As it does every four years, one of the most closely followed sporting events on the planet brought together fans from all over the world. The 2018 edition, in which 32 countries competed for the supreme title of soccer world champion, was no exception to the rule, once again bringing its share oftechnological innovations. The major development in this competition in Russia was the introduction ofvideo-assisted refereeing during matches in four often contentious game situations: validating a goal, deciding whether or not to award a red card, analyzing an action that could result in a penalty, and correcting an error in identifying a penalized player.
In response to these problems, the Japanese company Sony is proposing its solutions in the following 5 patents.
The line-crossing and camera-movement correction patent.
The inventions of “Anthony Daniels and Paul Hawkins” on behalf of Sony include two patent families:
Patent family GB2496428, filed on November 11, 2011, currently contains only one patent issued in the UK in April 2018, and patent applications in China, Germany and the USA. This family describes the system well-known to soccer fans called ” Goal-Line Technology “, and was already in use during the 2014 World Cup. This technology warns the referee when the ball crosses the goal line, thanks to the processing of images collected by several cameras located in different parts of the stadium.
The innovation of this other patent family GB2496591, filed on the same day as the previous one, and containing a patent issued in the UK in November 2017, one in the USA in March 2017 and a Chinese patent application, relates to a method and device for correcting camera movement, for example when subjected to strong gusts of wind, and enabling the efficiency of video assistance throughout a match.
The patent for video stream control
Viewing several video streams on the same screen, selecting a video stream on the same screen and selecting a stream by the user to take a closer look at an action, as described in patent family GB2532063, filed by Sony on November 07, 2014, and containing British and American patent applications, is a major technological advantage for arbitration: in this case, the latter can select the video stream he wishes to watch more closely so that he can better judge the action that has just taken place.
Did you know?
Filing for a patent is the procedure that enables you to apply for the granting of an industrial property title. The patent, drafted by an IP attorney, is examined. The patent obtained is valid for 20 years, and requires the payment of annuities for its maintenance. In France, registration is carried out at theINPI.
Patent covering the detection of each event in a video recording and the automatic creation of a dedicated clip.
Patent family GB2539897 filed on June 29, 2015 by Sony, which contains in addition to the UK priority application, a patent issued in the USA in September 2017 and a European application now under examination at the EPO. This family of patents describes a device and method for analyzing a video recording such as a soccer match, and enabling each event that takes place to be detected and turned into a clip, which will be described by its start and end time, the participant(s) present and their position(s). A timeline of these events is created, and once the user chooses a recorded event, he or she will be able to view said clip of that event from different points of view, in order, in the case of our referee, to make a decision.
Patent relating to the automatic control of camera movement for tracking an object and adapting the camera’s field of view, zoom, etc.
On the same day, Sony also filed another priority patent application, constituting patent family GB2540129, which also contains a US patent application and a European patent application, both currently under examination. It describes an image processing device and method for automatically controlling the movement of a camera to track an object and predict its future position, and thus controlling the field of view so that the camera records the scene at the future position, and when the difference between the 2 positions is too great modifying the camera’s field of view, the zoom used, etc.
Today’s referees are augmented by video technology. Will tomorrow’s referees be robotic, or simply artificial intelligence ensuring the smooth running of a soccer match? Only time will tell.
