Season 2 Ep. 17 Catapult Sports on AI that is changing the game

Summary

In this engaging episode of Season 2 Ep. 17 Catapult Sports, the host welcomes guest Param Egday, Chief Technology Officer of Catapult Sports, a company that develops innovative, sport-specific algorithms to help athletes improve their performance across various sports. Catapult Sports focuses on unleashing the potential of every athlete and team worldwide, offering various solutions like video analysis products, wearable technology items, and analytics data platforms to enhance performance on and off the field.

Catapult Sports creates specialized products for different sports, such as technology in cricket to deliver maximum accuracy and minimize injury, and wearable devices in basketball to predict and improve jump timings. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role in sports performance analysis, utilizing algorithms in wearable devices, video analysis, and cloud computing. Combining coach expertise, data, and AI leads to better outcomes by moving from descriptive to predictive and prescriptive models.

As computer vision technology progresses, faster and more accurate cameras, enhanced infrastructure, and superior computing power provide further insights from video analysis. Real-time insights during games will also become increasingly possible as technology evolves. Additionally, the podcast touches on the challenges and innovations in providing sports technology to high schools and general consumers.

The importance of annotated data and automation is discussed, with annotated video data being vital for training efficient machine learning models. By automating annotation through computer vision, insights become more accessible to consumers and lower-tier sports teams. Focusing on team sports and pattern recognition, position-based analytics products can help analyze defensive formations and patterns, enabling insights to enhance team performance further.

Highlights of the episode include discussions on using AI in game preparations, applying coaching decisions based on collected data sets about opponents, and emphasizing the importance of bringing AI and advanced techniques to consumer levels, such as high school coaches or little league teams. The ongoing development of AI in sports indicates a future where it becomes more affordable and accessible, primarily focusing on coaching, performance analysis, and helping teams and athletes.

While the podcast does mention AI's use for betting and other purposes, Catapult Sports remains committed to coaching and performance. They also touch on the potential to merge health and performance data in future innovative solutions, while ensuring privacy and security. Ultimately, the company's mission is to help every individual worldwide become a better athlete, fostering an environment where everyone is seen as an athlete to some extent. Param Egday envisions developing AI that offers real-time coaching advice, such as adapting techniques based on environmental factors during practice sessions.