Semi-Automated Offside Technology

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

In the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 between host Qatar and Ecuador, just three minutes’ of action had passed before the first goal of the tournament was ruled out for offside.

• One three-dimensional animation of the incident was displayed for a fleeting second or two before play restarted. 
• FIFA’s brand new Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) was responsible for the quick decision.

What is SAOT?

• There are two parts to the technology — a sensor inside the match ball (Adidas’s Al Rihla) that is held using suspension technology, and existing tracking tools that are part of the VAR system as we know.
• Kinexon, a German company that specialises in providing sensor networks and computing solutions, has designed a small in-ball device which gives precise positional data and also detects ball movement in a three-dimensional space. 
• Every time the ball is hit, data is sent in real time (at a whopping 500 frames per second) to a network of antennae installed around the playing field. 
• Additionally, there are 12 Hawk-Eye cameras set up around the turf that shadow both the ball and the players, with as many as 29 separate points in the human body tracked. 
• The coming together of the ball sensor and the Hawk-Eye cameras is in effect SAOT, which FIFA says allows for decisions that are highly accurate and quick. 
• These two data sets are run through artificial intelligence software which generates automated alerts about offsides to the match officials. 
• This replaces the manual effort taken in poring over replays for minutes on end.

How accurate is the SAOT data?

• The data transmission rate from the ball (500 frames per second or 500Hz) makes the process pretty accurate. 
• The time between two frames is two milliseconds (1/500), which is 10 times better than a standard 50Hz video that is commonly used in High Definition monitors. 
• Further, to synchronise the data from the ball sensor and Hawk-Eye, a Precision Time Protocol clock is used. 
• FIFA tested the whole technology at both the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar and the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Question: Discuss the main feature of Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT)?