45 THE LIVE LIFE AI Production
player performance. Image detection means the AI technology can recognise different players and follow them, or, detect a ball on a pitch and follow its movements. “The potential for AI in this respect is huge, especially in the production of live sports content,” says Bais. “As algorithms develop, AI can detect faults (yellow or red cards) or injuries as it learns how to make productions more interesting and story-like. There are plenty of smaller sports that could use this technology to become content owners in their own right at a low cost and then monetise it. “Only 10% of professional sports are premier or first leagues. The majority are second or third tier sports, many of which are played at grounds or parks with limited Internet connectivity, even when they’re in middle of a city.” That’s where Mobile Viewpoint’s bonded cellular links come in. It’s 3G and 4G capable today, encoded in HEVC H.265, but primed for 5G, which telcos worldwide, including local giant KPN, will roll out in 2020. The Netherlands Pro women’s football league, for example, is keen to install IQ Sports Producer at six venues throughout the country as a budget-friendly means of
launching a new online matchday streaming service.
has to play with it, the more it can differentiate the ball from a piece of white paper on the pitch. While most budget-conscious customers might want a single camera solution, multiple cameras around a venue are essential for capturing a variety of angles and gathering more data to achieve greater accuracy. Planned enhancements to the software include AI-enabled ad insertion, auto playback of replays following a goal, auto highlights generation and continuing to train the system on a wider range of content, including motor sport and ice hockey. The system has even created a means of translating a game into 3D VR graphics within which a user can select the point of view of any player to analyse decision making during a game. It is currently being used by AFC Ajax as a training tool. “Our ambition is to bring this to the home,” says Bais. “With (Dutch telco) KPN we are working to bring a layer of interactivity to livestreamed games running on KPN’s set-top box.” AI enabled production tools are going to create a sports content boom. The next step may well be AIs that help manage the rising tide of sports content innovations.
EYE ON THE BALL The multi- camera capture of the action is live-stitched with coverage "directed" on the fly by the IQ Sports AI
ALGORITHMS GET UP TO SPEED Completely automating live sports streaming at the top level without the need for a production crew and director might be a bridge too far – for now. AI used for assisted production alongside humans is the immediate goal. One of the obstacles to fully automated streaming is that it takes time for an algorithm to learn the nuances of what is interesting or important for each sport. For example, an algorithm may think that capturing a fight breaking out during a football match is the same as capturing a punch being thrown during a boxing match – but for the viewer, these are two very different experiences – one that is normal and one that isn’t. “Getting the algorithms up to speed requires time, so there is still very much a role for humans,” says Bais. “The AI tends to look for people walking or running rather than people on the ground, so it doesn’t necessarily zoom in on a player who is down following a tackle, which may be what the viewer would like to see.” Higher image resolutions help too, since the more pixels the AI
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