Computer Science in Sport
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Editor
Topical Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
Computer Science in Sport is a cross-disciplinary topic that brings together the problem-solving capabilities of Computer Science to various theoretical and practical aspects of all sports and physical activities. Applications cover a diverse range, including the analysis of individuals and teams in competition and training; equipment design and assessment (which can include playing surfaces and clothing); biomechanics; physiological analysis; injury prediction and prevention; and tactical analysis and modelling. Areas of Computer Science that have been utilized include image processing, data mining, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearable devices, ubiquitous computing, and sensor technologies, to name a few.
This Topical Collection aims to bring together the latest research and ideas in this cross-disciplinary area. Its focus is on the capturing of individual and team performance during training and competition and using these data to enhance performance in the future.
Dr. Christian W. Dawson
Collection Editor
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Keywords
- computer science
- team sports
- individual performance analysis
- biomechanics
- physiology
Published Papers (14 papers)
Open AccessArticle
Automated Discovery of Successful Strategies in Association Football
by
Omar Muñoz, Raúl Monroy, Leonardo Cañete-Sifuentes and Jose E. Ramirez-Marquez
Viewed by 645
Abstract
Using automated data analysis to understand what makes a play successful in football can enable teams to make data-driven decisions that may enhance their performance throughout the season. Analyzing different types of plays (e.g., corner, penalty, free kicks) requires different considerations. This work
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Using automated data analysis to understand what makes a play successful in football can enable teams to make data-driven decisions that may enhance their performance throughout the season. Analyzing different types of plays (e.g., corner, penalty, free kicks) requires different considerations. This work focuses on the analysis of corner kick plays. However, the central ideas apply to analyzing all types of plays. While prior analyses (univariate, bivariate, multivariate) have explored the link between contextual factors (e.g., match period, type of defensive marking) and the level of success of a corner kick (e.g., shot, shot on goal, goal), there has been no attempt to combine spatiotemporal event data (sequences of ball movements through the field) and contextual information to determine when and how (strategy) a particular type of corner kick play (tactic) is more likely to succeed or not. To address this gap, we propose an approach that (1) transforms spatiotemporal data into an alternative representation suitable for mining sequential patterns, (2) identifies and characterizes the sequential patterns used by offensive teams to move the ball toward the scoring zone (tactics), and (3) extracts contrast patterns to identify under what conditions different tactics result in increased chances of success or failure; we call these conditions strategies. Our results suggest that favorable and unfavorable conditions for tactic application are not the same across different tactics, supporting the argument that there is a benefit in performing an analysis that treats different tactics separately, where spatiotemporal information plays a crucial role. Unlike prior works on the corner kick, our approach can capture how the interaction between multiple contextual factors impacts the outcome of a corner kick. At the same time, the results can be explained to others in natural languages.
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Open AccessArticle
Sports Video Classification Method Based on Improved Deep Learning
by
Tianhao Gao, Meng Zhang, Yifan Zhu, Youjian Zhang, Xiangsheng Pang, Jing Ying and Wenming Liu
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 975
Abstract
Classifying sports videos is complex due to their dynamic nature. Traditional methods, like optical flow and the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG), are limited by their need for expertise and lack of universality. Deep learning, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), offers more effective
[...] Read more.
Classifying sports videos is complex due to their dynamic nature. Traditional methods, like optical flow and the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG), are limited by their need for expertise and lack of universality. Deep learning, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), offers more effective feature recognition in sports videos, but standard CNNs struggle with fast-paced or low-resolution sports videos. Our novel neural network model addresses these challenges. It begins by selecting important frames from sports footage and applying a fuzzy noise reduction algorithm to enhance video quality. The model then uses a bifurcated neural network to extract detailed features, leading to a densely connected neural network with a specific activation function for categorizing videos. We tested our model on a High-Definition Sports Video Dataset covering over 20 sports and a low-resolution dataset. Our model outperformed established classifiers like DenseNet, VggNet, Inception v3, and ResNet-50. It achieved high precision (0.9718), accuracy (0.9804), F-score (0.9761), and recall (0.9723) on the high-resolution dataset, and significantly better precision (0.8725) on the low-resolution dataset. Correspondingly, the highest values on the matrix of four traditional models are: precision (0.9690), accuracy (0.9781), F-score (0.9670), recall (0.9681) on the high-resolution dataset, and precision (0.8627) on the low-resolution dataset. This demonstrates our model’s superior performance in sports video classification under various conditions, including rapid motion and low resolution. It marks a significant step forward in sports data analytics and content categorization.
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Open AccessArticle
Gaming Tree Based Evaluation Model for Badminton Tactic Benefit Analysis and Prediction
by
Wenming Liu, Yifan Zhu, Wenxia Guo, Xinyuan Wang and Songkun Yu
Viewed by 1116
Abstract
Badminton tactics refer to the techniques and strategies employed by players to win a match. Analyzing these tactics can help players improve their performance and outsmart their opponents. To study the tactics of top players, we use a gaming tree to analyze matches
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Badminton tactics refer to the techniques and strategies employed by players to win a match. Analyzing these tactics can help players improve their performance and outsmart their opponents. To study the tactics of top players, we use a gaming tree to analyze matches between two of the most powerful badminton players in history: Lin and Lee. By employing the Nash Equilibrium, we can discover the most beneficial strategies for both players, which reflect their most powerful techniques. Additionally, with the help of this gaming tree, we can precisely predict how players will implement their tactics. Empirical experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method not only evaluates and identifies each player’s weaknesses and strengths but also has powerful capabilities to predict their tactics.
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Open AccessArticle
Aggregated Rankings of Top Leagues’ Football Teams: Application and Comparison of Different Ranking Methods
by
László Gyarmati, Éva Orbán-Mihálykó, Csaba Mihálykó and Ágnes Vathy-Fogarassy
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1746
Abstract
In this study, the effectiveness and characteristics of three ranking methods were investigated based on their performance in ranking European football teams. The investigated methods were the Thurstone method with ties, the analytic hierarchy process with logarithmic least squares method, and the RankNet
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In this study, the effectiveness and characteristics of three ranking methods were investigated based on their performance in ranking European football teams. The investigated methods were the Thurstone method with ties, the analytic hierarchy process with logarithmic least squares method, and the RankNet neural network. The methods were analyzed in both complete and incomplete comparison tasks. The ranking based on complete comparison was performed on match results of national leagues, where each team had match results against all the other teams. In the incomplete comparison case, in addition to the national league results, only a few match results from international cups were available to determine the aggregated ranking of the teams playing in the top five European leagues. The rankings produced by the ranking methods were compared with each other, with the official national rankings, and with the UEFA club coefficient rankings. In addition, the correlation between the aggregated rankings and the Transfermarkt financial ranking was also examined for the sake of interest.
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Open AccessEditorial
Special Issue on ‘Computer Science in Sport’
by
Christian Dawson
Viewed by 918
Abstract
Computer Science in Sport is a cross-disciplinary topic that brings together the problem-solving capabilities of Computer Science to various theoretical and practical aspects of all sports and physical activities [...]
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Open AccessArticle
Modeling In-Match Sports Dynamics Using the Evolving Probability Method
by
Ana Šarčević, Damir Pintar, Mihaela Vranić and Ante Gojsalić
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3608
Abstract
The prediction of sport event results has always drawn attention from a vast variety of different groups of people, such as club managers, coaches, betting companies, and the general population. The specific nature of each sport has an important role in the adaption
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The prediction of sport event results has always drawn attention from a vast variety of different groups of people, such as club managers, coaches, betting companies, and the general population. The specific nature of each sport has an important role in the adaption of various predictive techniques founded on different mathematical and statistical models. In this paper, a common approach of modeling sports with a strongly defined structure and a rigid scoring system that relies on an assumption of independent and identical point distributions is challenged. It is demonstrated that such models can be improved by introducing dynamics into the match models in the form of sport momentums. Formal mathematical models for implementing these momentums based on conditional probability and empirical Bayes estimation are proposed, which are ultimately combined through a unifying hybrid approach based on the Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, the method is applied to real-life volleyball data demonstrating noticeable improvements over the previous approaches when it comes to predicting match outcomes. The method can be implemented into an expert system to obtain insight into the performance of players at different stages of the match or to study field scenarios that may arise under different circumstances.
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Open AccessArticle
Traditional Bangladeshi Sports Video Classification Using Deep Learning Method
by
Moumita Sen Sarma, Kaushik Deb, Pranab Kumar Dhar and Takeshi Koshiba
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3829
Abstract
Sports activities play a crucial role in preserving our health and mind. Due to the rapid growth of sports video repositories, automatized classification has become essential for easy access and retrieval, content-based recommendations, contextual advertising, etc. Traditional Bangladeshi sport is a genre of
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Sports activities play a crucial role in preserving our health and mind. Due to the rapid growth of sports video repositories, automatized classification has become essential for easy access and retrieval, content-based recommendations, contextual advertising, etc. Traditional Bangladeshi sport is a genre of sports that bears the cultural significance of Bangladesh. Classification of this genre can act as a catalyst in reviving their lost dignity. In this paper, the Deep Learning method is utilized to classify traditional Bangladeshi sports videos by extracting both the spatial and temporal features from the videos. In this regard, a new Traditional Bangladeshi Sports Video (TBSV) dataset is constructed containing five classes: Boli Khela, Kabaddi, Lathi Khela, Kho Kho, and Nouka Baich. A key contribution of this paper is to develop a scratch model by incorporating the two most prominent deep learning algorithms: convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short term memory (LSTM). Moreover, the transfer learning approach with the fine-tuned VGG19 and LSTM is used for TBSV classification. Furthermore, the proposed model is assessed over four challenging datasets: KTH, UCF-11, UCF-101, and UCF Sports. This model outperforms some recent works on these datasets while showing 99% average accuracy on the TBSV dataset.
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Open AccessArticle
Application of an Artificial Neural Network to Automate the Measurement of Kinematic Characteristics of Punches in Boxing
by
Ilshat Khasanshin
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5449
Abstract
This work aimed to study the automation of measuring the speed of punches of boxers during shadow boxing using inertial measurement units (IMUs) based on an artificial neural network (ANN). In boxing, for the effective development of an athlete, constant control of the
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This work aimed to study the automation of measuring the speed of punches of boxers during shadow boxing using inertial measurement units (IMUs) based on an artificial neural network (ANN). In boxing, for the effective development of an athlete, constant control of the punch speed is required. However, even when using modern means of measuring kinematic parameters, it is necessary to record the circumstances under which the punch was performed: The type of punch (jab, cross, hook, or uppercut) and the type of activity (shadow boxing, single punch, or series of punches). Therefore, to eliminate errors and accelerate the process, that is, automate measurements, the use of an ANN in the form of a multilayer perceptron (MLP) is proposed. During the experiments, IMUs were installed on the boxers’ wrists. The input parameters of the ANN were the absolute acceleration and angular velocity. The experiment was conducted for three groups of boxers with different levels of training. The developed model showed a high level of punch recognition for all groups, and it can be concluded that the use of the ANN significantly accelerates the collection of data on the kinetic characteristics of boxers’ punches and allows this process to be automated.
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Open AccessArticle
A Deep Learning and Computer Vision Based Multi-Player Tracker for Squash
by
Maria Martine Baclig, Noah Ergezinger, Qipei Mei, Mustafa Gül, Samer Adeeb and Lindsey Westover
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3207
Abstract
Sports pose a unique challenge for high-speed, unobtrusive, uninterrupted motion tracking due to speed of movement and player occlusion, especially in the fast and competitive sport of squash. The objective of this study is to use video tracking techniques to quantify kinematics in
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Sports pose a unique challenge for high-speed, unobtrusive, uninterrupted motion tracking due to speed of movement and player occlusion, especially in the fast and competitive sport of squash. The objective of this study is to use video tracking techniques to quantify kinematics in elite-level squash. With the increasing availability and quality of elite tournament matches filmed for entertainment purposes, a new methodology of multi-player tracking for squash that only requires broadcast video as an input is proposed. This paper introduces and evaluates a markerless motion capture technique using an autonomous deep learning based human pose estimation algorithm and computer vision to detect and identify players. Inverse perspective mapping is utilized to convert pixel coordinates to court coordinates and distance traveled, court position, ‘T’ dominance, and average speeds of elite players in squash is determined. The method was validated using results from a previous study using manual tracking where the proposed method (filtered coordinates) displayed an average absolute percent error to the manual approach of 3.73% in total distance traveled, 3.52% and 1.26% in average speeds <9 m/s with and without speeds <1 m/s, respectively. The method has proven to be the most effective in collecting kinematic data of elite players in squash in a timely manner with no special camera setup and limited manual intervention.
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Open AccessArticle
Recognizing Events in Spatiotemporal Soccer Data
by
Victor Khaustov and Maxim Mozgovoy
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2653
Abstract
Spatiotemporal datasets based on player tracking are widely used in sports analytics research. Common research tasks often require the analysis of game events, such as passes, fouls, tackles, and shots on goal. However, spatiotemporal datasets usually do not include event information, which means
[...] Read more.
Spatiotemporal datasets based on player tracking are widely used in sports analytics research. Common research tasks often require the analysis of game events, such as passes, fouls, tackles, and shots on goal. However, spatiotemporal datasets usually do not include event information, which means it has to be reconstructed automatically. We propose a rule-based algorithm for identifying several basic types of events in soccer, including ball possession, successful and unsuccessful passes, and shots on goal. Our aim is to provide a simple procedure that can be used for practical soccer data analysis tasks, and also serve as a baseline model for algorithms based on more advanced approaches. The resulting algorithm is fast, easy to implement, achieves high accuracy on the datasets available to us, and can be used in similar scenarios without modification.
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Open AccessArticle
Virtual Strategy Engineer: Using Artificial Neural Networks for Making Race Strategy Decisions in Circuit Motorsport
by
Alexander Heilmeier, André Thomaser, Michael Graf and Johannes Betz
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8031
Abstract
In circuit motorsport, race strategy helps to finish the race in the best possible position by optimally determining the pit stops. Depending on the racing series, pit stops are needed to replace worn-out tires, refuel the car, change drivers, or repair the car.
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In circuit motorsport, race strategy helps to finish the race in the best possible position by optimally determining the pit stops. Depending on the racing series, pit stops are needed to replace worn-out tires, refuel the car, change drivers, or repair the car. Assuming a race without opponents and considering only tire degradation, the optimal race strategy can be determined by solving a quadratic optimization problem, as shown in the paper. In high-class motorsport, however, this simplified approach is not sufficient. There, comprehensive race simulations are used to evaluate the outcome of different strategic options. The published race simulations require the user to specify the expected strategies of all race participants manually. In such simulations, it is therefore desirable to automate the strategy decisions, for better handling and greater realism. It is against this background that we present a virtual strategy engineer (VSE) based on two artificial neural networks. Since our research is focused on the Formula 1 racing series, the VSE decides whether a driver should make a pit stop and which tire compound to fit. Its training is based on timing data of the six seasons from 2014 to 2019. The results show that the VSE makes reasonable decisions and reacts to the particular race situation. The integration of the VSE into a race simulation is presented, and the effects are analyzed in an example race.
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Open AccessArticle
Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Consider Probabilistic Effects in a Race Simulation for Circuit Motorsport
by
Alexander Heilmeier, Michael Graf, Johannes Betz and Markus Lienkamp
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7039
Abstract
Applying an optimal race strategy is a decisive factor in achieving the best possible result in a motorsport race. This mainly implies timing the pit stops perfectly and choosing the optimal tire compounds. Strategy engineers use race simulations to assess the effects of
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Applying an optimal race strategy is a decisive factor in achieving the best possible result in a motorsport race. This mainly implies timing the pit stops perfectly and choosing the optimal tire compounds. Strategy engineers use race simulations to assess the effects of different strategic decisions (e.g., early vs. late pit stop) on the race result before and during a race. However, in reality, races rarely run as planned and are often decided by random events, for example, accidents that cause safety car phases. Besides, the course of a race is affected by many smaller probabilistic influences, for example, variability in the lap times. Consequently, these events and influences should be modeled within the race simulation if real races are to be simulated, and a robust race strategy is to be determined. Therefore, this paper presents how state of the art and new approaches can be combined to modeling the most important probabilistic influences on motorsport races—accidents and failures, full course yellow and safety car phases, the drivers’ starting performance, and variability in lap times and pit stop durations. The modeling is done using customized probability distributions as well as a novel “ghost” car approach, which allows the realistic consideration of the effect of safety cars within the race simulation. The interaction of all influences is evaluated based on the Monte Carlo method. The results demonstrate the validity of the models and show how Monte Carlo simulation enables assessing the robustness of race strategies. Knowing the robustness improves the basis for a reasonable determination of race strategies by strategy engineers.
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Open AccessArticle
Innovative Approaches in Sports Science—Lexicon-Based Sentiment Analysis as a Tool to Analyze Sports-Related Twitter Communication
by
Fabian Wunderlich and Daniel Memmert
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 5203
Abstract
Sentiment analysis refers to the algorithmic extraction of subjective information from textual data and—driven by the increasing amount of online communication—has become one of the fastest growing research areas in computer science with applications in several domains. Although sports events such as football
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Sentiment analysis refers to the algorithmic extraction of subjective information from textual data and—driven by the increasing amount of online communication—has become one of the fastest growing research areas in computer science with applications in several domains. Although sports events such as football matches are accompanied by a huge public interest and large amount of related online communication, social media analysis in general and sentiment analysis in particular are almost unused tools in sports science so far. The present study tests the feasibility of lexicon-based tools of sentiment analysis with regard to football-related textual data on the microblogging platform Twitter. The sentiment of a total of 10,000 tweets with reference to ten top-level football matches was analyzed both manually by human annotators and algorithmically by means of publicly available sentiment analysis tools. Results show that the general sentiment of realistic sets (1000 tweets with a proportion of 60% having the same polarity) can be classified correctly with more than 95% accuracy. The present paper demonstrates that sentiment analysis can be an effective and useful tool for sports-related content and is intended to stimulate the increased use of and discussion on sentiment analysis in sports science.
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