How England’s Euros hopes were dashed by custom software
18th of July 2024
Come Sunday night the nation sat watching the Euros final, amid chants of “It’s coming home” and renditions of Hey Jude, hopes were high for a win. We at Shoothill didn’t expect to see a custom software solution decide the outcome of England’s hard-fought Euros campaign, and yet we did with video assistant referee (VAR) and the systems that enable it.
In this article, you’re going to learn about how custom software impacted the outcome of the Euros final, how this software impacts our everyday world and the sort of work that we at Shoothill do.
Custom software is effectively a software system built for a unique purpose to solve a unique problem. As a result of a problem being unique, nobody has built the software solution that is needed and brought it to the mass market. This is one of the main services that we provide at Shoothill – it could be with an elaborate high-tech marketing campaign, a bespoke enterprise resource planning system or something like VAR
In and of itself, VAR is not entirely a custom software system with a referee tucked away in a back office somewhere taking a look at contentious moments including goals, penalties, and red card offences. There’s a second type of VAR involved in football as well, with on-field review (OFR), which effectively pauses the game whilst giving referees the chance to take a second look at the game.
We won’t get into the further nuances of this here, the issues in the finetuning of the system have been well-documented across sports journalism. Tying all these systems together, the multiple camera angles, instant replay and the ability to render slow-motion animations of incidents is of course a custom software solution.
The system enhances the work of individuals, working alongside them to leverage technology to get the right result. In this instance, establishing that the 2nd Spanish goal – was not offside albeit by only a hair’s breadth. In previous tournaments and years, such a call would be held in dispute but because of VAR and the custom software solutions developed to make it possible – the game carried on somewhat gracefully with minimal arguments directed at the referees. A result achieved through digital transformation led by software.
The same sort of digital transformation can be achieved in business, the application of technology to a workflow can reduce mistakes, streamline decision making and provide instantaneous data insights.
Similar technology is used in tennis – but without the referee entirely. Hawk-Eye in tennis is a sophisticated custom software solution designed to enhance the accuracy and fairness of line calls. It uses a combination of high-speed cameras and advanced image processing algorithms to track the trajectory of the tennis ball and determine its exact position on the court.
Multiple cameras are strategically placed around the court to capture the ball’s movement from different angles. These cameras operate at high frame rates, capturing detailed images of the ball in play. The captured images are processed by custom software that triangulates the ball’s position in three-dimensional space. This software uses advanced computer vision techniques to analyse the footage and create a virtual reconstruction of the ball’s flight path.
The system generates a 3D model of the court and the ball’s trajectory. By simulating the ball’s movement, Hawk-Eye can determine whether the ball landed in or out with high precision.
If we look at these two technologies, it’s clear to see that technology can radically transform sport. They are the perfect analogy for what custom software is capable of doing in any context – but especially business. Removing disputes, clarifying results and accelerating decision-making.
If you think your business could benefit from the creative application of technology, or are curious to hear how we could apply technology in your business – contact Shoothill today.
+44 (0)1743 636300