the new technology mounts 12 dedicated cameras beneath the stadium roof to track the ball (which also has sensors) and up to 29 data points for each player, 50 times per second, to calculate their exact position on the pitch. The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities relevant for making offside calls.
“The new technology will provide the video match officials with real-time offside alerts using artificial intelligence,” says FIFA Director, Football Technology and Innovation, Johannes Holzmüller. “As the video match officials will be quality-controlling these outputs, we still refer to the system as ‘semi-automated offside’ as the video match officials have to validate the proposed decision and then inform the on-field referee. By using the exact same data to create a 3D animation for in-stadium fans and TV viewers, fans will receive a quick and accurate visualization of the offside situation.”