Systems and methods for analyzing event data

• US 9,216,319 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2014
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IsoLynx LLC
• Original Assignee: IsoLynx LLC
• Inventors: DeAngelis, Douglas J., Sigel, Kirk M., Evansen, Edward G.
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US14/330,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20140320660A1
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 348/157, 725/40, 463/36
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0025 Tracking the path or location of one or more users, e.g. players of a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/10 Positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/806 Video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/20 with means for remote communication, e.g. internet or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/54 Transponders, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/007 American football
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30228 Playing field
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/42 of sport video content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for determining a target situation in an athletic event. Positional information including the relative positions of a group of selected participants is initially received from a tracking system, and the aggregate motion of the selected participants is detected in real-time using the positional information. The target situation may be determined to have occurred when a change in the aggregate motion occurs in accordance with a predetermined characteristic during an initial time interval.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for annotating a video feed of an event comprising:

receiving, from a tracking system, positional information of a plurality of participants in the event;

determining a target situation within the video feed based upon a sequence of individual aggregate motion values of the plurality of participants of the event;

determining a path of travel, during at least a portion of the event, of a selected participant from the positional information; and

overlaying, onto the video feed, graphical information comprising the path of travel and identifying information of the selected participant after the target situation is determined;

wherein each aggregate motion value is, at a particular time, one of (a) a sum of velocities of the plurality of selected participants and (b) an average of the velocities of the plurality of selected participants.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the video feed is a live video feed and the steps of determining a target situation, determining the path of travel, and overlaying are performed in real time.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising causing at least one video camera to track the selected participant.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing the path of travel to evaluate performance of the participant.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, the step of analyzing comprising determining a distance traveled by the selected participant, wherein the graphical information further comprising the distance traveled by the selected participant.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the selected participant is selected by the user of a handheld device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the target situation is a start of a play within the event.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining the target situation includes determining the start of the play by identifying a line set condition and subsequently detecting an increase in adjacent ones of the sequence of individual aggregate motion values.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the target situation is an end of a play within the event, and wherein the step of overlaying comprises overlaying the graphical information during a replay of the play.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the step of determining the target situation includes determining the end of the play by detecting a decrease, by a threshold amount, in the adjacent ones of the sequence of individual aggregate motion values.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of overlaying includes displaying the video feed and overlayed graphical information on a scoreboard at the location of the event.

12. A system for displaying event information comprising:

a video camera for capturing a video feed of the event;

a tracking system for providing position information of a plurality of participants of the event;

a computing device, coupled to the video camera, including;

instructions for determining a target situation within the event based upon a sequence of individual aggregate motion values of the plurality of participants in the event, and

instructions determining a path of travel, during at least a portion of the event, of a selected participant from the positional information; and

a display device for displaying graphical information, overlaying the video feed, comprising the path of travel and identifying information of the selected participant;

wherein each aggregate motion value is, at a particular time, one of (a) a sum of velocities of the plurality of selected participants and (b) an average of the velocities of the plurality of selected participants.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the video feed is a live video feed.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising an additional video camera for tracking the selected participant.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the selected participant is selected by a user of a handheld device.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the target situation is a start of a play during the event.

17. The system of claim 16, the instructions for determining the target situation including instructions for determining the start of the play based upon identification of a line set condition and subsequent detection of an increase in adjacent ones of the sequence of individual aggregate motion values.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the target situation is an end of the play during the event.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the display device is further for displaying the graphical information, overlaying the video feed, during a replay of a portion of the video feed corresponding to the play and after the end of the play.

20. The system of claim 18, the instructions for determining the target situation including instructions for determining the end of the play based upon detection of a decrease in adjacent ones of the sequence of individual aggregate motion values.