3/18/2014

English 202C | Shenglei Luan

HAWKEYE
TECH IN
SOCCER:
ITS ALL ABOUT FAIRNESS

Audience and Scope:
The purpose of this file is to be an informative technical document to soccer fans who are
interested in the new and cutting-edge technology that is developing in the soccer world:
Hawk-Eye technology. Hawk-Eye technology is a complicated computer-based system that is
used in multiple types of ball-games as an assisting judging system to the officials of the games.
It does so by tracking and demonstrating the trajectory of the ball via a certain number of
cameras installed in the stadium. Although this particular technology has been adopted in
tennis as well as cricket games as the challenge system since 2006 and 2009, respectively, its
appearance in soccer games only officially occurred during the Confederations Cup in June 2013.
This document will describe to soccer fans that are unfamiliar with this technology with its
particular process in soccer games.

Background:
A scored goal in soccer games is defined by FIFA as this: A goal is scored when the whole of the
ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided that no
infringement of the Laws of the Game has been previously by the team scoring the goal. It was
all over the news that the FIFA was reluctant on using technology to assist referees in decision-
making because they were worried that it would unnecessarily interrupt the game and
therefore reduce the consistency of the game. However, many mistakes made by referees
inevitably occurred at crucial moments such as determining if the ball passed the goal line
completely or not. The last straw that broke the camels back is the disallowed goal of England
that happened in the round of 16 between against Germany in the 2010 World Cup as shown in
figure 1, and this had affected the final result seriously. From then on, the FIFA started their
test on the accuracy and viability of different goal line technology systems, and Hawk-Eye is one
of them.

Figure 1: England vs Germany in World Cup 2010
How does it work?
Hawk-Eye system was first invented by Dr. Paul Hawkins in 2001 in the UK. The initial function
was for putting cricket games on television. As later development went on, it is then used as
challenge system of tennis and cricket. The process in soccer is similar. First, the cameras
around the stadium will track the ball from different angles. Second, the combination of the
images and videos is used to create a 3-D display of the ball. With the precise location of the
ball, the correct decision of goals can be made. The decision will be sent to the referees watch
immediately via electronic waves, and the referee then is able to make the correct decision.
After all, in soccer, the final decision is made by the officials regardless of what the machine
says.
Detailed steps:
1. Camera Installation
In order to catch every single moment in a gameplay, this technology requires 7 high frame rate
cameras installed in the stadium for each goal, which makes it 14 in each stadium. The most
common location of the installation is on the roof of the stadium as shown in figure 3. The
picture on the cover page shows a real-life hawk-eye camera.

Figure 2: Camera System of Hawk-Eye Technology
2. Vision Processing
The system then is able to determine the location of the ball using only a small part of the ball
visible. With the 360 degree coverage from the cameras, the images obtained by each camera
will be processed together to locate it. As said on Hawk-Eyes website, the system is
unaffected by mud on the ball or any adverse weather conditions.
3. Goal Alert
In this step, control software will gather the information collected by the cameras, thus being
able to determine the trail of the ball near the goal-line area. The decision can then be made
with this information. If the system spots that the ball has fully crossed the goal-line, a signal
will be sent to the officials watch that is just made for the hawk-eye system by Adeunis RF
Company: Wireless Products and Solutions. In addition to the goal-or-not decision, the system
can also make a near miss decision to give positive confirmation to the referee as to close
circumstances.

Figure 3: Hawk-Eye System Watch


4. Accuracy:
From the testing processes over the years, that is, not just in soccer, but also in tennis and
cricket, the Hawk-Eye system has never encountered a single incident where the ball is
completely blocked out of the sight of all the cameras. Moreover, only 2 cameras are sufficient
to resolve the position of the ball. The system has the accuracy in millimeters, which makes it
impossible to be disproved by any replays. The vertical position of the goal posts and the paints
of the goal-line will not affect the accuracy of this technology.
Conclusion:
In Summary, the Hawk-Eye technology utilizes full-angle coverage cameras on each goal on the
pitch to catch every possible location of the soccer ball through any kind of vision processing
technology. Doing so allows the system to get the exact location of the ball and thus
determining its spatial relationship to the goal-line. The control system will then make a final
decision saying if its a goal or no. As the decision is made, the signal will be processed and sent
to the special watch that is worn by the officials. This is the process of how the Hawk-Eye
system assists the referee to make a right call on goal determination under controversial
circumstances, such as that the whole of the ball had just crossed the line and was blocked out
by a defender. No more mistakes on this will significantly increase the fairness of the gameplay
and therefore avoid a ton of unnecessary wrong calls.

Figure 4: Summary of how it works

Although the goal-line technology has just been testified and applied in its first world-wide
tournament last year (2013), FIFA has confirmed that it will be used in the upcoming event: the
Brazil World Cup 2014. This is undoubtedly a breakthrough in modern soccer.
References:
1. Fifa snubs Hawk-Eye in favor of German Goal-line technology
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/apr/02/fifa-goalline-technology-snub-hawkeye
2. Finally! Goalline technology has been approved
http://ontd-football.livejournal.com/3768400.html
3. Hawk-Eye claims to have the edge on goal-line technology rivals goalref
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2244969/Goal-line-technology-Hawk-
Eye-claim-edge-GoalRef.html

4. Hawk-Eye Technology: How does it work?
https://s3.amazonaws.com/hawkeye-static/GLT_HowItWorks3.pdf\

5.FIFA: Law of the Game
http://web.archive.org/web/20080421154143/http://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/L
aws10_01.htm

6. Hawk eye chiefs praying for phantom goal
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20121209
145448

7. Goal-line technology, seems legit!
http://sites.psu.edu/thisandthat/2013/09/08/goal-line-technology-seems-legit/