EA Expands Its Horizons with Acquisition of AI-Driven Sports Tracking Innovator TRACAB Technologies
By EA has decided to acquire TRACAB Applied Sciences to enhance its sports franchises.
The organization noted that TRACAB, which is recognized as a “pioneer in sophisticated sports optical tracking and analysis solutions,” will become a component of EA Sports for an undisclosed amount.
It asserted that the company’s technology will aid developers in creating realistic animations and simulating genuine-world movements, while also contributing to its broader initiatives to “utilize advanced AI machine learning.”
“Data is fundamental to every significant advancement in the realm of sports today, and as EA Sports shapes the future of interactive sports experiences through increasing amounts of real-world data, TRACAB will introduce superior data capture and technology directly into our collection,” stated EA Sports president Cam Weber.
“As we progress in transforming our EA Sports experiences into vibrant, lifelike simulations of sports, we anticipate that TRACAB’s innovative technology and expertise in live event data, together with our game engine, will also propel groundbreaking new features in the EA Sports App.”
In a blog post, EA revealed that TRACAB’s technology monitors “almost every movement occurring on the field at 60Hz per second” and can generate 600 million data points per sport—including 65 unique data points for each player and referee.
It gathers this information by capturing live skeletal data from 21 joints on each individual on the field, and can also track the center of mass and objects such as soccer balls.
“These capabilities can unlock a new level of improved realism, animation, and dynamic, real-time simulations for our fans, enabling EA Sports to utilize TRACAB’s capacity to provide near real-time insights for media broadcast teams, referees, players, coaches, and supporters,” added EA.
“We can further revolutionize player statistics, behaviors, and team AI with new dimensions of fidelity, and continue to deliver more profoundly immersive experiences that reflect the fluidity and excitement of real athletes and competition.”
The acquisition is expected to finalize sometime during the first quarter of the next fiscal year.