{"id":499139,"date":"2026-02-23T16:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499139\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:12:32","slug":"afl-to-get-even-more-precise-with-new-optical-tracking-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499139\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL to get even more precise with new optical tracking technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Trials for a new \u201coptical tracking technology\u201d are set to kick off this AFL season at Marvel Stadium, placing dozens of cameras around the venue to improve the gameday experience for fans and teams.<\/p>\n<p>A result of a partnership between the AFL, Telstra, and Champion Data, the technology is being touted as a boon for fans and broadcasters, as well as football staff. It expands on the existing technology that powered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marvelstadium.com.au\/telstra-touch-and-track\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u201cTouch and Track\u201d system<\/a>, which provided a tactile way for blind or low vision footy fans to follow the on-field action.<\/p>\n<p>40 cameras will be installed throughout Marvel Stadium midway through 2026, up from the 14 used for the existing tracking system. Following the ball and players, the cameras will help capture data that can be used by broadcasters to give fans more information, and even help umpires with goal-line decisions.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also said that the expanded camera system will assist coaches in making more informed tactical decisions, while providing medical staff with more data when assessing injuries, such as potential concussions.<\/p>\n<p>Once the cameras supporting the new optical tracking technology are installed, a two-year trial will take place. This will help inform how the technology could be rolled out to other AFL grounds.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adelaidenow.com.au\/sport\/afl\/champion-datas-gamechanging-optical-tracking-technology-to-revolutionise-afl\/news-story\/4b99955b59b053c374b0119611555c82\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Herald Sun\u2018s Glenn McFarlane previously reported<\/a> on Champion Data\u2019s \u201csecret\u201d trials of the optical tracking technology throughout the 2025 AFL season. It\u2019s expected that the more precise player and ball movement data recorded by the technology will be accurate to within 10cm and \u201cavailable to within a second\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Telstra\u2019s involvement in the partnership also involves upgrading network capacity to support the technology. The telco recently rebuilt its network infrastructure at Marvel Stadium, improving the venue\u2019s Wi-Fi, 4G, and 5G connectivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trials for a new \u201coptical tracking technology\u201d are set to kick off this AFL season at Marvel Stadium,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,8419],"class_list":["post-499139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports","tag-telstra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}