Articles tagged with "sports-technology"
Peripheral Labs taps into self-driving car sensors to bring sports fans right into the game
Peripheral Labs, a Canadian startup founded in 2024 by Kelvin Cui and Mustafa Khan, is leveraging technology originally developed for self-driving cars to revolutionize sports viewing through volumetric video generation. This technology uses multiple cameras to capture 3D footage, allowing fans to watch plays from various angles and interact with the video in immersive ways, such as tracking specific players or freezing moments for detailed analysis. By applying robotics perception and 3D vision expertise from autonomous vehicle research, the company has reduced the number of required cameras from over 100 to as few as 32, significantly lowering costs and operational complexity for sports leagues and broadcasters. The platform also integrates biomechanical data by using sensor technology similar to that in driverless cars, enabling detailed analysis of player movements, such as joint flexion, which can assist coaches in improving player performance. Peripheral Labs aims to make this advanced technology affordable and scalable, targeting multi-year contracts with teams and broadcasters. The startup recently raised $3.6 million in seed funding
robotcomputer-vision3D-reconstructionself-driving-car-sensorssports-technologyAI-modelsvolumetric-video-generationVideo: Cristiano Ronaldo takes on lightning-fast robotic goalkeeper
Former NASA engineer Mark Rober, known for creating entertaining scientific projects, developed a highly advanced robotic goalkeeper designed to challenge elite football skills. Inspired by his own brief football success and subsequent failure to meet professional athletic standards, Rober aimed to see if precision engineering could outperform human athletic instinct. The robot uses 22 high-speed infrared cameras capturing 500 frames per second to track the ball’s trajectory with millimeter accuracy. Powered by 50-horsepower motors, the robot can move across the goal at speeds exceeding 40 mph, reacting within milliseconds to block shots that can reach speeds of 80 mph. After extensive testing and iterative improvements—reinforcing components and refining data processing—the robot reliably blocked shots from amateur and collegiate players. However, when faced with Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest footballers, the robot was ultimately outsmarted. Ronaldo identified a small gap the robot couldn’t reach and scored with pinpoint accuracy, demonstrating that even the most advanced engineering solutions can be challenged by exceptional human skill
roboticsrobotic-goalkeeperprecision-engineeringcarbon-fiber-materialshigh-speed-camerasmotion-trackingsports-technologyRobot umpires coming to MLB, strikes and balls now challengeable
Major League Baseball (MLB) will introduce robot umpires in the 2026 season through the Automated Ball/Strike System (ABS) Challenge System, allowing teams to challenge close ball-strike calls. This system, approved by MLB’s 11-man competition committee, has been tested in the minors since 2019 and featured in big league spring training in 2025. While umpires will still make initial calls, players—specifically the pitcher, catcher, or batter—can signal challenges by tapping their cap or helmet. Each team starts with two challenges per game, with additional challenges available in extra innings. The system uses Hawk-Eye cameras and T-Mobile’s 5G network to provide near-instant replay, averaging under 15 seconds per review, thus maintaining game pace. The ABS system has demonstrated effectiveness in spring training and Triple-A games, with a 52.2% overturn rate on challenged calls and catchers and pitchers winning about 54% of their appeals. MLB
roboticssports-technologyautomated-umpiringHawk-Eye-system5G-networkMLB-technologychallenge-systemThe Oakland Ballers let an AI manage the team. What could go wrong?
The Oakland Ballers, an independent Pioneer League baseball team formed in response to the departure of the Oakland A’s, recently experimented with letting an AI manage their team during a game. Drawing on over a century of baseball data and analytics, including Ballers-specific information, the AI—developed by the company Distillery and based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT—was trained to emulate the strategic decisions of the team’s human manager, Aaron Miles. This experiment leveraged baseball’s inherently data-driven nature and the slower pace of play, which allows for analytical decision-making after each pitch. The AI’s management closely mirrored the choices that Miles would have made, including pitching changes, lineup construction, and pinch hitters, with only one override needed due to a player’s illness. This demonstrated that while AI can optimize decisions by recognizing patterns in data, human ingenuity and judgment remain essential. The Ballers’ willingness to pilot such technology reflects their unique position as a minor league team with major league aspirations and creative flexibility, often
AIsports-technologydata-analyticsmachine-learningbaseballartificial-intelligencesports-managementMeta unveils its new Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses for athletes
Meta has introduced the Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses, designed specifically for athletes such as runners and cyclists. Priced at $499 and launching on October 21, these glasses feature a large unified front lens with a 12-megapixel, 122-degree wide-angle camera capable of capturing video in up to 3K resolution. They include a programmable button for custom AI prompts via the Meta AI app, and all controls are positioned underneath the frames to accommodate helmet use comfortably. The glasses offer up to nine hours of battery life, six hours of continuous music playback, and come with a charging case providing an additional 36 hours of charge, with fast charging to 50% in 20 minutes. The Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses boast the most powerful open-ear speakers Meta has integrated into smart glasses, being six decibels louder than previous models, and a five-microphone array optimized to reduce wind noise during calls and voice commands. They have an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance
IoTsmart-glasseswearable-technologyMetaAI-integrationsports-technologybattery-lifeHumanoid robot turns shoe tester after half-marathon victory in China
The humanoid robot Tien Kung, developed by UBTech Robotics and the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, has transitioned from athletic competitions to a novel role as a running shoe tester in China. After making headlines in April 2025 by completing a half-marathon in Beijing in 2 hours and 40 minutes, demonstrating endurance and human-like running capabilities, Tien Kung was recently employed at the Li-Ning Sports Science Research Center to evaluate running shoes. Equipped with sensors on its hips, knees, and ankles, the robot ran on a 3D force treadmill and a 200-meter indoor track to collect detailed biomechanical data on cushioning, rebound, and other performance metrics. This approach offers a level of consistency and precision unattainable with human athletes, potentially accelerating shoe design cycles and reducing costs. Tien Kung stands 1.7 meters tall and features advanced biomimetic design, including 20 degrees of freedom, lidar sensors, Nvidia Jetson Orin computing kits, and dexter
robothumanoid-robotsports-technologybiomechanicswearable-sensorsrobotics-testingproduct-developmentCloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
The article centers on Adolfo Cambiaso, widely regarded as the greatest polo player alive, who is revolutionizing the sport through biotechnology by using cloned horses. During the 2016 Argentine Open final, Cambiaso strategically selects Cuartetera B06, the sixth clone of a prized mare, to help secure victory. This marked the first time a polo final was played—and won—using six genetically identical horses, highlighting the growing acceptance and impact of cloning in polo. Cambiaso’s approach leverages cloning to maintain superior horse bloodlines, giving him a significant competitive advantage in a sport where the quality of the horse often outweighs that of the rider. Beyond the match itself, Cambiaso’s vision extends to building a lasting polo dynasty by combining his expertise in horse breeding with cutting-edge cloning technology. His son, Adolfo Jr. (Poroto), already a promising young player, is part of this long-term strategy. The article suggests that Cambiaso’s success and innovation could
materialsbiotechnologycloninggenetic-engineeringsports-technologyanimal-breedingpoloTennis players criticize AI technology used by Wimbledon
Wimbledon introduced an AI-powered electronic line calling system (ELC) this year, replacing human line judges for the first time. However, several players have criticized the technology for making incorrect calls that affected match outcomes. British players Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper notably questioned the system's accuracy, with Raducanu highlighting a missed out call and Draper expressing doubts about the AI being "100 percent accurate." Other issues included the system nearly shutting down due to dimming sunlight during Ben Shelton’s match and difficulties for a deaf player who relied on human hand signals to follow points. A significant malfunction occurred during a match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova when the AI failed to detect an out ball, forcing the umpire to intervene and replay the point. Wimbledon later apologized, citing a "human error" that accidentally turned off the technology. Despite the criticism, Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, defended the move to AI line calling, noting
robotAI-technologyautomated-systemssports-technologyelectronic-line-callingWimbledontennis-AI