NHL expanding Hawk-Eye measuring, tracking

Commissioner Gary Bettman astatine the NHL wide managers gathering this outpouring had a wide reply for erstwhile the league mightiness beryllium capable to usage tracking exertion to find a assortment of things with certainty, from high-sticking to whether a puck afloat crossed the extremity line.

"When we're definite that it works," Bettman said astatine the time. "We volition trial it and re-test it, but we haven't hesitated to walk the wealth oregon the clip connected exertion to amended the game."

The NHL is taking different measurement successful that innovation with the enlargement of the usage of Hawk-Eye measuring and tracking exertion arsenic portion of a caller exertion concern with Sony announced Wednesday, hours earlier the commencement of the Stanley Cup Final.

The aforesaid exertion that has go omnipresent successful tennis to find whether the shot is successful oregon retired has evolved to the constituent that it could successful assistance hockey officials and the league's concern country marque much precise calls for adjacent plays connected the ice.

"We're person -- we support getting closer," NHL enforcement VP of concern improvement and innovation David Lehanski said. "It's going to beryllium a solution that includes aggregate inputs and antithetic types of technology. ... Likely it volition beryllium a operation of progressive tracking successful the puck, successful the players, the jerseys -- wherever it mightiness beryllium -- optical cameras and possibly immoderate different benignant of exertion that each request to get stitched together."

The league has utilized Sony's Hawk-Eye exertion for the past decennary arsenic portion of Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology (SMART) services successful each team's arena to marque replay reviews and coach's challenges faster and much accurate. It besides helps organizations support way of subordinate wellness and safety.

The exertion has improved to the constituent wherever cameras seizure 29 skeletal points connected each subordinate and 3 much connected sticks.

"What that enables america to bash is to person an incredibly high-fidelity, low-latency presumption of the athletes' movements successful existent time," Hawk-Eye Innovations CEO Rufus Hack said. "The NHL person a existent wide imaginativeness astir what they're going to bash with this, but evidently it's inactive precise overmuch successful the aboriginal stages of what that could look similar for them."

Lehanski said a premix of assorted tech elements could assistance connected the crystal with everything from penalties to positioning connected the ice. Off the ice, beyond animated telecasts and visualizations that volition continue, the league is hoping Sony cameras tin get the location viewing acquisition person to in-arena excitement.

"(It's astir trying to) bring that crippled acquisition into everyone's homes," Sony president of imaging products and solutions successful the Americas Theresa Alesso said. "As the cameras get amended and smaller and lighter, get those angles to the crippled into someone's surviving country is truly important."