The (Computer) Vision of Sports: Recent Trends in Research and Commercial Systems for Sport Analytics

Sport and technology are in many ways closely connected. Athletes seek new ways to push their performance, coaches try to gain advantage from all available data, and broadcasters aim to provide a unique and enhanced experience for the viewers.

The advancements in computer vision technology have had a huge impact on sports analysis and visualisation in recent years. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of how computer vision technology is currently used in commercial applications of sports. This includes game and performance analysis by both individual athletes and professional clubs, technology for assisting officiating in games, and techniques for creating individualised visual content and enhancing broadcasting.

Secondly, we discuss the current trends in research of computer vision for sports analysis. We have identified two main lines of research to cover in detail: methods aimed at (ball-based) team sports, and methods aimed at analysis of individual athletes. Finally, we discuss how we believe recent computer vision methods can continue changing the sports domain in the future.