Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing many industries. One of them is the sports sector, which it is taking to a completely new level thanks to its multiple applications focused on improving, among other things, the performance of athletes and technicians. Artificial intelligence in sport is a reality that is having a significant impact in many of its aspects.
The famous movie “Moneyball: Breaking the rules” -nominated for 6 Oscars, including the one for best picture-, already showed the value of statistics in sports strategy. Based on the true story of Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics team, who used advanced statistics to sign players, the film is a clear example of how advanced data analysis manages to gather and select a team of players who each day achieve win games and reach the final.
Nowadays, coaches and coaching staff can optimize the sports performance of their teams thanks to training planning strategies where the latest advances in Sports Sciences, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are applied, with the creation of analytical tools that provide additional insight into the team’s performance in competition [1].
How is artificial intelligence used in sport?
There are many different areas in the sports industry in which AI is beginning to play a fundamental role. Some of them are [2]:
- Development technology for uniforms
- Marketing
- Automated journalism
- Performance of professional athletes
- Scouts
- Medical services
- Sports referee
What are the improvements that AI brings to the sport?
- Performance improvement. The application of artificial intelligence systems in sport means that, as we told you before, an improvement in performance can be produced. For example, there are many athletes who train with devices that collect data and control their general health, this data can be interpreted by artificial intelligence systems and give clues to improve sports performance.
- AI training. Thanks to AI systems, various aspects of the game can be controlled in training. For example, in tennis, through a combination of cameras and sensors, speed, spin and placement on a serve can be measured. This has a direct impact on the strategic decisions that the coaches and the coaching staff may make.
- Analysis and selection of players. Perhaps this is one of the great applications of AI today. In sports like football, where there are many players and where a lot of money is invested, AI can help select the best talents in a much more objective way, based on data and predictions of potential, of what a human scout could do [3],[4].
How AI will affect sports entertainment businesses?
The Artificial Intelligence Market in Sports market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.72% during the forecast period 2021 – 2026, based on the growing use of technology in most well-developed sports, further with the falling prices of these services due to economies of scale they are expected to be used at University and Junior Levels of various sports along with the widening applications of the technology as it evolves every year.
The increase in the volume of both on-field and off-field data generated among various sports organizations has led to an increase in managing these data to analyse them. Due to the increasing demand for monitoring and tracking data of players, the number of wearable devices in the sports industry is subsequently increasing. This, in turn, is leading to the generation of detailed on player performance and fitness variables data such as heartbeat, speed, and acceleration [5].
Benefits of artificial intelligence applied to sport
According to the latest research on AI, the great advantage of using this type of systems in sport is that they apply a certain objectivity to the analysis of the game without having to depend on a human expert who may obtain different results depending on factors such as experience, context or your knowledge.
Another of the great advantages of artificial intelligence systems in sport is the large amount of data that can be processed, since, of course, machines have a greater capacity to store and evaluate huge amounts of information.
Another of the great uses of artificial intelligence in sport is the application of techniques related to the automatic extraction of knowledge. In this case, exploiting the information that is acquired automatically from the different sports activities.
With this type of application, the great advantage is that, for example, you could find out some of the reasons why some teams win more or less. Data so that technical teams can work and reinforce the positive and correct what is wrong with the team [6].
In future posts, we will be continue writing about technology and business trends for enterprises. Furthermore, we recommend consulting the following literature to continue your digital transformation journey:
- Designed for Digital: How to Architect Your Business for Sustained Success, MIT review
- The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives, by Simon & Schuster
- Artificial Intelligence: The Insights You Need, by Harvard Business Review
- The Year in Tech, 2021: The Insights You Need, by Harvard Business Review
- The Deep Learning Revolution, by MIT Press
- Competing in the Age of AI, by Harvard Review Press
The objective of this blog is to provide a personal vision of how digital transformation trends will be impacting in our daily activities, businesses and lifestyle.
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Senior researcher, his research interest includes Smart-sensor, Industry 4.0, Internet of things, and cyber-physical systems.
[1] https://sporttomorrow.com/how-ai-is-impacting-the-world-of-sports/
[2] https://www.technogym.com/int/newsroom/future-sport/
[3] https://www.sportperformanceanalysis.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-sports
[4] https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/how-artificial-intelligence-will-affect-sports-entertainment-businesses/
[5] https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/artificial-intelligence-market-in-sports
[6] https://www.pwc.com.au/industry/sports/artificial-intelligence-application-to-the-sports-industry.pdf
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