This traditional slit-scan photo finish of the Olympic men's 100m final could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to VAR-like technology on trial at the Ultimate Championship this weekend.
For football fans, VAR, the semi-automated offside graphic, is an instantly recognisable staple of modern broadcasts: a sleek, 3D computer model isolating a forward’s knee or toe millimetres ahead of a defender.
Now, track and field is adopting the exact same visual language to revolutionise how global audiences experience photo finishes.
Ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Sony and World Athletics unveiled a broadcast proof-of-concept designed to transform split-second race decisions into immersive television.
Rather than relying solely on traditional side-on slit-scan photographs, Sony is deploying optical tracking technology – developed alongside its Hawk-Eye division – to capture real-time athlete movement data.
