The world of sports is changing constantly to keep pace with the rapidly growing technological innovations. Not only are technological inventions growing with leaps and bounds, but the preferences of the target audience are also changing. In such times, it is extremely important for any sector to adapt to the trends. Artificial Intelligence in Sports Industry is gaining popularity and AI in Sports can make the judges and coaches make important decisions. Artificial Intelligence in the sports industry covers post-game analysis, and in-game activity and even influences the experience of the audience.

The coaches and officials use sports analytics to help them identify and then sign important players. Referees use Video Assistant Technology (VAR) in football, cricket and other famous sports to help them tackle and get out of tricky scenarios for decisions, such as penalties, free kicks, wide balls, fours and sixes, red cards and much more. With the introduction of  AI in sports and Mobile App Development Company, companies and sports officials use deep Learning to further heighten the sports experience and make the entire process much smoother for the officials as well as the fans.

Uses of AI in Sports

Here, we are going to discuss some of the uses of Artificial Intelligence in Sport Industry

1. AI Referee for evading controversies

Everyone who has seen a game knows that there are numerous times the referee faces a tough time deciding the legitimacy of a move or a decision. Let us go through a very well known example, Argentina was drawing 0-0 with England when Diego Maradona used his head to launch the ball into the net. However, the England defenders then began arguing with the referee that Diego Maradona had scored an illegal goal with his hand.

If this situation had taken place today, the decision would have been taken far more easily without conflict. Today Artificial Intelligence in Sport Industry has changed the outcomes of games. The moves of the players were judged more accurately and   controversies were hugely reduced, helping the referees make easier judgements. Some ways in which AI can be implemented in these systems are via

• Offside detection from overhead cameras. This technology can come in handy in football games to ensure goals are not incorrectly validated.
• On-field tracking systems (such as Hawkeye) can be of great use in tennis matches to make line calls more accurate.
• Computer Vision can also help the officials in identifying penalties and controversial moves.
• Goal-line technology is another technology that is widely used in FIFA matches and is defined as “a technical means of instantly determining whether the whole of the ball has crossed the line.”

2. AI technology to gauge player performance 

Wearables technology helps players and their coaches gather information about strain and tear levels. This can help athletes avoid serious injuries. Wearable technology also helps the athletes track their daily routines and metabolic activities that include monitoring sleep cycles, heart rate, oxygen and others. However, the function of Artificial Intelligence in Sport Industry is not limited to such functions only.AI in sports can help teams shape strategies,moves, and thereby assist the athletes in maximizing their strengths.AI in sports works with a lot of data and visuals through which coaches are able to gain insights into each individual athlete’s strengths and weaknesses. By comparing and contrasting the performances of the athletes on different days, the AI allows the coaches to make changes in strategies or postures.

Some ways in which AI can be utilized are:

• Computer vision, for example, is used for human motion tracking and analysis
• Human pose estimation can be used in swimming competitions to analyze swimmers’ performance using single stationary cameras above and below the water filters.

3. Artificial Intelligence in Sport Industry to devise personalized training and diet plans

Most Mobile App Development Company are aware of how personalized training and diet planning apps are gaining traction in the market and they are easily becoming fan favorites. However, the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in the sports Industry to personalize training and diet plans for various individuals can take the demand of such technology to the next level. Scientific experiments and Research has already shown promising results regarding the use of AI in weight training. But how does this personalized diet and training programs work? AI diet plans use machine learning to personalize different plans. Such plans are individual specific and are based on their fitness and dietary goals  and their current situation.

• One example of such an app is FoodVisor. This app uses deep learning—specifically object recognition—to identify and track the nutrient value of more than 1,200 types of food, estimate the amount, and produce a quick report.
• On the other hand, AI-assisted fitness apps that are now becoming increasingly popular. . Some apps developed by various Mobile App Development Company uses a computer vision technique called human pose estimation, to train algorithms that are able to detect human poses in real-time.This technology has found widespread use in online yoga and pilates to provide the user with AI-iinfused guidance on how to exercise the right way.

4. Scouting and Recruitment using AI in sports

Artificial Intelligence in the sports industry has also been a massive lifesaver in aiding coaches in scouting and recruitment . The Ai technique called computer vision in sports is used to track players’ movements and the orientation of their bodies during games. Data from such tracking systems are stored and are compared for various uses. Later the data is labeled  with a keypoint skeleton tool. With further training of the technology the model will potentially be able to track and then predict players’ movements. In scouting and recruitment too,  Machine Learning devises  algorithms that collect and store aggregated data to evaluate players skills and overall potential. Such “scoring” and evaluation has helped coaches and teams to rank potential players in various categories.

5. AI in predicting the results of Matches

Although people who have taken part in bets have also tried predicting the outcomes of matches, through various mathematical and probability equations, they have never been as accurate as AI prediction algorithms.  Although AI in sports can’t accurately predict the outcome of every single match, it can make much more accurate predictions.

Computer vision can help monitor :

• Number of passes
• Team formation
• Number of goals
• Chances created
• Key passes

Using and evaluating these data can help the prediction model forecast whether a team will win, lose or draw a future match.

Al in Sports: Conclusion

Although AI in Sports is gaining a lot of attention, the implementation of such technologies should be done with a sense of balance in mind. AI can massively improve the play, the experience of the audience and lastly makes judgement easier for all parties involved.