ChyronHego has introduced TRACAB Gen5, the newest generation of the company's Emmy Award-winning TRACAB optical sports tracking system. TRACAB Gen5 features significant improvements in tracking data quality and accuracy, driven by completely redesigned tracking algorithms, a richer array of camera angles, and powerful new AI features for player, number, and colour recognition.
   

TRACAB Gen5 uses a distributed system of cameras installed around the field of play and advanced image processing technology to capture and deliver real-time tracking data on the movements of each player, referees, and the ball. As the world's most widely deployed optical sports tracking system, TRACAB has been installed in over 300 stadia and is currently used to capture live tracking data for more than 4,500 football/soccer and baseball games each year.

"TRACAB has always been the most accurate sports tracking system in the world, but with TRACAB Gen5 we've made it exponentially better," said Rickard Öhrn, president, sports, at ChyronHego. "We've overhauled and improved our AI-based image detection tracking algorithms from the ground up to ensure maximum accuracy and the lowest latency. We're combining these advanced algorithms with multiple high-resolution camera angles, which means we can deliver the highest quality data feed on the market — in real-time — and provide an even greater value for leagues, federations and teams, betting companies, broadcasters, and OTT rights holders producing virtual graphics and enhancements for better fan engagement."

TRACAB Gen5 includes an all-new distributed camera architecture in which cameras can be deployed on both sides of the field and behind each goal to capture action from four angles. With the flexibility of the system offering multiple camera views, Gen5 is able to track every object on the field at a much higher resolution. By stitching and utilising these camera views within TRACAB's industry-leading computer vision algorithms, Gen5 is able to deliver the highest accuracy of ball and player tracking data in the global sports market. The accuracy of player identities is further enhanced through TRACAB Gen5's AI capabilities, which enable the system to recognize and distinguish player numbers and jersey colours from any angle. Where preferred by clients, this capability also allows for the removal of operators from on-site operations.

The testing of Technical University of Munich revealed that TRACAB Gen5 is able to track objects on the field with an average accuracy of 7cm (relative to the centre of mass of a player) and 100% tracking completeness. Coupled with a real-time latency of below 300 milliseconds, these are the highest performance results ever achieved by any sports tracking system in the world. On the strength of these results, the DFL is currently rolling out TRACAB Gen5 to all 36 of its Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 arenas for the 2019-2020 football season.