Artificial Intelligence Bulletin –  AI & Robotics in Sport

In the Artificial Intelligence Bulletin – Robotics & AI in Sport we take a look at some of the ways in which AI is currently being used in sport.
What are some of the current examples already here versus projections of how its role might expand in the future?
We know that sport, in general, attracts a lot of financial investment, and there are huge sums involved in ticket sales, media rights, sponsorship and merchandise.
We also know that gaining a competitive advantage is huge for sports teams and one way to do this is through technological innovation.
Just look at the famous case of the Oakland Athletics and Billy Bean’s use of data as depicted in Brad Pitt’s Moneyball movie. 
There are also huge swaths of data, performance and consumer marketing-related when it comes to professional sports.
Add the three above ingredients together and you get a situation where the desire to create A.I. solutions for professional sports is huge.
This article looks at some of the developments, as well as taking a quick glance at the future of robotics and robot sports.

 
Artificial Intelligence in Sports – Current and Future Applications

As an overview to the state of play currently in AI and its role in sports, this article from Tech Emergence is a good introduction.
There are already numerous examples of sports teams in the US using AI to improve player performance, analysis and fan engagement.
Current AI adoption they put into four categories:

1. Chatbots – using AI and machine learning to power chatbots to engage and answer fan questions on social media.
2. Computer Vision (in car racing) – the ability for AI to more acurately detect car problems in racing than humans.
3. Automated Journalism – the ability for media outlets to use AI to automatically generate reports about sport.
4. Wearable Tech – using wearables to gain more insights into athletic performance to achieve what successful Tour de France and GB Olympic Cycling Coach, David Brailsford, termed ‘marginal gains’.

Some examples are given in the article of the current application of AI in sports including:
NBA – Sacremento Kings Kai Chatbot

NHL – Tampa Bay Lightning Thunder Bot 

NASCAR – Argo AI/Ford Motor Company’s Computer Vision Application
Argo AI is working with Ford to create a system that can analyse live racing images to identify any potential mechanical and technical issues with the car.
This would help the team to counter any safety issues for the driver and to improve performance.
MiLB – Automated Insights’ Wordsmith Automated Sports Journalism

Wordsmith, developed by Automated Insights, is AI-driven platform that translates hard data from MiLB into narratives, using natural language. As a result, AP has increased its reporting capacity to cover 13 leagues and 142 MLB-affiliated teams. – Techemergence Article on AI in Sports

Boxing – Wearable Tech by Piq
As well as boxing, Piq’s AI and sensors are being used in a number of different sports, including golf, skiing, kiteboarding and tennis.

Connected Sneakers by Boltt Sports Technologies

Future applications of AI in sport proposed include:

1. AI Assistant Coaches
2. Smart Ticketing
3. Automated Video Highlights
4. Computer Vision Referees

Read more at Tech Emergence
 
The 10 Greatest Robots in Sport
What are the ten greatest robots in sport? Watch this video to find out…
Featuring skiing robots in South Korea, Omron Forpheus in table tennis, robots playing soccer, gymnastics, Boston Dynamics, basketball, and swimming.
https://youtu.be/bzoJFWqY3oA
 
Robot Sports of the Future
In this article on Yellrobot, they imagine what robot sports we (humans) might watch in the future?
Fighting Robots
Watch the video below about Megabot’s Giant Fighting Robot.
Would you pay to watch giant robots fight each other?

Robot Soccer
In what year do you think a robot team will be able to beat a skilled human team at the world’s most popular sport?
If robots become better than humans at soccer, will we eventually allow them to join teams? Or would they have to play separately in their own league? If that’s the case, would anyone watch it?
All very interesting questions and scenarios.
Judging by the video of the top goal moments of the 2016 Robocup, it may be a while before we have to think long and hard about it… but maybe not.

Robot Skiing
We’ve already seen instances of the ski world cup for robots that took place in South Korea in the top 10 robots in sport video above.
Sumo Robots
A match in robot sumo typically takes about 5 seconds.
Watch the video below and be amazed at the speed.
Looks potentially more healthy for humans than eating a truck load of Chankonabe.

Table Tennis Robots
Omron Forpheus to the fore again…

Read more at Yellrobot
Summary
In this week’s AI bulletin, there are a lot of videos and multimedia to take in.
Where do you think AI and robotics in sport is heading?
There are separate areas to consider, including how data and AI/machine learning will be used to enhance the fans’ experience and also for performance-related reasons.
Then, there’s a whole new world out there concerning robotics in sport.
One thing is for sure… It is going to be fascinating seeing how all this plays out in the future.

Nikolas is a world-leading Futurist Speaker that drives leaders to take action in creating a better world for humanity. He promotes exponential thinking along with a critical, honest, and optimistic view that empowers you with knowledge to plan for today, tomorrow, and for the future.
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Read previous related posts from Nikolas Badminton:

The Future of Giant Underwater Robots

Artificial Intelligence Bulletin – Journalism's Robo-writers