Q: I’ve been watching World Cup games and heard a commentator mention something about sensors and tracking technology in the soccer ball. How does that work? Do any other sports use smart embedded sensors to monitor games?
A: The World Cup ball, known as the “Trionda,” may get most of the attention, but it’s really just one part of a much larger story. Modern sports have become some of the world’s most sophisticated data collection operations.
If you’ve been watching World Cup matches, you’ve heard commentators talk about player speed, distance covered, and possession percentages. What might surprise people is that those aren’t estimates, they’re measurements generated by a remarkable network of cameras, computers, and tracking systems.
In soccer, an array of cameras mounted around the stadium continuously monitor every player’s position on the field. The official match ball contains a tiny sensor that helps determine the precise instant it is kicked (not its location). Combined with some slick software, officials can determine whether a player was offside with a level of accuracy that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Sensors and tracking across sports
Soccer isn’t unique in this regard, however. Almost all major sports now use sensors. NFL players have RFID tracking chips tucked into their shoulder pads. These sensors allow the league to track location and calculate speed, acceleration, distance traveled, and even how much separation a receiver creates from a defender. That’s how an announcer can state that a running back hit 22 mph on a touchdown run.
Major League Baseball may be even more obsessed with data and numbers. The Statcast system tracks every pitch and every hit. Teams know the speed of the ball leaving the bat, the angle at which it launched, the spin rate of a pitch, and how quickly a fielder reacted to a line drive. Modern baseball analysis is built on data that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago.
The NBA uses Second Spectrum, a camera array mounted high above the court, to track the ball and every player throughout the game. Coaches can analyze spacing, defensive coverage, and movement patterns in extraordinary detail. The NHL is experimenting with similar technology, with some hockey pucks containing sensors.
Formula-1 is data central
Then there’s Formula One, a sport I’ve been really getting into this year thanks to excellent coverage on Apple TV+. Modern Formula One cars are now described as rolling computers. Hundreds of sensors monitor everything from tire temperatures to brake wear to fuel consumption. A single car generates over a million data points per lap.
Years ago, a coach might have looked at a player and assessed that they appeared tired. Today, coaches know exactly how far that athlete ran, how many high-speed sprints they completed, peak acceleration and how their workload compares to previous games. Decisions that were once based largely on observation are now backed by hard data.
The magic of any sport still comes from the players, not the technology. A sensor can’t score a goal, and an algorithm can’t produce a brilliant pass. The next time a commentator mentions a player’s speed, distance covered, or an offside decision, remember that it’s the result of a remarkable, and very modern, tech infrastructure.
Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the beginning of the Internet. He runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech Q&A site and invites you to subscribe to his weekly email newsletter at AskDaveTaylor.com/subscribe/ You can also find his entertaining gadget reviews on YouTube at YouTube.com/AskDaveTaylor.
