Sports

Sports timing - the Photo Finish

Since the "silver emulsion" infancy of the photo finish at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games, technological advances in the fields of electronics, optics and digital imaging have revolutionized the use and precision of sports timing hardware.

After the Second World War, imaging became an essential part of sports timing.

Although early photo finishes were monochrome and very imprecise, the resolution of today's sensors makes it possible to obtain high-quality color images that are at the same level of precision as the performances of the athletes.

Meanwhile, the principles of the photo finish have gone from a cinema camera modified to show only what the line sees, to today's enhanced line camera technologies.

The requirements

Photo Finishes today must satisfy several imperatives:

• continuous capture of a high-resolution, high-quality color image
• indoor and outdoor operation
• precision and synchronization
• long-distance wire line or wireless transmission of images to a control room
• real-time recording
• instant and secured exploitation of the images
• distribution of the images to the media
• easy installation, alignment and operation of the equipment

Video refereeing – "Goal Finish"

The stakes, especially financial, involved in sports are such that video refereeing has today become the justice-of-the-peace of a growing number of sporting disciplines. It is used not only to validate an ultimate phase - the bounce of a tennis ball, a football crossing the goal line or the crushing of a rugby ball behind the goal line - but also to record the individual behavior of players that the referee is not able to see in the heat of the moment.

Video refereeing is considered to be an aid in decision-making and, when properly regulated, avoids unacceptable errors and never-ending appeals.

Video refereeing is based, in most cases, on the use of cameras distributed around the stadium or on the field. However, in certain phases of the game the performances of conventional cameras are no longer sufficient and it is necessary to apply new technologies to obtain the desired validations.

This is the case of the "Goal Finish" system which makes it possible to know categorically if the ball has crossed the goal line.

The requirements:

The "Goal Finish" system today must satisfy several imperatives:

• capture of a sequence of high-quality High Definition images
• indoor and outdoor operation
• 3D tracking of the ball with a precision on the order of mm
• transmission of images over a long distance to a control room
• real-time recording
• instant and secured exploitation of the images
• validation or invalidation of the goal in less than one minute
• distribution of augmented reality images or synthesized images to TV stations
• easy installation, calibration and operation of the equipment

i2S VISION's product offering

i2S VISION is bringing innovative and high-performance solutions to the fields of sports timing and video refereeing. In doing so, it draws on its long experience in the manufacturing of industrial cameras and the acquisition, over more than 25 years, of unique know-how in high-quality image capture, 3D vision and the integration of dedicated optronic solutions.

i2S Innovation’s R&D department designs and develops the solutions offered by i2S Vision and applies the appropriate technologies. The Industrialization department is responsible for qualification, compliance with standards and production of solutions.

i2S VISION’s innovative solutions are based on multiple areas of expertise and know-how:

• expertise in CCD CMOS sensors in the UV, Visible and Near Infrared domains
• mastery of analog signal processing and digitization technologies
• synchronization on processes
• opto-electronic and multi-sensor integration
• Design and manufacturing of custom lighting and optronic systems
• navigation of multi-motorized lenses.
• design, development and manufacturing of cameras and intelligent systems
• image processing and MMI development
• 3D tracking

and on an in-depth knowledge of customers, their businesses and their expectations.

By entrusting i2S Vision with the creation of your solutions, you can count on:

• our innovation and production capabilities
• cooperative engineering
• software tailored to your requirements
• professional project management
• our anticipation of new technologies and their usages
• cost control from the design stage

Your benefits are:

• use of technologies and innovations from other disciplines
• gradual incurring of expenses versus cost objectives
• innovative and collaborative technology transfer between technical teams
• faster adoption of technical advances
• international support
• flexibility of production capacity
• long industrial lifetime and international maintenance