NFL Adopts Sony's 'Virtual Measurements' for Football's First Downs (hawkeyeinnovations.com) 35
theodp writes: America's National Football League announced that beginning with the 2025 season, Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology will assess and identify first downs after a ball spot.
Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology, which consists of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the position of the ball, is operated from the NFL's "Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center" in New York and is integrated with the League's existing replay system. It will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of having a three-person chain crew walk chains onto the field and manually measure whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball.
However, the chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.
The NFL's executive VP of football operations says their move brings "world-class on field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence." (The NFL's announcement notes the whole process takes about 30 seconds, "saving up to 40 seconds from a measurement with the chains.")
The move comes a full seven years after Apple introduced its iPhone Measure app...
Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology, which consists of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the position of the ball, is operated from the NFL's "Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center" in New York and is integrated with the League's existing replay system. It will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of having a three-person chain crew walk chains onto the field and manually measure whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball.
However, the chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.
The NFL's executive VP of football operations says their move brings "world-class on field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence." (The NFL's announcement notes the whole process takes about 30 seconds, "saving up to 40 seconds from a measurement with the chains.")
The move comes a full seven years after Apple introduced its iPhone Measure app...
Two Consequences Not Addressed in TFA (Score:5, Interesting)
They only mention the system being used to replace a measurement ("walking chains onto the field"), but if it can do that, it should be able to do it all.
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The system doesn't determine the SPOT of the ball, it only determines whether the spot as determined by the human referees, is beyond 10 yards from the original line of scrimmage.
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I'm sure it could do all that as well but regarding touchdowns, those are already automatically reviewed now. I'm sure there are still going to be situations where this system won't be able to tell if it was a first down and humans will still get involved. Those rare fourth and inches, bodies piled high type situations.
It is pretty funny watching them run out the chains in this day, given the amount of technology is all around. Consider an unfavorable "ball spotting" is often the difference.
The real reason
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I'm sure it could do all that as well but regarding touchdowns, those are already automatically reviewed now. I'm sure there are still going to be situations where this system won't be able to tell if it was a first down and humans will still get involved. Those rare fourth and inches, bodies piled high type situations.
It is pretty funny watching them run out the chains in this day, given the amount of technology is all around. Consider an unfavorable "ball spotting" is often the difference.
The real reason we need this tech is for more certainty in our gambling. /s
Yes, those chains are very precisely mad, allowing us to precisely determine if any part of th football is past them.
This after the referees guess the forward progress, and put the ball down where they think it might have ended up.
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To me, the difference is that the ref doesn't know to the inch where the line is when he spots the ball. So he doesn't know which team he's giving it to. When they measure they know who will get it, but the chains are a very accurate and objective device. The chain crew has no power to influence the decision.
We understand that there's no way the ref can tell where the ball was to the inch when the runner went down or forward progress stopped. So really, it's "too close to call" and we'll just flip a coi
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If the system can call first downs, it can surely call touchdowns. Also, it would seem to eliminate challenges to either.
It measures the ball after the spot, not during play. So if they spot the ball in the end zone then yes, it can call touchdowns.
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The system doesn't tell the referees where to spot the ball, only whether the spot as determine by humans, is more than 10 yards from the original line of scrimmage. The touchdown line is clearly marked (unlike the 10 yards required for a first down), so the system would have no relevance to calling touchdowns.
Let's just go full Cyberball? (Score:5, Funny)
Robot refs, robot players, robot cheerleaders. When it comes to football, the less human element, the better. In fact, I'll remove myself and just not watch.
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Football was a misnomer anyway for "American Football"
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It's also for association football, Canadian football, and Australian football.
Re: robot cheerleaders (Score:2)
Wait wait wait! Robot Cheerleaders?
Where can I get one, or two?
(Asking for a friend, in case my ex sees this)
Pointless (Score:4, Interesting)
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Television broadcasts have been accurately overlaying the first down line on the screen for a couple decades. They could've done this long ago.
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It's all for speed. There's nothing in the press release about it making better calls. The only advantage described is that it can measure 10 yards faster than a chain crew can.
If anything, there is less show, since there is no chain crew to bring up and they won't have that close up shot of the ball and the stick, where we see if they made 1st down or not, that often comes after the measurement. And the 30 seconds of waiting they can fill with ad talk but the audience doesn't tune out since a critical c
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It's all for speed.
Yes, this is the current motivation. However, there is a second implicit motivation. Taking the baby step of using cameras to locate a stationary ball perhaps leads to using cameras to locate a moving ball. I would think that field goals could be called by cameras better than humans. Spotting the ball being carried is the challenge that would be most useful. The challenge with locating a ball that is being carried is that multiple cameras may be blocked at times. However, I imagine a more complex math
iPhone measure??? (Score:2)
>The move comes a full seven years after Apple introduced its iPhone Measure app...
???
*really*?
I'd rather hope that, unlike iPhone measure, this new contraption is constrained by the laws of physics!
The bizarreness of some of the measurements it tossed out could be amusing, but you just can't have a four foot section of a three foot beam . . .
Cool (Score:2)
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Sony.
You're welcome.
Rfid chip? (Score:2)
Providing accuracy down to an inch, even in a pileup ?
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Now that would really take the fun out of it. Sure, it would be accurate but how anti-climatic.
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Isn't the fun part designing and building the stadium?
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RFID chips have a very limited range, certainly not 50 yards to the edges of the field.
So I'm not really a sports guy (Score:2)
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The reason there is instant replay in college football is because of an egregiously clear foul which was not called during a Penn State game. Then coach Joe Paterno lobbied for replay because of it. For reference [triblive.com].
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I mean obviously a nerd I'm here aren't I? But doesn't this completely ruin one of the main points of fun around sports? IE bad ref calls?
Possible sarcasm, but yes. If we ever get sports to the point where the fans cannot bitch and moan about the referees, and where there is no controversy anywhere, anytime - the sports will go away.
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Anyway, your idea that sports fans watch sports just so they can bitch make it seem like you have a dark vision of the world or at least of sports fans.
Nah, the only people I have a dark vision of is the waste of sperm and egg anonymous cowards - that would be you.
Old news? (Score:2)
Hopefully pushes MLB to implement roboump (Score:2)
The accuracy of the umpires calling balls and strikes is atrocious.
The only tolerated human error should be by the players.
Lame. (Score:2)
automate (Score:2)
Just automate the whole damn game in simulation. Way fewer head injuries.