Technology in Cricket (Part-2)

Technology in Cricket  

(Part-2)

Prof.Shrinivas Patil

5. Hawk Eye

            This technology is widely used among popular sports like Cricket, Tennis, Soccer, Hurling and more for visually tracking the ball and display a record of its statistical path through movie image. Developed by Dr. Paul Hawkins from the UK, the system was originally implemented in 2001 for making the television broadcast more interactive.

            The technology works via six or seven powerful cameras, normally positioned on the underside of the stadium roof, which track the ball from different angles. The video from the six cameras is then triangulated and combined to create a three-dimensional representation of the trajectory of the ball. Hawk-Eye is not infallible and is accurate to within 5mm (0.19-inch) but is generally trusted as an impartial second opinion in Cricket. The Hawk Eye technology helps the umpire by watching where the ball pitched, location of impact with the batsmen's leg and projected path of the ball past batsman.

6. Pitch Vision

            Developed by Mi Sprot, a UK-based company, the technology has been widely used in the Cricket training system. The Pitch Vision is designed to be used by the full spectrum of Cricket users to provide players key performance feedback. Priced almost 2/3rd of a bowling machine, the technology helps bowlers to measure and record bowlers pace, line, length, deviation, bounce and foot position on bowling crease ball by ball. The technology is able to show the map of bowler's line and length.

            It also helps the batsman to see whether their shots would have pierced the field, identify which specific deliveries get you in trouble, compare performance against different bowlers, bat in real game scenarios against real field placements, see a 'Wagon Wheel' of shots from the session and confirm whether the batsman is constantly getting to the pitch of the ball.

7. Spider Cam

            
           The Spider Cam enables film and television cameras to move both vertically and horizontally over a predetermined area, typically the playing field of a sporting event such as a cricket pitch. The Spider Cam operates with four motorized winches positioned at each corner at the base of the covered area, each of which controls a Kevlar cable connected to a gyro-stabilized camera-carrier, or dolly.

            By controlling the winding and unwinding of the cables, the system allows the dolly to reach any position in the three-dimensional space. The inputs of the Spider Cam ‘pilot’ are processed by a software that forwards the commands to the winches via fiber optic cables. The Spider Cam was first used in the Indian Cricket League followed by the semifinals of 2010 IPL in Champions League T-20 in South Africa.

8. Stump Camera

            The Stump Camera is a small TV camera stuffed inside a hollow stump. The camera gets aligned vertically the camera view through a small window on the side of the stump via a mirror. These cameras help generate unique view of play for action replays specifically when a batsman gets bowled.

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