Sports analytics is a field I feel particularly close to. My PhD was in sports analytics and it had been funded by Tottenham Hotspur FC. I have also released courses on sports analytics. It is one of the areas of application of machine learning that can be so disruptive.
When I had started my research sports analytics outside of the US was still in its infancy. However, many things have changed in the last few years.
First, more conferences and workshops have showed up. The whole area has gained popularity. Besides the SLOAN sports conference, there is now a conference in Toronto and also workshops are organised every year in the European Conference on Machine Learning.
Secondly, wearable devices have increased in number and improved in quality. For example, going to Sports Wearable we find myriads of devices, many of which geared towards the consumer.
Thirdly, machine learning is improving by leaps and bounds. For example, advancements in computer vision and deep learning, such as adversarial neural networks, have given us great improvements in performance in tasks such as object recognition. This means that it becomes possible to analyse multi-modal data (video, images, devices) in greater depth. For example, we can automatically extract actions infield using computer vision, and then sync them with data from devices (e.g. heart rate and respiration).
Finally, blockchain has unleashed all kinds of possibilities in using data and creating new kinds of economies. For example, IPFS provides an alternative way to manage different data sources, while also ensuring privacy and security. Through blockchain we can create a market for data, and incentivise users to gather data sources not easily accessible otherwise, e.g. in developing countries. And these are some of the reasons I decided to join Sports Ledger as an advisor.
Sports Ledger Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu aims to combine all the recent advancements in sports analytics, from AI to wearables and merge all with blockchain. One of the best parts is that is the brainchild of , who is a professional Premier League player for many years. So, many reasons to be excited! Token sale starts in June for anyone interested!