Sport and Media Technology: From innovative technology to low-threshold products

TNO is not only developing innovative technology in the field of video analysis and image recognition but also translating this technology into commercial products. We are developing the next generation of technology – such as the real-time combination of sensor data and video information – in cooperation with companies and universities.

We provide high-level video quality and thanks to smart person-detection are very able to track individuals. “We are developing and researching this technology together with Ajax op de Toekomst. This is part of a broader collaborative alliance with various media technology organisations and sports organisations in and around ArenA, the ArenA Innovation Centre. Moreover, our technology is considered as the standard by people such as video analysts,” says Paul Valk, business development manager Sport and Media Technology.

Low-Threshold use

Video analysis is currently used mainly in elite sport. With the use of relatively cheap camera and communication hardware in combination with sophisticated video technology, we are creating the prospect of video analysis becoming available to amateurs. Uniquely, our high-end technology runs on standard hardware. This makes our products relatively cheap and brings them within the reach of,  say, youth teams, creating the possibility for them to provide live streaming for parents, friends and other fans. This creates new business possibilities for local advertisers. By showing a video to customers in the butcher's shop or bakery, example, more service is provided than just a static advert placed at the side of a sports field.

Automatic broadcasting & interactive application

Moreover, TNO is the first party capable of producing a fully automated broadcast – of, say, the highlights of a sporting event – thanks to the use of sophisticated image and pattern detection software combined with cheap cameras.
Together with Microsoft, Amsterdam ArenA, KPN, Inmotio and Game On, TNO has developed an interactive application for a smartphone, in which spectators at a football match can zoom in on a player and see his or her statistics such as heart rate, speed and distance. This is the first application in the world  to bring together all these elements (live player data, interactive video and a special front-end).

We are now applying our expertise in the field of video analysis, intelligent image processing, data science and media distribution, primarily in the sports and media industries. But our technologies can also be valuable in other domains.

Would you like to know more about what we are doing in the field of Sport & Media or to collaborate with us? Read more below or get in touch with us.