Tech’s World Cup takeover | BetaKit
Canadian Tech & Startup News
Canadian Tech & Startup News
Plus: Canada's new FinTech unicorns.
The World Cup kicked off this Thursday. As fans congregate across Vancouver, Toronto, Mexico, and the US, they’re going to watch a more tech-powered game than ever before.
The ball now houses a motion sensor that takes 500 measurements per second—meaning it will have to be plugged in to charge before every game. Players will be monitored on the field with precision computer-vision tracking, coupled with full-body-scan digital twins and AI analysis to help coaches and referees make real-time calls. The tech takeover extends to cooling vests worn by players, upgraded telecom systems to boost network and broadcast capacity, geomatics companies monitoring traffic around stadiums, and event sports bettors setting odds via AI (Team Canada fans might not want to look).
Tech and innovation have always played a role in sports—otherwise, hockey pucks might still be made of frozen cow dung rather than vulcanized rubber. But AI is rapidly reshaping how sports of all kinds are played and coached at a pace that rivals the players’ speed on the field.
BetaKit’s Josh Scott recently visited a biomechanics lab in Toronto where researchers are developing a large reconstruction model, AI that converts 2D images into 3D video used to evaluate player form and trajectory in minute detail. Madison McLauchlan toured a boxing gym where MMA fighters used AI to track their hormones and energy levels ahead of Sunday’s big UFC fight. On Monday, we’ll be tuned in as Canada’s AI minister makes a sports-tech funding announcement in Ontario.
As you’re watching the beautiful game this week, take a second to consider the innovation that’s now powering it—and let’s hope the refs remembered to charge that ball’s battery.
Sarah Rieger<br>Managing Editor
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