’s AFC Ajax, the biggest football club in the Netherlands and part of the UEFA Champions League. Ajax is using it to film and stream its matches to its club web channel Ajax TV. The captured footage is also used to gather data for player performance analysis during training. The Ajax training academy can monitor why a player missed a goal, why they failed to make an assist and help improve
feedzine feed.zine feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook