VIDEO TRACKING OF BASEBALL PLAYERS WHICH IDENTIFIES MERGED PARTICIPANTS BASED ON PARTICIPANT ROLES

• US 20120162434A1
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sportsmedia Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sportvision, Inc. (Sportsmedia Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Heidmann, Timothy P., Elangovan, Vidya, Fecho, Marlena
• Granted Patent: US 9,007,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30221 Sports video; Sports image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/267 by performing operations on regions, e.g. growing, shrinking or watersheds

Abstract

Video frames of a baseball game are analyzed to determine a track for the participants in the game and to update a digital record of the game. The merging of participants in a video frame is resolved by associating the participants'"'"' tracks before and/or after the merging with a most likely participant role, such as a player, coach or umpire role. The role of one merged participant can be used to deduce the role of the other merged participant. In this way, the digital record can be completed even for the merged period. The role of a participant can be based, e.g., on the location of the participant relative to a base, a coach'"'"'s box region, a pitcher'"'"'s mound, a dugout, or a fielding position, or by determining that a participant is running along a path to a base or performing some other movement.

Claims

1. A method for tracking participants in a baseball game at a baseball park, the baseball park includes a playing field, comprising the processor-implemented steps of:

analyzing video frames obtained from one or more cameras, the video frames provide images of the participants in the baseball park;

based on the analyzing;

determining a merged track of at least first and second participants in the baseball park, the merged track indicates successive locations of the at least first and second participants in the baseball park during a merged interval in which the first and second participants are at least partly merged, and determining respective non-merged tracks of the at least first and second participants in the baseball park during a non-merged interval in which the first and second participants are not merged;

identifying a role of the first participant from among a plurality of roles in the baseball game which is consistent with the respective non-merged track of the first participant; and

responsive to the identifying, updating a digital record of the baseball game to associate the first participant with the merged track.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a role of the second participant from among the plurality of roles which is consistent with the respective non-merged track of the second participant; and

responsive to the identified role of the second participant, updating the digital record to associate the second participant with the merged track

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

identifying the role of the second participant based on the identified role of the first participant.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a role of the second participant based on the identified role of the first participant; and

responsive to the identified role of the second participant, updating the digital record to associate the second participant with the merged track.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the identifying, updating the digital record to associate the first participant with the respective non-merged track of the first participant.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating the digital record to identify a time interval of the respective non-merged interval of the first participant which was used to identify the role of the first participant.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a performance metric of the first participant based on the digital record, the performance metric is based on a location of the first participant during the merged interval.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the video frames are obtained from multiple cameras having different viewpoints of the baseball park; and

the analyzing determines that different merged intervals are associated with different ones of the multiple cameras.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the video frames are obtained from multiple cameras having different viewpoints of the baseball park; and

the analyzing determines that the merged interval is associated with one of the multiple cameras, and no merged interval is associated with another of the multiple cameras during the merged interval associated with the one of the multiple cameras.

10. An apparatus which performs the method of claim 1.

11. A method for tracking participants in a baseball game at a baseball park, the baseball park includes a playing field, comprising the processor-implemented steps of:

analyzing video frames obtained from one or more cameras, the video frames provide images of the participants in the baseball park;

based on the analyzing, determining successive locations of at least first and second participants in the baseball park during a time interval;

detecting a merged interval in the time interval in which the successive locations of the first and second participants are merged;

detecting a non-merged interval in the time interval in which the successive locations of the first and second participants are not merged;

identifying a role from among a plurality of roles in the baseball game which is consistent with the successive locations of the first participant in the non-merged interval; and

responsive to the identifying, updating a digital record of the baseball game to associate the role of the first participant with the successive locations of the first and second participant in the merged interval.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a base of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a base coach of the base, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is in a coach'"'"'s box region associated with the base.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a base of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a fielder assigned to the base and a role for the second participant as a base runner to the base, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is at a fielder'"'"'s location associated with the base and the second participant is at the base.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a base of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a fielder assigned to the base and a role for the second participant as a base runner to the base, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is at the base and the second participant is running away from the base.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a pitcher'"'"'s mound of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a coach and a role for the second participant as a pitcher, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant moves from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward a dugout while the second participant is at the pitcher'"'"'s mound.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a base of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a fielder assigned to the base and a role for the second participant as a base runner to the base, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is at a fielder'"'"'s location associated with the base while the second participant runs along a path to the base.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes determining that the first and second participants are within a specified distance of a base of the playing field during at least a portion of the non-merged interval, and identifying the role for the first participant as a fielder assigned to the base and a role for the second participant as a base runner to the base, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is at a fielder'"'"'s location associated with the base and the second participant moves from a region of the base to a dugout region of the baseball park.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the identifying includes identifying the role for the first participant as a fielder assigned to one fielding position and a role for the second participant as a fielder assigned to another fielding position, if, during the non-merged interval, the first participant is at a location associated with the one fielding position and the second participant is at a location associated with the another fielding position.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is an offensive player role in the baseball game.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is a defensive player role in the baseball game.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is a coach role in the baseball game.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is a base runner in the baseball game.

23. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is a batter role in the baseball game.

24. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the role is an umpire role in the baseball game.

25. An apparatus which performs the method of claim 11.

26. Tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage having computer readable software embodied thereon for programming at least one processor to perform a method for tracking participants in a baseball game at a baseball park, the baseball park includes a playing field, the method performed comprises:

analyzing video frames obtained from one or more cameras, the video frames provide images of the participants in the baseball park;

based on the analyzing;

determining a merged track of at least first and second participants in the baseball park, the merged track indicates successive locations of the at least first and second participants in the baseball park during a merged interval in which the first and second participants are at least partly merged, and determining respective non-merged tracks of the at least first and second participants in the baseball park during a non-merged interval in which the first and second participants are not merged;

identifying a role of the first participant from among a plurality of roles in the baseball game which is consistent with the respective non-merged track of the first participant; and

responsive to the identifying, updating a digital record of the baseball game to associate the first participant with the merged track and with the respective non-merged track of the first participant.

27. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage of claim 26, wherein the method performed further comprises:

identifying a role of the second participant from among the plurality of roles which is consistent with the respective non-merged track of the second participant; and

responsive to the identified role of the second participant, updating the digital record to associate the second participant with the merged track and with the respective non-merged track of the second participant.

28. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage of claim 26, wherein the method performed further comprises:

identifying a role of the second participant based on the identified role of the first participant; and

responsive to the identified role of the second participant, updating the digital record to associate the second participant with the merged track and with the respective non-merged track of the second participant.