Hello! Welcome to Sony here at CES 2022!
I’m your host, Dionna Chambers.
Sony is committed to improving social entertainment spaces
for the benefit of all through our innovative technology.
Inspired by global enthusiasm for live sporting events,
we know fans, athletes, rights-holders, and governing bodies
want more from social entertainment
— more engagement, more exciting play, better officiating,
and more ways for technology to push the boundaries of sport
Since Hawk-Eye Innovations joined the Sony group in 2011,
we have innovated in the sports industry,
impacting the way sports are played, officiated, broadcasted,
and engaged with fans through technology
One of our most prominent advancements
has been supporting many rights holders and broadcasters
through our data visualization capabilities.
Adding data to video has had increasing value
in the sports industry by combining metadata,
artificial intelligence, and video, Hawk-Eye has developed
unparalleled expertise in introducing new tracking
technologies in sports, from football's Goal Line Technology
to tennis' Electronic Line Calling.
Introducing SkeleTRACK, Hawk-Eye's new
and proprietary skeletal tracking system,
powering next-generation visualizations and providing
unlimited possibilities to further impact the world of sport.
SkeleTRACK has been realized by combining our
high-precision, real-time image processing advancements,
our 3-dimensional tracking technology,
and Sony's broadcast quality output capabilities.
The SkeleTRACK technical procedure
is executed in two major steps.
The first is the optical tracking technology
that captures athlete and ball movement.
The second is the AI technology
that analyzes the video capture.
The data from SkeleTRACK powers Virtual Recreation,
visualizing and expressing the data,
resulting in advanced creative outputs, fueling unlimited use cases.
Here are a few examples of the applications
of SkeleTRACK that Hawk-Eye is currently
working on and outputting for clients.
SkeleTRACK can advance the fairness and transparency
of decision making across sport.
By powering real-time virtual recreation - players,
coaches, and fans are able to understand
the decision-making process through exposure to new levels of detail.
SkeleTRACK analyzes the ball position
as well as the players' positions and postures in real-time with AI,
then visualizes the game through virtual recreation.
This can provide the next generation of improvements
for analysts to examine athlete performance,
tactics, and player welfare.
By capturing every piece of skeletal data,
analysts and fans alike can see aspects of player performances
that were previously invisible or too fast for the naked-eye.
Virtual recreation has the ability to power
new forms of fan engagement, from gamifying viewing experiences
to augmenting OTT – allowing fans to customize their game day experience.
Whether it is the view of the goalkeeper trying to save a shot,
or a seat in the stands in one of the best stadiums in the world,
virtual recreation can transport fans
from their sofas right into the action.
SkeleTRACK has already been introduced
to several sports leagues and teams across the globe,
including: MLB and the NBA in North America,
UEFA and Serie A in European football,
and in Japanese baseball with the Yakult Swallows.
SkeleTRACK unveils unlimited opportunities
to take content to the next level,
moving beyond linear experiences
to produce next level data-led entertainment,
elevating live broadcasts and creating new social experiences.
Hawk-Eye, alongside Sony, is looking to expand
from sports experiences to the broader world of entertainment
Looking to the future, Sony's businesses will be integral
to new and exciting next generation experiences
As such.. Sony is excited to announce
a proof-of-concept partnership with Manchester City,
which will leverage Sony’s ground-breaking technologies
and City’s global fanbase
to develop new forms of digital content.
This collaboration seeks to create a global
online fan community where fans can interact with the Club
and each other within a social entertainment space
- a virtual recreation of the Etihad Stadium.
To talk briefly about our
To talk briefly about our new efforts to engage with fans,
here’s Ferran Soriano.
We are so excited to welcome Sony
as our Virtual Fan Engagement Partner.
This is our home.
Our physical home.
The Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
But now, we are putting together the technology
and the entertainment experience of Sony
with the knowledge and experience in global football
from Manchester City and the City Football Group
to develop new virtual experiences for
the millions of fans that Manchester City has.
Fans will be able to develop their own avatars
and interact and enjoy in a virtual space like this.
We have a number of new ideas, activities,
and activations planned for the next weeks and months.
I can’t wait to show them to the world —
for the Manchester City fans across the world,
but also for all global football fans.
Sony is inspiring a revolution in the sports entertainment space.
Stay tuned for more exciting news.