DRL RacerAI
This year the Drone Racing League launched an Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing series. The AIRR attempts to accelerate the development of fast-paced autonomous drones in the same way Formula E has helped to push the boundaries of electric car innovation. DRL and its technology partner, Lockheed Martin, selected nine teams from top-tier universities and aerospace institutes to participate in the first season. DRL, which provides the drone hardware, introduced its first RacerAI drone at the end of the summer, while the teams designed an AI framework capable of piloting them through aerial courses without any GPS, data relay or human intervention. Team MAVLab from the Netherlands won the $1 million prize for the first season.
Edgertronic Cameras
Mike Matter envisioned scientific and industrial use cases for high-speed Edgertronic cameras. Baseball, he admits, was an accidental market. But it’s now his biggest, accounting for a quarter of his sales. The appeal? Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino says the Edgertronic camera was the “big breakthrough” of his career because it answers the “why” of pitching. The high-speed cameras help pitchers detect nuances too subtle for the human eye, both in terms of how the ball leaves their fingertips and how it spins on the way to the plate. This is helping pitchers tweak existing pitches and design new ones, to devastating effect. Houston Astros farm director Pete Putila and All-Star pitcher Trevor Bauer, now with the Reds, are credited as the trailblazers who ushered in this new era; most, if not all MLB clubs have begun using the technology at some level. Hitters are getting into the tech now, too, to study their own mechanics and the kinematic sequence of their swings.
HomeCourt
HomeCourt is an iOS app that leverages smartphone video technology to enable shooting and dribbling contests, competitions and skill camps. This summer, HomeCourt announced an $8.5 million Series A funding round that included participation from the NBA; Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the parent company of the 76ers and New Jersey Devils; Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund; Mark Cuban’s Radical Investments; and Will Smith’s Dreamers Fund. A half-dozen current and former professional athletes also participated, including the Brooklyn Nets’ Joe Harris and two-time MVP Steve Nash. At the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the NBA announced a strategic partnership with HomeCourt that included branded competitions. Through their partnership, HomeCourt is helping to introduce skill classes to the shot-tracking app, fund competitions that could help the NBA unearth undiscovered talent in international markets such as China, India and Africa, and working with individual NBA teams to launch competitions in which fans can earn real-world prizes, such as game tickets and merchandise.
Intel True View
Intel True View has been powering 360-degree highlights for the NFL in recent years and is currently in more than a dozen NFL stadiums. The technology uses up to 38 ultra-high-def 5K cameras located around the field to capture the action in video data that, when combined together, can be used to produce a 3D model of the field. This year, Intel also began powering new fan engagement experiences for major Premier League clubs. In February, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal partnered with Intel to have the company’s volumetric True View replay system installed at Anfield, the Etihad Stadium and the Emirates Stadium, respectively. In the Man City app, fans can now relive freeze-frame snapshots of key moments and toggle between different player perspectives. James Carwana, Intel Sports’ vice president, says the next major leap forward in this technology will be going beyond static images and enabling fans to watch video highlights play out from various player perspectives.
Nike Vaporfly 4%
In the sole of Nike’s Vaporfly running shoe lies a foam layer fused with a carbon-fiber plate, acting as an energy transfer that has allowed runners to gain a significant edge. Not only did Kenyan runner Geoffrey Kamworor win this year’s New York City Marathon wearing the shoes, but Vaporfly also powered Eliud Kipchoge to become the first person to finish a marathon in under two hours in October. The neon shoes retail for $250 and their superior performance has raised questions of whether the technology gives runners an unfair advantage. A 2018 analysis by The New York Times, using race data collected by fitness app Strava covering about 500,000 marathon and half-marathon times, found that runners in Vaporflys finished 3 to 4% faster than runners wearing other shoes.
Noah Basketball
Noah Basketball’s technology helped power two teams to championships in 2019: the University of Virginia won the NCAA men’s basketball title, and the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Finals. Noah uses sensors placed above the court, as well as cameras, artificial intelligence, and facial recognition, to provide shot analysis. Roughly half of the teams in the NBA (including the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic) use Noah for both player development and scouting. Noah provides real-time feedback on a number of shot mechanics that help players and coaches determine whether they might be aiming too far left or right, whether their arc is too high or flat, or whether their shot is too long or short. The system gives instant audio feedback, allowing players to tweak their shots as they practice and ensure they are building the correct muscle memory. Facial recognition allows the system to differentiate between athletes without a coach needing to manually record that information.
Pixellot
Automated video broadcaster Pixellot, which uses artificial intelligence to record and edit footage from an unmanned camera stanchion, is now the world leader in the production of live sports. Founded in 2013, Pixellot has more than 5,000 camera systems in operation, and broadcasts more than 70,000 hours of live sports each month. In 2019, Pixellot partnered with ESPN to stream America East conference sports on ESPN+, collaborated with Brazil’s Grupo Globo to deliver automated production in that country, expanded a deal with the NFHS Network to stream more than one million high school events per year, teamed with FloSports to produce as many as 1,000 Jr. NBA games and launched the HockeyTV Community Network for coverage of amateur hockey games. Pixellot also works with elite clubs in recording training sessions and academy games with clients including FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liga MX.
PlayerMaker
Israeli-based startup PlayerMaker has quickly become one of the leading wearable tracking devices used by soccer teams around the world. The company’s motion-sensor devices strap to a player’s shoes. PlayerMaker tracks metrics such as how many times the ball touches each foot and pass completion rates. Though each device is located on an area of the foot that rarely connects with the ball directly, the company’s algorithms can determine the contact point between the shoe and ball. The device is being used by teams from youth to professional levels, including EPL club Fulham, MLS club Atlanta United’s youth academy, the University of Pittsburgh’s women’s program, and the Argentinian Olympic team. In October, the company also inked a league-wide deal with United Soccer League that will see PlayerMaker track data across several lower levels of U.S. soccer.
