Football: Learn about limb-tracking and how it will revolutionize the world of this sport

Tests conducted by FIFA at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in late 2021 indicate that limb-tracking data could provide innovative insights and new applications for coaches, medical staff and fans, in addition to its critical role in technology semi-automatic offside FIFA is currently exploring the potential of limb tracking technologywhich allows for the real-time creation of three-dimensional visual representations of player skeletons.

This emerging technology in football, according to fifa.com, is one of the core elements of the semi-automatic offside system that was tested during the FIFA Arab Cup in Doha, the capital of Qatar. limb tracking technology it is based on a dedicated camera system installed under the roof of the stadium, which captures the movement of all the players and the ball.

The different systems on the market provide up to 29 data points per player, which make up the animated skeleton of the players. In accordance with the goal of leveraging technology to meet the needs of modern football, as set out in The Vision 2020-2023, FIFA is investigating the full potential of these new datasets and how they can positively impact gameplay.

Thanks to the new data source and processing by AI (artificial intelligence) based viewing companies, an entire match can be viewed as a virtual animation with just a few seconds of delay, providing technical staff, coaches and medical experts the opportunity to examine the match from new perspectives. For example, they could analyze the action from the point of view of a specific player on the pitch, scrutinize a game-changing moment from the perfect angle, or get a view of the pitch.

Thus, FIFA will have new ‘technological weapons’ to avoid injustice and help the arbitration body in each of the matches.

Following the successful testing of these new data sets and animations at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, FIFA continues to work with leading universities and technology providers to explore new opportunities. Christian Volk, Director of eFootball and Gaming at FIFA, said: “The rapid development in the merging of the real and digital worlds will eventually transform the way football is consumed. While it’s still early days, the test showed the potential for fans to experience matches like never before.”

Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA Director of Football Technology and Innovation, added: “We strongly believe that access to this new source of data can have a positive impact on the game by optimizing decision-making processes and increasing objectivity. However, we are only at the beginning of this development journey and potential use cases need to be thoroughly tested to assess capabilities for eventual implementation.”

In short, this limb detection technology allows to create in real time three-dimensional visual representations of the skeleton of the footballers during the plays, which is key to detect offside.