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‘Machine Vision’ Applied to Hockey
by Alanah McGinley on 10/06/08 at 03:14 PM ET
Comments (4)
From Shane Schick at itWorldCanada:
“When I was in graduate school (at Dartmouth College), I got hooked on hockey,” [Ryan Lilien] says. “When I came to the University of Toronto about two years ago, my focus was on computational biology, but this is Canada. I wanted to see if we could do something that could combine both interests.” The result is a project called the Computational Analysis of Ice Hockey Gameplay. The goal is to develop a system that will learn how hockey is played and help a team improve their performance. Or better yet, help a team like the Penguins understand how Osgood knew just where and how to move in those last 10 seconds, and how they could outthink him.
“Tracking the puck is hard. It’s small,” he says. “As a hockey fan, you don’t always see the puck, but you know based on the position of the players where the puck is and where they’re moving. The computer could do the same thing.”
Lilien’s approach is to use “machine vision,” a subfield of engineering that encompasses computer science, optics, mechanical engineering, and industrial automation.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: machine+vision, ryan+lilien, university+of+toronto,
Comments
Most interesting will be figuring out exactly which variables are the important ones. It’s easy (relatively speaking, anyway) in any scientific endeavour to collect a mess of information - the tricky part is figuring out what information is relevant and informative, and which is just plain noise.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 10/07/08 at 06:22 AM ET
When I saw the phrase “machine vision,” I thought of this work being done here at U of C, but I guess this isn’t related, after all. Still interesting, though.
Posted by Doogie2K from Calgary on 10/07/08 at 07:40 PM ET
Andy—Your comment reminded me of something. I seem to remember that about a year ago I heard from a philosophy professor in Europe who was writing a book on the philosophical underpinnings of hockey. I can’t think of his name right now, but I do recall he sent me some of his work and I realized quickly how interesting the topic could really be (which was surprising!).
Anyway, if I can think of who he is—or if I can find his old email—I’ll contact you with the info. His writing would almost certainly provide you with some inspiration. 
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 10/07/08 at 07:45 PM ET
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This is awesome. Ive just started my doctorate outside of toronto and also want to combine my interests for my research. My area is philosophy, and the areas of philosophy I can most see fitting with hockey are cog sci, android epistemology, A.I. maybe ill try to shoot this guy an email for a collaboration! Cool story alanah!
Andy
Posted by underthechestnuttree from LaSalle, Ontario, Canada on 10/06/08 at 10:27 PM ET