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BBC video project could reverse 'Immaculate Reception'
David Benjamin
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — If the "Immaculate Reception," regarded as one the greatest plays in National Football League history, had had the benefit of video technology that was presented here Friday (Sept. 8) at the IBC broadcast technology conference, it might not have ended up a miracle at all—or even a mystery.
Speaking at a panel discussing innovations in TV sports coverage, Graham Thomas, head of BBC's research division, reviewed the "Piero" project, a technology that creates a 3-D virtual model of live action. The Piero device uses powerful computer graphics that make it possible to view any play from a wide range of angles—including those the camera cannot see.
The implications, for instant replay, are staggering.
For English, and maybe even more importantly German football followers, it could just — finally — solve whether that ball really did cross the line in that great 1966 Cup Final at Wembley.
For many American football fans, the one moment they'd most like to see over again, with better technology, from every conceivable angle, was the finale of the legendary AFC playoff game on Dec. 23, 1972, at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, between the Oakland Raiders and the upstart Steelers.
The controversy over that play has never quite died. As recently as October 2004, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sportswriter Byron Spice was among those lamenting the inability of 1970's video technology to settle the argument between Raiders and Steelers fans. Spice reviewed the play, in which a fourth-down Terry Bradshaw pass flew away from a collision between intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua and Raider safety Jack Tatum. The ball was scooped up by Steeler running back Franco Harris. Harris turned that lucky bounce into a 42-yard touchdown run that sealed a stunning 13-7 Pittsburgh win.
"No good film exists to show which player might have deflected Bradshaw's bullet," wrote Spice. "Tatum insists he never touched the ball. Fuqua has vowed never to reveal who did."
The play resulted in the first known incident of NFL officials reviewing a play on videotape to determine who touched the ball last. If it was Fuqua, Harris was an illegal receiver and the touchdown would have been disallowed. But the one angle visible on videotape that day was inconclusive.
Enter Piero. The "fully virtual graphics" of BBC's graphics tool would be able to project an sweeping view of the moment Tatum hit Fuqua, examining the play from virtually every angle. Piero could have located the ball, revealed the likely position of both players' hands and settled the controversy. "Piero," said Thomas, "ideally matches virtual views with real action, creating a truly lifelike, image-based 3-D model of the scene."
That means a viewer, through BBC's computer graphics, can see angles neither the game officials nor the camera could see. Thomas said that "Piero is able to achieve an expansive 3-D model of live-action" with a single-camera installation, based on "given assumptions about scene geometry."
BBC recently conducted a trial of an advanced form of Piero during soccer matches at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, using 16 strategically placed cameras. The set up created a helicopter-like, 180-degree virtual view of every play.
"Eventually," noted Thomas, "we can stream virtual data, so that the viewer can choose angles of virtual game images."
Paul Mason, chief technical coordinator for BBC Resources, suggested that game officials might find the advanced virtual devices useful for making "better calls."
Under such high-tech scrutiny, which represents the possible future of "instant replay," the "Immaculate Reception" might not have endured for more than 30 years as one of the greatest mysteries in sports.
With the help of Piero, the Raiders might have won.
David Benjamin
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — If the "Immaculate Reception," regarded as one the greatest plays in National Football League history, had had the benefit of video technology that was presented here Friday (Sept. 8) at the IBC broadcast technology conference, it might not have ended up a miracle at all—or even a mystery.
Speaking at a panel discussing innovations in TV sports coverage, Graham Thomas, head of BBC's research division, reviewed the "Piero" project, a technology that creates a 3-D virtual model of live action. The Piero device uses powerful computer graphics that make it possible to view any play from a wide range of angles—including those the camera cannot see.
The implications, for instant replay, are staggering.
For English, and maybe even more importantly German football followers, it could just — finally — solve whether that ball really did cross the line in that great 1966 Cup Final at Wembley.
For many American football fans, the one moment they'd most like to see over again, with better technology, from every conceivable angle, was the finale of the legendary AFC playoff game on Dec. 23, 1972, at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, between the Oakland Raiders and the upstart Steelers.
The controversy over that play has never quite died. As recently as October 2004, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sportswriter Byron Spice was among those lamenting the inability of 1970's video technology to settle the argument between Raiders and Steelers fans. Spice reviewed the play, in which a fourth-down Terry Bradshaw pass flew away from a collision between intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua and Raider safety Jack Tatum. The ball was scooped up by Steeler running back Franco Harris. Harris turned that lucky bounce into a 42-yard touchdown run that sealed a stunning 13-7 Pittsburgh win.
"No good film exists to show which player might have deflected Bradshaw's bullet," wrote Spice. "Tatum insists he never touched the ball. Fuqua has vowed never to reveal who did."
The play resulted in the first known incident of NFL officials reviewing a play on videotape to determine who touched the ball last. If it was Fuqua, Harris was an illegal receiver and the touchdown would have been disallowed. But the one angle visible on videotape that day was inconclusive.
Enter Piero. The "fully virtual graphics" of BBC's graphics tool would be able to project an sweeping view of the moment Tatum hit Fuqua, examining the play from virtually every angle. Piero could have located the ball, revealed the likely position of both players' hands and settled the controversy. "Piero," said Thomas, "ideally matches virtual views with real action, creating a truly lifelike, image-based 3-D model of the scene."
That means a viewer, through BBC's computer graphics, can see angles neither the game officials nor the camera could see. Thomas said that "Piero is able to achieve an expansive 3-D model of live-action" with a single-camera installation, based on "given assumptions about scene geometry."
BBC recently conducted a trial of an advanced form of Piero during soccer matches at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, using 16 strategically placed cameras. The set up created a helicopter-like, 180-degree virtual view of every play.
"Eventually," noted Thomas, "we can stream virtual data, so that the viewer can choose angles of virtual game images."
Paul Mason, chief technical coordinator for BBC Resources, suggested that game officials might find the advanced virtual devices useful for making "better calls."
Under such high-tech scrutiny, which represents the possible future of "instant replay," the "Immaculate Reception" might not have endured for more than 30 years as one of the greatest mysteries in sports.
With the help of Piero, the Raiders might have won.
