Beyond the Baseline : Live Electronic Line Calls and the Robot Overlords That Command Us
So long line judges, it was nice watching you watch people play tennis.
by @suldini
For the first time in the history of Grand Slam tennis, the 2021 Australian Open has officially replaced all human line judges over the duration of the tournament with, well, robots.
That’s right, you heard it here first -- humans are completely useless and all-but-obsolete. At least when it comes to calling tennis balls in or out on a tennis court.
They typically just get injured anyway. Foolish humans. 😏
The move, however, is not without precedent.
Allow me to take you ...
Since the dawn of televised sport in the late-1940’s, audiences have clamored for enhanced viewing experiences and fair play with the use of technology. “More cameras! Better sound! Kill the refs!,” they’ve cried.
In 1963, with televised instant-replay, the overlords began to heed their call.
Developed by 29-year-old CBS Sports Television Director Tony Verna (*TV!), instant-replay revolutionized the way we watch sports.
Using tape decks the size of refrigerators, Tony figured out a way to cut down the replay creation process from 15 minutes to 15 seconds. Naturally, he unveiled this black magic at the annual Army-Navy college football matchup that December -- the Super Bowl of its time.
As soon as Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh rumbled into the endzone for a scintillating, 1-yard TD score, ‘Tone pressed some buttons, turned some cranks, and changed all of our lives forever.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the broadcaster assured, “Army has not scored again.”
In 1967, the machine takeover continued its advance.
Slow-motion and freeze-frame technology were added to the picture (ba-dum ching!) -- commercialized by the Ampex HS-100 video disk recorder.
This bookcase-sized device effectively turned every passive, fun-loving, Pleasantville television watcher into a ravenous, shrieking, maniacal sports junkie -- obsessing over the body parts and movements of fully-grown professional athletes. All from the comfort of their armchairs.
Closing my eyes tightly enough, I can hear the echo of my father’s voice ricocheting off the plexiglass of the TV and down the hall to my childhood bedroom … “Ohhhh, you bum!”
By 1986, things started to get … a little more interesting.
After a few pre-seasons of meticulous examination and planning, the National Football League (NFL) decided to implement live instant-replay for officiating calls during their games.
Sitting in a press box booth high above the action, a “replay official” would stare at two 9-inch television monitors (one for the live feed, one for the replay) and, using a walkie-talkie, radio information to the head umpire on the field.
Turnovers, touchdowns, and “easily detectable infractions,” were all considered “reviewable plays”.
Sure, they had a few kinks to work out along the way -- like shotty radio feeds, confusing language, and exhausting delays -- but this was the wave of the future, baby! A perfect resolution to all of our squabbling over ball toss and goal kick! We did it!!
Well, not exactly Kirby.
Over the years, purists have written about the merits of “the human element” in sport -- from columnists to even more columnists.
Whether it’s the uniforms, equipment, venues, or yes, even the referees, technological advancement has been picked apart for being “too enhanced,” “too precise,” and “too easy.”
But how could anyone possibly ever stop the inevitable march of the Walkman’s, Gameboys, and Jumbotron’s of the world?
“Death to humans!” they bleep, “Computers reign supreme!”, and bloop.
At the turn of the century, almost every major American sports association adopted some sort of live, instant, video, replay, challenge, review system:
- In 1999, the NFL (Pro Football) instituted the “Coach’s Challenge” review option.
- In 2002, the NBA (Basketball) started using instant replay for last-second shots.
- In 2003, the NHL (Hockey) initiated video review for disputed goals and illegal hits.
- In 2006, the NCAA (College Football) began using video replay for goal line situations.
- In 2008, the MLB (Baseball) adopted instant replay for homeruns.
...and professional tennis was no exception.
In 2006, the ATP and WTA unveiled the "Hawk-Eye" review system to settle disputed line calls during play.
Developed by Richard Hawking (what a coincidence!) in the United Kingdom circa 2001, for the purposes of televised cricket, the technology leveraged computer vision to visually track the trajectory of the ball and then display a profile of its statistically, most-likely path as a moving image.
It works with up to ten high-performance cameras, typically tucked under a stadium's roof -- high above the court -- tracking the ball from different angles.
Kinda like this:
The system then triangulates a 3D image based on the trajectory of the ball, providing an onscreen representation of the results, called “Shot Spot”.
This is the part you see on screens in the arenas and on your TV sets at home. The part right after all the synchronized clapping -- one of my absolute favorite things in tennis.
Exactly like this:
Long desired by players and spectators alike, the system performs with an average error of 3.6mm, roughly 5% of the tennis ball’s 67mm diameter. This is equivalent to the “fluff” around the outside of the ball.
But does it really change anything?
"Although prior to the use of Hawk-Eye, players have maintained that they instinctively know when a ball is in or out, the evidence so far has not been conclusive. Of the player challenges that have been made, subsequent rulings by Hawk-Eye have shown that they are only correct about 46% of the time.” - Top End Sports
Regardless of the outcome, seeing a player demand a replay and then watching the outcome with them -- in real-time -- is incredibly fun. It makes you feel like you're a part of the action.
It also provides an added layer of gamesmanship throughout the match, as players can use their two-challenges-per-set however and whenever they want -- even to disrupt the momentum of their opponents.
But now, today (aka “the future”), we have entered yet another era of technological advancement.
With the addition of Live Electronic Line Calls, we are not just augmenting human umpires, referees, and line judges with technology, we are replacing them altogether.
A full-blown killer robot takeover.
Implemented on 15 of 17 courts at the 2020 U.S. Open, Live Electronic Line Calls were used for every match on courts not named Armstrong or King to, “reduce the number of people on site during the pandemic.”
A likely excuse from the robots, but effective nonetheless.
The humans were noticeably absent.
A similar curiosity exists in the world of Fortune 500 organizations where Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Digital Transformation portend to alter the course of global economies forever.
So what will happen to all of the humans?
Are we eliminating the jobs and livelihoods of our neighbors and friends? Are the sporting contests we hold so dear becoming all too predictable? Does my father love yelling at his living room television screen more than he loves me?
These are the questions we’ll ponder forever.
Especially while watching the Australian Open over the next two weeks.