|Keeping a Hawk-Eye on the action|
|Around the Academy:
The Academy decided to investigate the latest in tennis technology...
What is Hawk-Eye?
Hawk-Eye is an extremely clever computer system that uses the latest camera technology to track the ball on court.
The aim is to help viewers understand the game better and work out whether the ball really was in or out!
How does it do this?
Hawk-Eye is able to map the path of the ball during each shot.
It also takes into account the skid and compression of the ball before producing a computer generated replay which can be viewed through 360°.
Commentators such as John McEnroe and Boris Becker can then use these 3D graphics to illustrate a whole host of match statistics.
It can also be used to help analyse a player's performance and match strategy.
This will help give viewers a better insight into Wimbledon's big-match showdowns.
What else can Hawk-Eye do?
Hawk-Eye could, one day, become the tennis equivalent of a video ref in rugby, a third umpire in cricket or a photo finish in athletics.
By illustrating whether or not a ball is out of play, it may well spell the end of contentious line call decisions.