http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news_item.aspx?id=82725 It made it's debut at the Indian open! I was so happy I was afraid it might have been April Fools due to time zone difference but it looks it's legitimate. I'm not sure if the audience actually saw the graphics like they see in tennis as it may have been a test run, but I'm so glad this is happening! I guess the high speed camera review that happened off camera wasn't exciting enough for the audience so the BWF finally went forward with Hawk Eye. I'm betting this was in the works for awhile, trial testing the high speed cameras first and then deciding whether to stick with that or just pay for the high tech Hawk Eye Technology. Now we'll get some crowd involvement with these challenges!
Hawk-Eye technology is coming to a video board or television near you soon. http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news_item.aspx?id=82725 ‘Hawk-Eye’ to Determine ‘In or Out’ Friday, April 4, 2014 - Text by Gayle Alleyne | BWF Badminton fans – Hawk-Eye technology is coming to a video board or television near you soon. The world-famous tracking system used in many sports to determine line calls has made its badminton debut in the MetLife BWF World Superseries tournament in New Delhi and spectators in the stadium and watching at home will eventually be able to see instant reviews of challenges which happen in matches on the TV court. After testing various instant-review technologies in recent months, the Badminton World Federation has contracted Hawk-Eye Innovations to provide instant-review services for the World Superseries as well as for BWF Major Events. This includes Hawk-Eye’s popular graphics implementation which pinpoints the exact spot on which a ball – or in badminton’s case, a shuttle – lands. These are often shown in sports venues worldwide and broadcast to fans elsewhere.“We have been testing various systems and we have determined Hawk-Eye to be the most trusted and reliable option by which to track line-call challenges,” said BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund.“As a brand, it has built a strong reputation and enjoys global recognition among other sports – and indeed among sports fans – as an accurate and highly innovative technology which adds value to the spectatorship of sporting events.”Hawk-Eye’s system will gradually be integrated with the in-venue video boards and live worldwide broadcast feed, allowing fans to see instant reviews and decisions on challenges.“Since we introduced instant reviews in last year’s World Superseries Finals, many people have been asking when we would take the next step – add the graphics which they are accustomed to seeing in tennis and other sports. Now, with Hawk-Eye on board, we are ready to progress to that stage.“The integration of these graphical elements will be tested in India and ultimately we will get operations running smoothly. It’s another significant and innovative step for badminton in the sporting world,” added Lund.The India Open 2014 is the fifth BWF tournament at which instant reviews are available to players since the BWF World Superseries Finals last December in Malaysia. The other tournaments at which they have been in place are the Victor Korea Open, the Maybank Malaysia Open and the Yonex All England Open.
Or financial decision, as I read it costs something around US$60,000 each time for the company to come and setup the cameras etc.
I hope that they worked out the numbers correctly. I am fine with using instant replay. The extra money may be better spent on securing first class training facilities for the players at all event locations, on promoting the events better to the general public and potential sponsors, and on streaming more matches for the fans.
If the prize money is $1 million, then i think it is ok to spend $60,000 on the technology. but if the prize money is only $250,000 and they spend $60,000 on the technology, then I don't think it is the right decision.
In India and England, the systems are available locally, ready to use when needed. That's because the system is already being used extensively in cricket and tennis (and newly, football). Although Hawkeye is based in the UK, it's now owned by Sony. As such, the systems are directly compatible with Sony's broadcast cameras. Countries where Hawkeye doesn't have a local presence will need to pay the full amount if they want to use the 'Decision Review System'. For example, if the Singapore Open or the Indonesia Open wants to use it, the extra cost will be a heavy burden on the organisers.
Hawkeye is only accurate within 5 millimeters. That's not enough for badminton. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk-Eye
video replay is still subject to human error, even at slow mo. There are instances where players can still block the slow mo camera. But pcll99 is right that Hawkeye is not foolproof and is only accurate within a margin. In Tennis, players accept that it is an acceptable margin of error of a challenge system. The tennis great Roger Federer is actually notorious for disliking Hawkeye as he has been on the receiving end numerous times in big matches when a line call went against him by 1 millimeter. But for the most part, it is a very successful challenge that is judge purely based off of TECHNOLOGY and not by HUMAN JUDGMENT. Yes the technology is not 100% accurate, but it's pretty damn close and players cannot argue that the tournament referee is favoring one team over the other because the graphical representation is available for everyone to see. I do believe this is a step in the right direction by adopting a more mainstream line call technology. This technology may not be available for all tournaments though, mainly the big ones.
Well, with all three together (ie, line judges, slow mo instant replay, and hawkeye), the final result should be 99% accurate, I hope.
There are various articles online for tennis quoting about US$60,000-70,000 for *each* court to setup and install 10 cameras per court to monitor the lines and feed the video data to be analysed by a computer. I suppose they can save a bit if they don't need to monitor the service lines and the centre line, since the serve is relatively slow in badminton, so line judges can be depended for those. It's the side and rear lines during a smash that becomes hard for the line judges and those are the lines that will benefit most from Hawk Eye.
For a 4 court tournament, maybe the money should go to prize money for the lower ranked players instead.
A friend is currently working for Hawk-Eye in setting up the systems all over the world in ATP/ITF events during a University placement year. It takes them a full week of set-up for a tennis event....
Interesting, I take it the hardware goes up pretty fast, so is that just the whole week to calibrate it and test or?
Yes calibration and testing. He also has the unenviable job of monitoring constantly during play that the systems are running how they should nand checking tolerances etc... Worked 100 hours during the first (baking hot) week of the Aus Open. Although I think the room he was sat in had air con... But still, he's 6' 6" so it can't have been comfortable!!