NHL Takes a Giant Step in Technology with Sony
The NHL continues to innovate and improve the ice hockey experience. The league announced a new technology partnership with Sony, marking a milestone in the implementation of cutting-edge technology to enhance the game.Commissioner Gary Bettman, at an NHL general managers meeting, was clear about the league’s vision for tracking technology. “When we are sure it works,” Bettman said, “we will test it and retest it. We have not hesitated to invest money and time in technology to improve the game.”
This collaboration involves the expansion of the use of Sony’s Hawk-Eye measurement and tracking technology, the same one used in tennis to determine if a ball is in or out.
The NHL has used Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology for the past decade as part of the SMART (Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology) services in each team’s arena, streamlining and making replay reviews and coach’s challenges more precise. It also helps organizations track player health and safety.We are closer, closer and closer. It will be a solution that will include multiple inputs and different types of technology… It will probably be a combination of active tracking on the puck, on the players, on the jerseys, wherever, optical cameras and maybe some other type of technology that needs to be joined.
David Lehanski, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation of the NHL
Technology has advanced so much that the cameras capture 29 skeletal points on each player and three more on the sticks.
Lehanski stated that a combination of technological elements could help on the ice with everything from penalties to on-ice positioning. Off the ice, beyond broadcasts and animated visualizations that will continue, the league hopes that Sony cameras can bring the home viewing experience closer to the excitement in the arena. Theresa Alesso, president of imaging products and solutions in the Americas at Sony, commented on the goal of bringing the gaming experience to homes. “As cameras improve, they get smaller and lighter, getting those game angles in someone’s living room is really important.”This allows us to have a high-fidelity, low-latency view of the athletes’ movements in real time. The NHL has a very clear vision of what they are going to do with this, but obviously it’s still in the early stages of what it could be for them.
Rufus Hack, CEO of Hawk-Eye Innovations
