The world of sports used to rely heavily on human abilities to take all the calls in the past and players had no option but to abide by the decisions, whether right or wrong. Players have benefitted or suffered as a result of human errors prior to the advent of technologies in sports which later minimised the scope of mistakes in sporting decisions to a great extent. So, now there are several cutting-edge technologies in sports to rid the games of the aspect of human frailties.
The limitations regarding spontaneous decisions have been bridged considerably, especially in cricket, as some touch-and-go affairs get referred to a third party, catching the game through technology-enabled TV screens. Though no technology is foolproof and some issues persist with regard to these state-of-the-art phenomena as well but human errors impacting the outcome of a match have been addressed largely. Let us explore the modern-day innovations that have radically altered the sporting arena.
Video Replay System
Thanks to Virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree cameras these days referees have the privilege of viewing the action in myriad ways. The video replay system (VRS) has made its way into several sports such as football, cricket and rugby. In football, the technology is constantly summoned to ascertain if the ball has passed over the line and for taking clear-cut calls on penalties. In cricket, it is constantly utilized to adjudicate close calls or the decision referred by the batsman, also known as DRS.
Hawk Eye
In this technology computer and a camera system is employed to track the ball’s course. The hawk eye utilizes several TV cameras linked to computers kept around the ground. Visuals from various TVs are then pieced together to create a genuine 3D representation of the course of the ball. Following this, the technology gauges the ball’s trajectory and dispatches the same to a VR machine. This is used in sports such as cricket, Tennis etc. In cricket, the hawk eye showcases the speed, swing, spin etc of the bowlers with precision and it also assists greatly in taking a correct decision in case of a tricky Leg Before Wicket appeal.
Snick-O-Meter
This technology is employed primarily in cricket and includes a sensitive microphone fixed inside one of the stumps. This is then linked to an oscilloscope relaying sound waves. The snick-o-meter becomes very handy in spotting faint nicks that are difficult to hear on the ground with one’s ears. Through snick-o-meter, it becomes quite convenient to figure out whether the ball has brushed the bat or something else before going to the keeper, or if the ball has hit the pad or bat first in case the batsmen is caught plumb in front of the wicket. Sometimes even the snick-o-meter has failed to pick the clearest of nicks, though.
