The Premier League will sharpen its offside decision-making this season using 28 iPhones at every stadium as part of a futuristic technology dubbed ‘the Dragon’.
The team behind ‘the Dragon’ believe they can chop the length of an average VAR check by 30 seconds.
Their technology will track up to 10,000 data points on each player’s body – up from 29 – and making decisions in rapid time.
Genius Sports will initially be capturing up to 100 frames per second – around twice the current total – but have the capacity to reach 200.
The Premier League intend to introduce the technology after one of the autumn international breaks, which could be as early as September or as late as November.
The Premier League is set to deploy 28 iPhones at each ground to sharpen offside decisions
Semi-automated technology will be assisted by technology capturing 100 frames per second
Genius Sports will be tracking up to 10,000 data points on each player’s body
The sports data and tech company, along with Second Spectrum, has been working with the NBA since 2018.
Their new technology is scheduled to be rolled out later in the 2024-25 season.
The network of iPhone cameras around the stadium will capture high frame-rate video from multiple angles to address tight offside situations.
Dragon’s machine intelligence allows the phones to communicate with each other and process the visual data simultaneously.
‘You’re going from 30, 40, 50 data points on a player to, no, I’m actually going to track the contours of your body,’ said Mike D’Auria, EVP of sports and technology partnerships with Genius, as per Wired.
‘You will in many instances miss the kick point (with current technology). The kick point will be between two frames of video – you go from one frame where the ball is not on the foot yet to the next frame and the ball has already left the foot and gone in the other direction.’
Genius hope to solve that by tracking information as minute as muscle mass, skeletal frame differences, and gait.
They claim that their technology is the first of its kind and it is powered by GeniusIQ, their next-generation AI and data platform.
The phones positioned around the stadium will be able to communicate and combine visuals
It is believed the technology will significantly speed up the decision-making process
Semi-automated offside technology was deployed at Euro 2024 with considerable success.
The 3D modelling helps to precisely represent a player’s position on the pitch at the exact moment a ball was kicked – at least better than current technology.
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D’Auria claims that Dragon can be scaled up to as many as 100 interconnected iPhones if Premier League chiefs want to stretch that far.
‘The introduction of semi-automated offside is an important move to maintain the flow of the game in the Premier League,’ said Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer.
‘We are confident that by using the newest and most accurate technology available we will see the time taken for offside decisions reduced significantly alongside a consistent application of the offside lines.
‘The experience for all participants including supporters will also be enhanced through quicker communication and clearer imagery around offside decisions.’
Dragon’s capability will be restricted to 100 frames per second initially as the Premier League need to balance the price, accuracy, and latency.
It also has the power to foresee impending events – for example, when a through-ball is about to be played as a striker makes a run – and increase its frame rate accordingly.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters admitted the VAR process must work faster
Fans will be kept up-to-date on officiating calls this season via an X account called @PLMatchCentre, the Premier League has announced.
And Richard Masters, the League’s CEO, has admitted VAR must improve.
‘Everyone wants to improve it,’ he said.
‘The things we need to resolve are the length of delays and the supporter experience in the stadium.
‘We’ve got semi-automated offsides coming in at some point this season when it is ready and we’re doing other things we think will help with supporter experience.’