WIN TITLES WITH HELP OF TECHNOLOGY
The technology is increasingly decisive in wins (and the losses) in elite sport. One of Germany’s victory secrets in the last FIFA World Cup in Brazil will have gone through the use of the Match Insight software in the preparation and during the competition.
With this software, created by the German company SAP , defender Jerome Boateng thoroughly studied video movements of Cristiano Ronaldo, in order to better mark the Portuguese star in the first game. And so the German players had a better adaptation to the adverse weather conditions of tropical climate of Brazil, the biometric data in real time in practice were processed by a performance review system through Big Data technology for further analysis by the technical team and by doctors.
Unlike the Germans, who won the final to Brazil, Benfica may complain of technology when he lost the final of the Cup of Portugal in 2013, against Vitoria Guimaraes. This is because the coach Rui Vitória decided to hire the Portuguese services Videobserver, which provided important information on the weaknesses of the Light team. For example, this game analysis software video created by the Portuguese of Digisource revealed the coach of the Minho team the central defender Luisão Benfica and the average Matic opened spaces in key areas of the field. The Victoria exploited these weaknesses and won the final.
The Bayern Munich also makes extensive use of Sport Analytics Match Insight application to improve team performance. It also uses CRM software relationship management (customer) to stimulate sales of products of the club with the fans.
Duarte Araújo, a researcher at the Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMH), the University of Lisbon, criticizes this obsession with data around the football and wants to go further in developing a system for analyzing football matches in real time, around the FIFA ban that prevents players from using technological devices during the games. “More than a statistical analysis of the game, it’s important to realize the collective dynamics of the game,” the researcher FMH.
Benfica may have already been a victim of technology in the end of the Portugal Cup 2013, but the Portuguese club who has more bet on innovation to improve the performance of its players (the first team and formation). For example, has operating in Seixal training center the 360S system, a simulator that seeks to improve the precision passing of the players.
The Luz stadium also is working as a technological showcase. To improve the quality of advertising hoardings surrounding the pitch, has partnered with Digidelta, a company based in Torres Novas. “With the sun, the LED lamps lose color and must be replaced in part, eventually having different shades and intensities, which damage the homogeneity of the image,” explains Rui Leitao, president of Digidelta. The solution passed through the creation of a color calibrator for new LED according to the intensity of the old LED. With this technique, called Netscreen, the Portuguese company made a six-year contract with Benfica to equip the linear billboard at Luz Stadium in the amount of EUR 1.2 million. For this purpose, Digidelta made thinner LED boxes, which are joined to each other as Lego blocks, thus eliminating heavy metallic structures and reducing installation costs. With this business card, Rui Leitao expects to sell the Netscreen other stadiums in Portugal and abroad, because the system was approved by FIFA.
Another innovation that the incarnate club introduced in the Stadium of Light is related to final of the Champions League, held in May 2014. The mobile network operators could not meet the communication needs of the 1,500 journalists from around the world and more than 60,000 spectators Internet. The solution, which was developed by the Portuguese Wavecom, in partnership with China’s Huawei, passed by the installation of a network without Wi-Fi Wireless high capacity. Nuno Marques reveals that the same solution, which was certified by UEFA, will be installed in the Alvalade Stadium and negotiations are underway for installing abroad.
THE SYSTEM VIDEO THAT Mourinho OR
Football fans know that FIFA is averse to the use of new technologies during the games. So far, the analysis of performance and effectiveness of the players could only be made during the practice, since, in competition, the organism which regulates the international football does not allow the placement of sensors or chips in the body or clothing or boots players . But this limitation of the body led by Joseph Blatter could change through a technology that was developed by Skill Laboratory in Sport, the School of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon (FMH-UL).
It consists of use of infrared markers – colorless ink not detected by the human eye – sweatshirts of the players and the ball, which are only detected by infrared cameras. Thus, gathering information about the location of each player and the ball can now be done during the games non-intrusive way.
“This technique allows automatic detection and real-time trajectories of players and ball during the competition, when traditional methodologies only allow do it retrospectively, “says Duarte Araújo, SportsLab investigator of FMH-UL, responsible for Technology Development Project for Analysis Video of the Movement of Players in Sports Collective: Measuring the Effectiveness Intervention and Performance.
This innovative system worldwide has been ongoing for the past three years by a team of researchers, in collaboration with the coaches team of Premier League club Manchester City ( which is part of the Portuguese Pedro Marques) and the Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon. The very José Mourinho, who will visit the FMH soon want to get to know this technology. “Some of the best coaches in the world no longer dispense methods and deeper analysis of the game through technological tools,” said Duarte Araújo. For now, the system has already been tested in the laboratory (small cars in motion painted with different colorless inks are filmed by infrared camera) with promising results. “It’s a system that works very well with the visual noise of natural environments,” assures Duarte Araújo.
The next step is to do in real tests on a football field or pavilions in other collective sports (basketball, handball). To do this, the researcher says it will be necessary for the project team has at their disposal expensive infrared cameras, higher capacity and range than the one used in the laboratory. The next step will include the development of a commercial product, through a partnership with YDreams. Duarte Araújo argues that the system “is useful not only for coaches as well as for sports TV channels, so can make more informed analysis of the games. They merely make statistical data analysis, which are relatively poor, “adds the researcher.
From the collected data could be developed” descriptive and predictive behavioral models, which allow to anticipate how the dynamics of a game, a team or an individual can evolve. ” The researcher believes that the system has “great potential to test theories of collective behavior in the game, understanding the actions and decisions of the players, whatever their level or age, as well as coaches and referees.” And it argues that the applications of this technology to the organization of training sessions and development of talents “is fascinating.” The corollary is the “decision-making during the competition,” emphasizes Duarte Araújo. Will you one day football coaches will be able to make real-time decisions from a tablet, as is the case today with the tennis coaches? The ball will be on the side of FIFA.
tennis players ANALYZE ERROR IN RANGE
If there are sports that use the technology for several years, tennis is a their. To analyze the detail of videogames is already part of everyday life coaches and practitioners of high competition. But during the tournament WTA (Women Tennis Association, or Women’s Tennis Association) of Singapore, held in late October 2014, which was won by Serena Williams, but it was given a historic step in the use of new technologies in this sport. At this time, 2015 became a regular coaches do real-time analysis of the performance of the players in the course of every game, through an application developed by the German multinational SAP software.
With the information available in tablets, coaches are now able to give information to the athletes and make any corrections in performance or tactics during breaks or pauses in the game. This innovation, which is now used at the time 2015 WTA events circuit, was only possible because this body regulating women’s tennis has given the green light to the use of a mobile app that uses real-time information.
In recent years, the players and coaches competing in the WTA circuit already received at the end of each match an analysis of the video at a point lost or gained through a system which was also created by SAP. The protagonists could thus visualize and analyze the subtle technical variations throughout the game, so that they can improve performance in the following matches.
To put this application running on the smartphone or coach tablet, the SAP had to follow the directives of the WTA and the demands of the players and coaches. The German software giant also took advantage of the capabilities of HANA technology, which is your new pertussis. It consists of a database that has the advantage of meeting the necessary requirements: processing and analyzing real-time video information in computer memory, ie almost the speed of light. An operation that the old systems could take hours.
“This app statistics for coaches make it easier my job and my advice is more assertive during the game,” said the Belgian Wim Fissete, current coach of the former number one WTA, the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.
Also the Serbian Ana Ivanovic, former number one WTA ranking, confessed at a press conference in Singapore during the WTA tournament, which is already a fan of the new mobile application from SAP, because it simplifies the way she and the coach “analyzed immediately and in detail the performance during a match.”
This revolution in women’s tennis top competition would not be possible without the enthusiasm of Stacey Allaster, CEO of the WTA, who has publicly defended the increased role of technology in sports modernization. “Tennis is a sport driven by data and information is power,” says the top manager of the WTA. And Stacey Allaster underlines the impact that may have on the game itself: “Many of our games are very balanced and are decided in a few points. Any advantage that players and coaches can get for trend analysis and data can change and influence the outcome of the match. “
In addition to this tool for coaches, SAP developed the official app of the WTA to improve access of the competition fans to news and information of each tournament. It also allows viewing the best shots, participate in surveys, consult statistics, check out the profiles and photos of the players and even buy tickets online.
Stefan Wagner, SAP’s director-general for the entertainment industries, the media and sport, says “these disruptive technologies will improve the performance of the players and the accession of tennis fans.” And it believes that this application can be replicated to other individual and collective sports.
In addition to this involvement in women’s tennis, the German multinational software has been involved in other application initiatives of information technology to sports such as football , sailing, golf, Formula 1, cricket, American football, baseball and basketball.
The SAP is not the only technology to bet on tennis. In male Grand Slam tournaments, also IBM has put its technology available. For example, in Wimbledon used SPSS predictive analytics, data visualization and behavior of the players. The idea was to extract trends from historical data in order to draw trends for future games.
ANALYTICAL SPORTS
Which way of Cristiano Ronaldo goal would point a penalty in the match between Portugal and Ivory Coast at Soccer World Cup? The question was posed by the coach of the African team to Opta, a company that collects nearly two thousand events per game in the major leagues of European football, UEFA and FIFA competitions. The goal was to give information to the goalkeeper Ivorian for this dive. “Ronaldo is an interesting case because it has a standard to send the ball to the left side in penalties (20 in 47 cases), but also shoots in other directions. A goalkeeper should always consider diving in this direction “, stated John Coulson, specialist Opta, the publication Computerweekkly. And it states that it was this type of analysis (a dive to the left) allowing the keeper Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich, defending the penalty Ronaldo in the semi-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
This case serves to illustrate how the analysis of large volumes of statistical data and viewing videos can make all the difference in top-level sport. So are emerging companies such as British Opta and Prozone and US Stats and SportVU, which created large databases and selling statistical information and videos and provide game analysis services to clubs and football teams.
In Portugal, the Videobserver also specializes in the collection and analysis of football events videos, basketball, roller hockey and other team sports through software applications. Experts modalities can access the tactical analyzes on PC, tablet or smartphone.
Another Portuguese mobile app (iPhone) is the Notes4coach. Aims to help football coaches can plan workouts. The project, created by Luis Duarte and Ruben Pinheiro also includes Notes4fans version, addressed to football fans.
INTELLIGENCE IN CLOTHING
When Ralph Lauren launched a biometric sweater that was connected to a mobile app in the US Tennis Open 2014 will start the era of technological clothes. The American clothing brand has shown that through microsensors placed in tissue is possible to know the heart rate, the number of passes and spent calories.
It is not surprising therefore that Idate consultant anticipates that in 2018 will be sold 123 million wearables (clothing and technological tools that are placed in the body), when in 2014 were sold only 20 million units of these devices
With strong commitment of the major brands in smart watches. – releases Apple iWatch, Samsung Gear and Android Wear, Google – the Idate forecasts a drop in the sale of biometric bracelets and a weak growth in connected glasses, after the flop Google Glasses
This fashion of smart watches. which help to monitor the sport, should invade the various modes. From individual sports, such as running or cycling, through golf (read below the Portuguese app Hole19), to the collective sports. The smartwatches have the advantage, compared to smartphones, they can be used in almost all sports.
On the other hand, there is an explosion in the number of mobile applications that monitor physical activity and encourage Style healthy life. About a year when he left the European Commission Green Paper on “mobile health” have been identified over 97,000 apps in this area. This number has continued to grow, costing not admit that today has already largely exceeded 100 000.
HOLE19 ALREADY IN 90 COUNTRIES
We currently have more 450 thousand users in over 90 countries. Our app has been used in 1.2 million rounds of golf, “says Anthony Douglas, Luso-American entrepreneur founder of Hole19. The countries that are joining the Portuguese golf app is the United States with 28%, the UK with 23% and Germany with 10%. Canada, Ireland and Australia have 5% each.
To continue on the crest of the wave, the founder of Hole19 (www.hole19golf.com) has just released another free version betting on wearable technologies (devices for use in body or clothing), taking advantage of the arrival of the smart wristwatches Apple Watch, Android Wear or Samsung Gear S.
Anthony Douglas believes the new application for this type of watches will continue to have good acceptance because it has received glowing references in the international press. For example, the Wall Street Journal selected the Hole19 as an indispensable application (must-have) on Apple Watch. And the Daily Mail mentioned this golf app as the best at his watch Apple.
“Our app for Apple Watch, as with the iPhone, is also free and is designed to make life easier players. Allows them to quickly anticipate GPS distances before, on and off the green and also helps control the scores and statistics without having to resort to the mobile phone, “said Anthony Douglas.
” The Apple Watch is a very interesting product for Hole19 because it will make room for a new public techsavvy “he says. That is, the target of this new version is the universe of people who are familiar with the use of technological tools.
The entrepreneur believes that Hole19 app for Apple Watch has enough potential to improve the experience of a golfer. Ie the clock Apple will be possible to measure distances quickly. Anthony Douglas is also convinced it will greatly boost the pace of a game of golf. “Our tools will also allow measure distances and track the results. So golfers can improve their scores and devote his attention to the game, “the founder of Hole19. From a demographic point of view, the average age of Hole19 users is 39, and the youngest is 13 and the oldest is 73.
After having passed the Seedcamp and plucked at Startup Lisboa, the company established the seat in Évora and has offices in Lisbon and London. Today, the Hole19 has a team of 14 people, including golfers, designers and engineers of various nationalities. The growth is being leveraged by investors of the mobile communications sector and golf.
This article is part of the June 2015 Journal EXAMINATION
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