Smart ball technology

[crossref]

More about the new smart ball

The 'smart ball' is about to revolutionise rugby's TV coverage

The new ball offers a huge array of new statistics which will bring new benefits to both teams and viewers

www.telegraph.co.uk

I was obviously taken by this bit

The innovations so far are smart, but the ball's true worth could still be to come. Could it act as an officiating aid, to answer that age-old question, rugby's Holy Grail: was that pass forward? Sportable and Sage have run trials with the NRL in Australia, and those conversations are still ongoing. Smith explains that a forward pass is "incredibly subjective" and going through various passes in the office "has caused arguments".

In other words: before we can use the technology we would need to tighten up the definition.

Lots of other interesting stuff .. eg the sensor is positioned behind the valve

 

[SimonSmith]

More about the new smart ball

The 'smart ball' is about to revolutionise rugby's TV coverage

The new ball offers a huge array of new statistics which will bring new benefits to both teams and viewers

www.telegraph.co.uk

I was obviously taken by this bit

In other words: before we can use the technology we would need to tighten up the definition.

Lots of other interesting stuff .. eg the sensor is positioned behind the valve

I think there may be a subtext of "do we really want this?"

There are an awful lot of very flat (ahem) passes in the NRL, especially from the play-the-ball

 

[chbg]

More about the new smart ball

The 'smart ball' is about to revolutionise rugby's TV coverage

The new ball offers a huge array of new statistics which will bring new benefits to both teams and viewers

www.telegraph.co.uk

I was obviously taken by this bit

In other words: before we can use the technology we would need to tighten up the definition.

Lots of other interesting stuff .. eg the sensor is positioned behind the valve

The confident proponent allows the audience to make up their own minds. The propagandist keeps banging the drum.

 

[crossref]

The confident proponent allows the audience to make up their own minds. The propagandist keeps banging the drum.

I like it.
But is what is your view , do you find their experience unlikely?

I think the main problem for the technologists is that current definition of a forward pass refers to the motion of the arms, but of course there are no sensors in the arms. So they will need to develop a new test, based around the motion of the ball. That's going to be interesting

 

[Stu10]

I like it.
But is what is your view , do you find their experience unlikely?

I think the main problem for the technologists is that current definition of a forward pass refers to the motion of the arms, but of course there are no sensors in the arms. So they will need to develop a new test, based around the motion of the ball. That's going to be interesting

Might you possibly be over thinking it, assuming the law makers are considering net velocity of the hands through time and space to determine which way is forward, assuming the motion of the arms/hands and the ball, while held by the ball carrier, are not moving together? Have we completed dismissed common sense?

 

[crossref]

from reading the various articles, the test for technology will be to do with detecting an increase in the forward-velocity of the ball.

there are certain scenarios where this is not quite the same as the arms test.

we also have to work out whether the tech should take into accoutn the referee's on-field-decision (an important part of the current process) Probably not?

We also have this scenario - where the ball and the arms are stationary - but it's probably/possibly a forward pass

Forward pass law

#1 Red 10 receives a hospital pass and is immediately caught in a choke tackle Stationary he sees the Red 15 approaching fast, and, just as Red 15 goes past he manages to hand the ball to him At the moment of the transfer, hand to hand, Red 15, receiving the ball, is fully in front of Red 10...

forum.rugbyrefs.com

The tech may not help with that one

 

[Camquin]

The law is absolutely clear. It is a forward pass, if and only if the referee blows their whistle.

The problem came when they tried to give advice to TMOs on when a referee should have blown their whistle, and found that the laws were not very clear. So they rewrote them, without actually defining the words any better.

As with almost all of rugby's laws, they do not stand up to scrutiny at the level of a lawyer or a computer programmer.

 

[crossref]

The law is absolutely clear. It is a forward pass, if and only if the referee blows their whistle.

but that's just silly : when should the referee blow their whistle?

Answer When a player throws or passes the ball forward i.e. if the arms of the player passing the ball move forward.


Given there are no sensors in the players' arms to determine this, for technology to help I surmise we'll need a different test of a throw forward, a test based based around detecting motion of the ball, and changes in velocity.

 

[Camquin]

For a player, or for a fan, it is the only law you need.
I admit it is not very good for a referee.
I have a copy of Derek Robinson's book, "Rugby: success starts here." This was the book he wrote before he was involved in the law rewrite of the 1970s, and introduced many of the diagrams that we still know and love to this day. Available from all good booksellers at least used for about a fiver - which buys much less pop than my pocket money would have done when I bought a copy back when it was new.

It has a discussion on the forward pass, and it is clear the law was no better then. That was 50 years ago. He points out, the players are running, the ref is running, the wind is blowing a gale the rain is in your face, you have one chance to look at the pass, if it is not clearly and obviously forward, get on with the game. What goes around will come around, and next time it will be your scoring pass that isn't called when it should be.

But then the TMO got involved, and it all went to hell in a slow-motion replay.

 

[Stu10]

It has a discussion on the forward pass, and it is clear the law was no better then. That was 50 years ago. He points out, the players are running, the ref is running, the wind is blowing a gale the rain is in your face, you have one chance to look at the pass, if it is not clearly and obviously forward, get on with the game. What goes around will come around, and next time it will be your scoring pass that isn't called when it should be.

This is so often forgotten! This past weekend, maroon made a break, 2 on 1, text book draw and pass... I was in-line and slightly ahead, had good view of the pass, flat at worst, slightly backwards at best, definitely not forward.

It was a speed so, of course, though there was forward momentum on the ball... green team all shouting "forward pass", players and supporters still grumbling 10 minutes later, but you can be certain they would not have complained if it was their team scoring the try!!!