BIHUB PATH

ANALYSIS AND SPORTS TECHNOLOGY

Innovative tools serving our athletes and staff

Main
Challenges

ALGORITHMS BASED ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Development of algorithms based on artificial intelligence to recognize emerging tactical patterns.

AUTOMATED VIDEO EDITING

Automated video editing in order to improve the quality of tactical analysis.

COMPUTER VISION TECHNOLOGY

Use of computer vision technology to recognize new variables in individual and group behavior, as well as in emotions.

DATA INTEGRATION AND IMPROVEMENTS TO TRACKING PRECISION

Integration and correlation of performance, tactical, and personal data for athletes, along with improvements to tracking athletes and the ball in both competition and training.

VIRTUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY

Improve contextualization of the game using video analysis with virtual and augmented reality.

GAMIFICATION

Development of gamification-based solutions to incentivize a healthy lifestyle in athletes.

ANALYSIS AND SPORTS TECHNOLOGY

Positional data for players and ball tracking (in competition as well as in training) are the at the core of our work.

The most important technology at Barça is the ball. It's at the center of every decision we make. For that reason, the fundamental mission for this area is to complement the coach's expert eye with quantitative and contextual analysis of player position relative to the ball. Integrating this positional data point with other sources of data - such as individual events during matches as well as conditional, medical, or environmental data - allows us to expand our focus.

RELATED NOTES

NETWORK THEORY CAN BE APPLIED IN TECHNICAL DECISION MAKING

Applying network theory to football is simply one more method to obtain additional information about a football match.

PART II: THE STORY BEHIND THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN WIMU AND BARÇA

When the black vests worn by the first football team caught the attention of the press in 2017, Barça Innovation Hub was already in the process to further develop the EPTS WIMU PRO.

PART I: THE STORY BEHIND THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN WIMU AND BARÇA

One of the pioneering teams to adopt this system was FC Barcelona, thanks to the initiative from of its technical staff, and the partnership with Real Track Systems and its WIMU PRO device.

A SMART DEVICE TO TRAIN ATHLETES

While FC Barcelona’s training sessions take place, their trainers follow on-screen a complex series of graphics, which correspond to the individual performance of the player and the result of the plays they practice in group.

HOW PIXELLOT’S AI TECHNOLOGY WORKS TO STREAMLINE WORKFLOWS AT FC BARCELONA

Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB) has partnered with Pixellot to develop new systems for automated recording of training sessions and games.

FOOTBALL VISUALISATION: CAPTURING CHAOS AND CULTIVATING CONTEXT

Data visualisation or what is commonly referred to as ‘data viz’ is a tool that translates trends effectively using graphics.

THE MOST MATHEMATICAL OF SPORTS?

At the Barca Sports Technology Symposium, I had the honour of chairing a session about taking data into the field in sports.

DRONES AS A DATA CAPTURING TECHNOLOGY

Drones have the capacity to fly over the pitch and record training sessions, to obtain an aerial view that is especially useful to evaluate performance.

HOW TO IMPROVE DATA AND DECISION-MAKING USING STATISTICAL ANALYSIS IN FOOTBALL

The tech revolution has modified our behaviour and now it is also revolutionizing sports.

CREATING REPORTS FOR COACHES FOR BETTER DECISION MAKING

The job of a coach is to make decisions. It is choosing the best players at all times, preparing them well, and being able to manage the best way to play,  to be successful.

MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES FOR SPORTS ANALYSIS

The use of technology in the analysis of sports performance has become a usual and necessary practice among professional teams.

EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF SCORING FIRST IN THE OUTCOME OF A FOOTBALL MATCH

In elite football, very few goals are scored. Between 70 and 75% of the matches end up with less than 3 goals.

AN APP TO BECOME A FUTURE NBA STAR

HomeCourt, an incredibly well-developed app that the NBA has decided to use it for scouting future professionals.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LEARN TO WORK IN FOOTBALL ANALYTICS?

If you enjoy both the game itself and statistics, nothing could be better than combining the two in a career.

THE FUTURE OF TRACKING AT CAMP NOU

The purpose is straightforward: To know all that’s happening with the players on a football pitch.

HOW STADIUMS ARE HELPING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

World-renowned clubs have decided to convert their infrastructure into pioneers of innovation in the field of renewable energies and in reducing their carbon footprint.

THE USE OF VR/AR/MR TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS

Virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality are establishing themselves in a society which is becoming ever more accustomed to the use of new technologies for entertainment, consumption or information.

POSITION SPECIFIC AND POSITIONAL PLAY TRAINING IN ELITE FOOTBALL: CONTEXT MATTERS

Those who have watched elite football across the last decade, realise that the game is more demanding than ever. This places more emphasis on training methods to prepare players for the rigors of the game.

VALIDATING THE DIFFERENT TRACKING SYSTEMS IN FOOTBALL

In November 2018, the Football Technology Innovation department at FIFA and Victoria University, conducted a research study in collaboration with the Barça Innovation Hub at the Mini Estadi, to explore the validity of the Electronic Performance Tracking Systems (EPTS) of 16 different companies.

PLAYER ORIENTATION, A KEY ASPECT OF PREDICTIVE MODELS IN FOOTBALL

In the OptaPro Forum this week, Carlos Rodríguez will be presenting a study currently being carried out by the club on the body orientation of players in different game situations. We sat down for a chat with him so that he could give us a brief explanation of the project.

AGAINST PSEUDOSCIENCE IN SPORTS

It would be completely inconceivable for education or professional practice in medicine, biology, or engineering not to be based on scientific evidence. However, although it is paradoxical, it is very common to find unscientific content in the science of sport and physical activity.

FC BARCELONA: HOW OUR NEW RESEARCH HELPED UNLOCK THE ‘BARÇA WAY’

For the first time, our new research may provide some insight into the training methodology and, potentially, the secrets of the club’s success. These “secrets” could be closely associated with the theories put forward by coach Paco Seirul·lo and how they link with cutting edge sports science.

HOW PHYSICAL DEMANDS ON FOOTBALL PLAYERS VARY BY THEIR POSITION

Although there are several studies on this topic, many of them have analyzed these demands by looking at just a few variables or using very broad timeframes. A new study completed by physical trainers from F.C. Barcelona has analyzed several of these details more closely.

INFLUENCE OF ANALYTICS ON SCOUTING FOR EACH TEAM PROJECT PHASE IN THE NBA AND THEIR APPLICATION TO CHAMPION LEAGUE TEAMS

Degrees of freedom or degrees of slavery?

The understanding of the modifying variables of the game, based on the degrees of freedom.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOSTATISTICS IN SPORTS SCIENCE AND SPORTS MEDICINE

Sports Analytics has grown exponentially thanks to IT sciences and it also encompasses other subareas (e.g. sports sciences, behavior sciences, medicine or data visualization) in addition to statistics with a focus that is more tactical and sports performance related.

STABILITY OR INSTABILITY, IS THAT THE QUESTION?

The importance of building a game model in football.

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