Technology in Sport: A race against the machine?

[Michael_Bird]

In this episode, we'll be meeting with amazing people at the cutting edge of sports technology to look at how data has become a key part of the field - and looking at what organisations around the world can learn from the performance analysis revolution.

Insights and optimisation

We're speaking to Professor Steve Haake of Sheffield Hallam University about the revolution in data capture and analytics that came about with mobile computing and wearable tech, and how the data revolution has augmented the materials revolution in sports for everything from training routine optimisation to predictive injury prevention.

From rule-breakers to leg-breakers, predicting sporting behaviour

That's something Hawk-Eye Innovations are also exploring, alongside their better known video capture and virtual refereeing systems. Global Commercial Director Peter Irwin talks us through how mass video capture from hundreds of data points and generating real-time virtual skeletons for every person on a pitch is not only helping enforce the rules, it's predicting injuries and giving strategic insights in real time.

AI and the drive for the perfect hybrid of athlete and equipment

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chief Technologist Matt Armstong-Barnes talks us through in more detail how AI and humans are interacting to create better athletes and sportsmen, and how the future of sports technology is athletes whose skills are allowed to flourish by having compute take over some of their workload. He argues AIs are getting better, but the optimum performance still comes from humans and AIs working together, especially in motorsport.

Racing against the machine and the rise of autonomous motorsport

No-one understands that better than Lucas Di Grassi, driver for Formula E team ROKiT Venturi Racing. He's used to taking to the track in one of the most technically advanced cars in the world, but believes that human rules are holding the sport back. He's keen to see AI take on more of a role in the field, and to that end, is leading the charge with self-driving racecars, in the Roborace project.

We also talk about how businesses can take advantage of a revolution in insights - getting the best data from a set to the right end users, in such a way as they can get the best advantage out of it.

Key takeaways:

• We are living in an age where data is being collected on a massive scale. Using that smartly is key to extracting value from it.
• One data set, presented in alternative ways, can offer profoundly different insights to different user-groups
• People are at the heart of any solution. Predictive analysis can only go so far, because it can’t plan for the intricacies of human behaviour and nuance. Human expert and machine advice and help are still the best combination. For now.

Links and resources:

Matt Armstrong-Barnes on LinkedIn

Matt Armstrong-Barnes on Twitter

Lucas Di Grassi on Twitter

ROKiT Venturi Racing

Roborace

Professor Steve Haake

Parkrun - Steve is the Chair of their research board

Sheffield Hallam Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre

Advantage Play: Technologies that Changed Sporting History

Hawk-Eye Innovations

Peter Irwin on LinkedIn

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Michael Bird
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

twitter.com/HPE_UKI
linkedin.com/company/hewlett-packard-enterprise
hpe.com/solutions