Semi-automatic offside technology will be used in the 2022 World Cup

FIFA has announced the details of the semi-automatic offside detection system that it announced last year. The semi-automatic offside system will be used in this year’s 2022 World Cup. This technology, which makes use of image processing technologies and sensors, will ensure that the right decision is made in offside positions.

What is a semi-automatic offside system?

VAR technology came into our lives to prevent wrong decisions in football, but VAR technology could not show enough success in offside positions. In the current setup, the referees in VAR examine the camera footage to determine the moment when the ball is standing, and try to determine which player is ahead with the camera footage.

In the semi-automatic offside system, detection will be made with 12 special cameras with motion tracking and a sensor placed inside the ball. Thanks to the sensor called the inertial measurement unit (IMU) inside the ball, the moment the ball leaves the foot will be determined clearly. Motion tracking cameras, on the other hand, scan 29 areas of the body of each player on the field 50 times per second. The information collected from 29 data points will be evaluated by artificial intelligence and it will be clearly determined which player is ahead.

The detection process of the artificial intelligence will take a second or two. Afterwards, a three-dimensional view of the offside position will be sent to the referee in the VAR room and the VAR referee will make the final decision. The three-dimensional image created by artificial intelligence will also be shared with the audience.

Today, the detection time of offside positions in VAR can exceed 1 minute. It can be difficult to determine the moment the ball leaves the foot and to determine which of the close players is ahead. The semi-automatic offside system will eliminate these problems.

The semi-automatic offside system was tested in the FIFA 2021 Arab Cup and FIFA 2021 Club World Cup. FIFA Chief Referee Collina; He said that they were satisfied with the test results and that fast and accurate detection could be made thanks to the new system.