The new technology uses 12 tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player.
FIFA has announced that semi-automated offside technology will be used at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar starting on November 21 to help officials make faster and more accurate offside decisions.
"The new technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player, 50 times per second, calculating their exact position on the pitch. The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities that are relevant for making offside calls."
There will be aт inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor inside the ball to provide more information for the detection of tight offside incidents. This sensor sends ball data to the video operation room 500 times per second, allowing a very precise detection of the kick point.
All this data combined with artificial intelligence provides an automated offside alert to the video match officials when the ball is received by an attacker who was in an offside position at the moment the ball was played by a teammate. The video match officials first validate the proposed decision by checking the kick point and the offside line, which is based on the calculated positions of the players’ limbs, before informing the on-field referee.
After the decision has been confirmed, the same positional data points that were used to make the decision are then generated into a 3D animation that details the position of the players’ limbs at the moment the ball was played. This 3D animation will then be shown on the screens in the stadium and will also be made available to FIFA’s broadcast partners.
The tech has been tested at FIFA tournaments, including the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2021. According to FIFA, the new technology "was able to support the video match officials by helping them to make more accurate and more reproducible offside decisions in a shorter period of time."
The system will be fine-tuned in the coming months before a global standard is implemented. Learn more here and don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.