It does look as though everything around us is getting smarter and smarter, so to speak. Heck, we were even treated to what is known as the smart chopsticks from the folks over at Baidu which are supposedly able to keep track of whether the food you are about to consume is spoilt or not. Well, how about the world of sports? With the high stakes involved and multi-million dollar contracts thrown around, obviously sports teams would want to do all that they can legally to win. Word has it that researchers are currently working on improving the football, where engineers over at Carnegie Mellon and NC State have come up with a new kind of football tracking system which might eventually see the “stick-and-chain” measurement system through the door.
Fret not, no mutants were harmed in the naming of the Magneto-Track system, where it will rely on low-frequency magnetic fields in order to keep tabs on a tracker that has been embedded in the game ball itself. As a result, one would be able to check out a real-time measurement of the ball’s position as well as orientation on the field – definitely adding yet another cerebral aspect to the sport that coaches will have to take note of.
This system does carry the potential to enable referees to track the ball regardless of the playing condition, even if it is visually obscured by a group of players. Of course, there are still flaws in the system as there is a single foot margin of error, which would render it unusable when a precise call needs to be made. Right now, the research team intends to improve the accuracy rates, but at least TV viewers can benefit from following the ball whenever it is out of sight.
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