Description
Hawkeye is a system whereby cameras and video technology is used to construct virtual simulations of a moving object. The system was developed in the UK in 2001 and is used to track the movement of a ball and predict it's most likely pathway. Hawkeye first made it's appearance in cricket and is now used in tennis, snooker. The inventors are hopeful that the system will be used in soccer in the near future.
Purpose
The purpose of the system is different depending on which sport the technology is used in. Hawkeye is used in the sport of Cricket for example by broadcasters, fans and coaches to analyse a range of information including lbw decisions, speed of the ball, shots played by the batsman, pitch of the ball. The technology is NOT used to adjudicate on decisions. In tennis however the technology is used to determine if a ball has bounced in or out of the court during play. Players and umpires can use the technology to make decisions about points during the course of the game. In snooker the technology is used to enhance the viewers experience of the game to determine what shots should have been played or see the shot from a players perspective.
Environment
The impact that this system can have on the environment may include....
- Hawkeye could influence the crowd watching a match to be more likely to question a referees decision or encourage players to question decisions.
- The umpire could be less likely to make decisions for fear of being wrong.
- Hawkeye could perhaps one day replace some officials and referees.
- This technology could have a big impact on coaching players and reviewing matches.
- Hawkeye technology could be used to develop sports equipment that produce faster more accurate shots.
- The speed and accuracy of video technology could improve and therefore improve the system.
- The surface and materials used in sports equipment may change and therefore mean the system may need to be readjusted.
- Organizations like FIFA may want to inlcude the technology in their sport and therefore the designers would need to develop better systems to meet these needs.
How does the system meet the needs of people
The system meets the needs of people in different ways. The system will meet different needs depending on how the person.
Participants - Programmers, system designers, systems analyzers, graphic designers, camera and hardware technicians etc. These are the people who actual develop how the system functions and works. The system will be meet the needs of these people depending on their role.
Users - Umpires, referees, players, coaches. These people are the main groups of people that really use the system to help them make decisions either during a match or during coaching/review sessions.
People from the environment -Viewers, spectators. This group of people is not really involved in the use of the system but their experience of the sport is enhanced by this system and the way it is used.
Information Processes
Collecting - Video cameras are used to collect data about the direction, trajectory and speed of the ball. Each video camera has a separate computer to process the video signal. The data is then sent to a main computer.
Organising - The computer then combines the data from each camera to measure the 3D position of the ball throughout the flight of the ball.
Analysing - Once the 3D position of the ball is established. The system will then be able to analyse the data and produce predictions about where the ball may finish in the case of cricket or snooker or where the ball landed in the case of tennis. Commentators can also use the data to analyse how many 4s or 6s a players has hit during the match.
Storage and Retrieval - In case of Hawkeye and it's use in cricket. The pitch, height, speed, direction of the ball throughout the match can be tracked and stored on a hard drive. The data can then retrieved to analyse different aspects of the match such as statistics on bowlers and batsmen.
Processing -There is a lot of processing involved in this system. One of the best examples of where processing is used is in the processing of the video data into information about the position of the ball in the frame. Each 2D image captured by the video cameras are then processed by a central computer to triangulate the position of the ball in 3D space.
Transmitting and Receiving -There are several examples of transmitting and receiving in this system. Data is transmitted from the cameras themselves to the main computer for processing. When the 3D simulation is generated by the main computer this is transmitted to the central broadcast area which is then transmitted to the viewing public.
Display -The data is displayed first to the central computer as a series of 2D images on a monitor. The data will then be processed into 3D information and displayed as a 3D simulation on a monitor.
Data and Information
The data used by the system would be the mathematical position of the ball in each frame of each video generated by each camera. That data would be converted by the system into valuable information such as pitch, speed, trajectory, height, and other characteristics of the ball as it travels through space and time.
Information Technology
Hardware - The hardware that is used by the system would include video cameras, individual video processing computers, central computer, monitors, keyboards, communication technology such as network routers.
Software - Video processing software, operating system, communication software, simulation software.
Social and Ethical Issues - Data accuracy
One of the biggest issues associated with this system is it's accuracy. The system is really only successful if it accurate. The developers of the system have stated that the system has a 3.6 mm statistical margin for error. So in other words so Hawkeye could potentially be 3.6 mm off in calculating the exact bounce or trajectory of the ball. In most cases this is a very low margin of error however in some cases this margin of error can make a big difference. Take for example a decision line decision in the Nadal-Federer final at Wimbledon in 2008. The ball was called in by 1 mm well within this margin for error. Part of the problem is not that the system is inaccurate, because all computer systems can only be accurate to a certain point, but that so many people rely on the data. Officials, umpires, players and commentators forget that the system can be wrong and that it human judgment should still be involved.
Bibliography
Complete document on how Hawkeye works
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk-Eye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G1GZgKNUYk
http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk/
http://community.active.com/people/inside_tennis/blog/2008/01/31/hawkeye-technology-big-brother-is-watching
