Overview
In the past years, 3D sports analysis for broadcasting has gained a lot of attention and became part of almost all bigger broadcasting channels. Due to the complexity of the tasks like camera calibration or image based analysis the existing application targeted a usage for pre-game, half-time or post-game analysis. More recently several companies started to propose player tracking systems. They deliver a tracking of all the players over the entire game in a near real-time performance.This data has been used to create statistics for individual players and teams serving as a source for commentators and experts commenting the game. However, current player tracking approaches require additional cameras in the stadium. On the one hand there is a lot of effort involved to install and operate these systems, and on the other hand this technology cannot be used downstream in the studio.
The proposed player tracking will work robustly on any broadcasting camera, covering a part of the playing field. This way, there is no need of putting any additional cameras in the stadium and the player tracking could also be done in the studio. Our solution allows for live graphics insertion and replay graphics insertion at any given time during the game.
