Snooker
Hawk-Eye’s most recent development has brought the company into the world of snooker.
Working in tandem with the expert views of commentators and pundits, the Hawk-Eye Snooker Software offers a wide range of options to enhance the TV spectator’s viewing experience. These include:
Player’s Eye View
Hawk-Eye can show exactly what is in a player's line of vision when they are taking on a shot. If a player is playing an escape shot, attempting a long pot, or just looking to see if one ball can squeeze past another, Hawk-Eye can produce a ‘Player’s-Eye View’ of the table. This gives the viewer an indication of just how difficult the shot is to play.
Blue Dot
Players can strike the cue-ball in many places, causing the ball to react in a variety of different ways. Hawk-Eye can illustrate to the viewer exactly where contact with the cue ball should be made in order to produce the desired effect. The viewer is able to appreciate the complexity of the shot and can also take these lessons away to help their own play.
Animated Shots
Commentators often debate the shot that a player could, or perhaps should, have attempted to play. Hawk-Eye can visually recreate this discussion by recreating the shot in its Virtual World. Possible uses for this application include:
- A player miscuing a shot (or getting a kick), leaving the cue ball in the wrong position. Hawk-Eye can show where the cue-ball would have gone if the shot was played as it was intended.
- A player electing not to play a particular shot as he decides it is too risky (maybe the cue ball would go in a pocket, or cannon into another ball). Hawk-Eye can illustrate what could have happened if they had chosen the risky shot, illustrating the danger in playing it.
- A player choosing an unconventional shot, possibly with a higher risk factor than the expected shot. Hawk-Eye can show the shot that people were expecting to see.
- If a player is snookered, Hawk-Eye can produce animations to illustrate possible routes of escape.
- Hawk-Eye can show what would have happened if a player had chosen to break a pack of reds instead of playing safe, or if they had attacked the shot slightly differently.
Shadow
The shadow effect can be used to show the area of the table that the cue ball cannot directly access, as another ball is in its way. This gives the viewer an instant appreciation of the ball positions on the table and allows them to understand the eventual shot selection of the player.
Hawk-Eye at the World Snooker Championships 2007
Hawk-Eye first introduced its snooker technology at the Snooker Grand Prix in Aberdeen. It then progressed to the Masters at Wembley and, most recently, stepped up to the largest stage in snooker, the renowned Crucible in Sheffield, at the World Snooker Championships.
Hawk-Eye was proud to be a part of the BBC's coverage, enticing one of the largest television audiences across the world.
For more information about Hawk-Eye's Snooker coverage, please contact:
queries@hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk
+44 (0) 1962 711116
