The 2022 Qatar World Cup has entered the "white heat" stage of the last 8 qualifying matches, and every second on the pitch has touched the nerves of the fans, making everyone boil with excitement, which has undoubtedly ignited the whole northern hemisphere winter.

In this visual feast, in addition to the spectacular performances of football forum stars such as Messi, Cairo and Neymar, the "black technology" of the World Cup was also a major attraction. Semi-automatic offside recognition technology, AI Rihla, intelligent air conditioning and Feelix Palm assisted technology, to name but a few, made the match more accurate, the pace of the game more exciting and interesting, and provided a different viewing experience.

UWB in the World Cup Football

The AI Rihla, the official ball of the World Cup tournament, is said to be embedded with a sensor that collects spatial positioning data in real time. The sensor combines UWB and IMU technology and communicates with UWB positioning base stations around the stadium to provide precise location data of the football. This technology, combined with existing optical tracking tools, makes procedures such as VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and offside review more accurate and streamlined than ever before.

The effective combination of the two sensors ensures the accurate collection of real-time data on the pitch, with UWB as the ideal positioning technology with unique advantages in terms of accuracy, reliability, stability and real-time. Based on the technology of the two sensors, common attacking routes on the pitch, such as long passes from the back of the field and sideline passes, can be accurately located and trajectories reproduced at any time on the pitch. Whenever the ball is touched, or even lightly struck, the system captures the relevant data at a frequency of 500 times per second. 500 times per second means that each data collection interval is only 2 milliseconds, greatly improving the accuracy of the football's status and trajectory and providing reliable data support for quick and accurate judgments on controversial football.

Multiple applications under UWB digital sports

The emergence of UWB at the 2022 World Cup is just the tip of the potential market for UWB, which is already being seen in many sports.

1. Sports personnel training analysis, UWB positioning technology is used to effectively track athletes' training tracks and routes, and coaches can conduct scientific training and tactical guidance based on athletes' visual location, tracks and vital signs data to further standardize and improve athletes' training performance.

]2. Tactical analysis of ball sports, real-time presentation of the precise movement trajectory of players and balls on the field (football, basketball, curling, etc.), analysis of player performance through multi-dimensional data, rational formulation of training plans and optimisation of field line-ups.

3. Monitoring of horse racing rankings, At Jockey Club races, the position and dynamic trajectory of the horses on the track are dynamically monitored and the rankings of horses are accurately visualised.

4. Management of racecourse security personnel, Security is the basis for ensuring the safe and orderly running of races. Through the accurate positioning of security personnel, managers can more efficiently co-ordinate the dispatching of security personnel, identify patrol loopholes and improve security and control capabilities.

The combination of digital technology and traditional sports has opened a whole new door for the sports industry, and UWB location sensing technology, as one of the key engines for the digital development of the sports industry, will further stimulate the development of the sports industry, making sports operations more standardised and decision-making more scientific.