For the first time, World Rugby is to allow match officials to use smart ball technology data in live matches. They are due to be used at June’s U20s Championship in South Africa.
The global body is exploring how the emergence of new technology and artificial intelligence can help shape the future of the sport and take fan experience to the next level by aiding the flow of the game.
The technology, a collaboration between Sportable and Gilbert, works by tracking the ball in 3D and real-time, with beacons positioned around the pitch to determine the ball’s exact position up to 20 times per second. A direct feed will be made available to the television match official, who will be able to use the information to provide real time feedback to the referee in the following five areas:
- Throw forward: Assist with decision-making on forward passes by measuring the relative velocity of the ball relative to the player as it leaves their hands, so indicating whether the ball has been ‘thrown forward’ in the act of passing;
- Made touch location: With an accurate location for where the ball makes touch, the Gilbert smart ball ensures the lineout is taken from the position the ball exited the pitch;
- Touched in flight: Informing decision-making around whether a ball was touched in flight by recognising changes in spin and trajectory caused by a touch of the ball;
- Ball over try line: Live location of the ball will determine whether the ball has reached the try line;
- Lineout throws: Provide instantaneous feedback indicating whether a lineout throw is not straight by measuring the angle of the throw from release to being touched by a player.
The smart ball technology has already delivered rich insights and data to aid broadcast and digital experiences. Recent testing has also demonstrated its potential to assist with officiating decision-making, tackling game-defining decisions, and reducing the focus on referees and the wider match official team.
World Rugby director Phil Davies said, “A fast game is a good game and it is right that we explore technology that has the potential to help aid the flow of the game, reduce stoppage time and speed up match official decision-making.
“Rugby refereeing is perhaps the most difficult officiating job in sport. There are multiple decisions or non-decisions that are made at any given moment and the advancement of broadcast and social media means that such decisions are poured over long after the event.
“The evolution of smart ball technology opens the door to assist match officials in reaching accurate decisions more quickly, removing subjectivity and reducing the chance of error. While this is a trial and the technology is new, we are excited about its potential and look forward to seeing it in action at the World Rugby U20 Championship.”
Dugald Macdonald, CEO and Co-founder of Sportable, added, “After the successful implementation of smart ball technology to enhance the fan experience through broadcast graphics and digital content, we are looking forward to this next phase and the introduction of our officiating solution that the smart ball provides.”
RugbyReferee.net comment:
With the advancement of technology, we can see how match officials can benefit from some of the insights this smart ball can deliver. ‘Touched in flight’ is a great example where it’s easy to miss on field, and where a black and white outcome makes a difference. Same with ball location at the bottom of a goal line pile-up.
We do, however, have some concerns though on how the data is used in real time. It’s good to see the words “throw forward” used here – and not forward pass, and that they will be using relative velocity to determine an alert to the TMO/referee. It would be easy to pick up a legal pass back which travels forward (physics!!). Broadcasters also need to be aware of this if they ever use ball tracking to “highlight” a ball’s trajectory which would lead to more controversy, not less.
We also need to factor in materiality to some of these data points. Many ARs/Referees will sacrifice a metre or two of location accuracy for the sake of putting one of the teams on a line on the pitch (and therefore aiding the management and refereeing of the lineout). Similarly, a not straight is only match affecting if there’s a competition for the ball. Data v Art. Those ‘art’ factors need to still be an option for the match officials, rather than using a pure data-driven outcome.”
Good