Cricket umpire assistance and ball tracking system using a single smartphone camera

Several ball tracking algorithms have been reported in literature. However, most of them use high-quality video and multiple cameras, and the emphasis has been on coordinating the cameras or visualizing the tracking results. This paper aims to develop a system for assisting the umpire in the sport of Cricket in making decisions like detection of no-balls, wide-balls, leg before wicket and bouncers, with the help of a single smartphone camera. It involves the implementation of Computer Vision algorithms for object detection and motion tracking, as well as the integration of machine learning algorithms to optimize the results. Techniques like Histogram of Gradients (HOG) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) are used for object classification and recognition. Frame subtraction, minimum enclosing circle, and contour detection algorithms are optimized and used for the detection of a cricket ball. These algorithms are applied using the Open Source Python Library - OpenCV. Machine Learning techniques - Linear and Quadratic Regression are used to track and predict the motion of the ball. It also involves the use of open source Python library VPython for the visual representation of the results. The paper describes the design and structure for the approach undertaken in the system for analyzing and visualizing off-air low-quality cricket videos.