RedFIR® Rugby

As with soccer, new kinds of information will benefit the sport of rugby. Particularly in the southern hemisphere, rugby is a hugely popular sport, with South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand among the leading nations. New technologies offer a multitude of advantages: As well as helping rugby coaches analyse their teams’ performance, they will enable broadcasters to find more attractive ways of presenting rugby content, thus helping popularize rugby in countries where soccer is the dominant sport. As a result, the number of people watching rugby broadcasts will grow.
To make this a reality, the RedFIR® technology is being adapted for rugby. This involves a rugby ball with an embedded transmitter, players wearing several transmitters each and a wireless infrastructure installed in a rugby stadium. This infrastructure comprises twelve receivers, beacons and a data processing unit that enables real-time tracking of the ball and players. The positioning data gathered is translated into rugby-related information regarding, for example, the height and length of passes, tactics and plays. The system has been installed in Ireland and is currently being trialed.