FIFA Quality Programme certifies TRACAB for optical tracking
The new Gen5 version of ChyronHego’s TRACAB optical tracking system has been certified by the new FIFA Quality Programme for EPTS (Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems) for the global football industry. Four tracking systems have achieved this certification.
For the EPTS programme, FIFA appointed Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, to conduct specialised testing using a standardised protocol designed to bring independence, objectivity, and transparency to the process. Designed for a sports market in which data accuracy is becoming ever more important, test scenarios measured the performance of tracking systems in different situations.
The resultant data was measured against data from the millimetre-accurate VICON motion capture system, which represents the gold standard for ground-truth comparison. The results attained through the EPTS assessment showed that TRACAB Gen5 data was of the highest possible quality across all measured categories.
Spatial-temporal and derived-metrics data feeds from TRACAB Gen5 systems can be accessed through a series of APIs to service the wide variety and expanding number of use cases for football data. The data supports broadcast applications such as rendering live player graphics with tools such as Virtual Football for illustration purposes; performance analysis applications used in coaching; and even in-stadium entertainment on LED boards using Click Effects PRIME.
Derived metrics are available for contextualised in-game and seasonal analysis of statistics. When ultra-low latency is of the utmost importance, as for innovative applications such as fan engagement using augmented reality, data from TRACAB Gen5 can be delivered within 150ms.
“Previous generations of TRACAB, deployed on well over 2,500 football matches every year, already perform at a very high level, but with Gen5 we’ve introduced a brand-new architecture that solves many of the challenges associated with optical tracking, especially around object occlusion,” said Eric Hayman, chief scientist at ChyronHego.
“This new architecture and significant redevelopment of our AI algorithms allow TRACAB Gen5 to perform in a class above its previous generations, especially in player identification and ball-tracking capabilities. This has certainly been evident in the FIFA testing results and certification, which we are honoured to have received.”
The FIFA Quality Programme aims to endorse products that meet strict quality requirements to improve the game and to protect the players, clubs and associations.