From strawberries and cream to the all-white dress code, Wimbledon is as well known for its traditions as it is for its high-quality tennis – but this year it is set to prove it is not scared of embracing new technology either.
American tech giant IMB is a regular partner for the annual championships, and this time out is serving up an artificial intelligence that can build highlights reels by analysing live footage of player gestures and crowd reactions.
Whether it be a disbelieving roar from Centre Court as Roger Federer pulls off yet another trademark backhand winner, or a powerful fist pump from Serena Williams when she clinches a vital set, the new system – dubbed Watson – will be able to take such moments of passion into account to ensure all the best bits from a match are captured.
IMB claims that Watson will be able to analyse every moment at the All England Club and have a highlights package ready to go within just two minutes of the winning point.
Watson will comb through thousands of hours of video over the course of the three-week tournament, with its robotic nature meaning that it will remove any potential bias that could find its way into clips made by humans.
“Thanks to groundbreaking AI systems using IBM Watson, the best highlights from multiple matches are captured simultaneously,” the company said.
“With over 18 courts and up to four matches per court each day, hundreds of hours of footage are produced, which would normally take a team of editors a huge amount of time to compile into highlights packages.”
Each point will be analysed by Watson based on “player reactions”, “crowd excitement levels” and “gameplay statistics”, and the highlights will be posted across digital platforms like Twitter and the Wimbledon mobile app.
It should ensure people waiting in line for tickets are still able to keep up to date with all the best moments, with lengthy queues already forming as the championships get under way.
World number one Novak Djokovic is among those in action on Monday, and the Serb will be followed on Centre Court by British hopeful Kyle Edmund during the afternoon.
Another Briton, Heather Watson, is also playing in the singles on the opening day – she takes on US player Caty McNally on Court 12 from 11am.
Former champion Andy Murray will be restricted to doubles matches this year as he recovers from hip surgery – but while he has a partner for the men’s in Pierre-Hugues Herbert, he has not had any luck finding someone for the mixed.
It has led to speculation he could form part of a headline ticket with Serena Williams, who teased she was “available” and “we just have to wait and see” when asked if she would pair up with the Scot.
Source : Sky News : http://news.sky.com/story/wimbledon-2019-ai-will-analyse-facial-expressions-to-build-tennis-highlights-11752335