Quote:
Originally Posted by Canon reeves
In 1999, the NFL allowed instant replay for coaches to be able to question the call, here this could be a possiblity, but I doubt it because the question box is already full, imagine the nightmare of rewatching every match for simple calls? But if the penalty affected the game outcome they could use instant replay? |
I was going to respond earlier to this, but things happened.
So...
This isn't going to happen, not in the near future at least. It's been discussed before, but the upshot is that nobody's yet been able to implement a system where the money cost is low, the "extra time" cost is low, AND the "refs don't wanna do this anymore" cost is low. Actually, getting past the first one is hard enough.
And here's one example of why.
There was a match at L.A. that had one alliance in the question box for three straight matches (the refs would break off to run the matches, then come back to the box) trying to figure out why they didn't get points that they thought they should have gotten. Now, I can't find video of that match on TBA, and can't remember what teams were in that match--just that one of the teams on that alliance had appeared, to the team in the box, to have fully crossed into a zone with a ball and thus gotten an assist. Just to refresh our collective memory, the robots had to be contacting the ground entirely within the zone to get the possession in the zone. Also, there were three refs looking primarily at that robot--one scoring ref, one spotter for the scoring ref (me, in this case), and one ref diagonally from the scoring and spotter who had a better view. Oh, and if I recall correctly, the final score was such that the assist would not have made a difference.
The result of that discussion was that the team did not get the assist points. Why? Because 3 refs, looking at that robot, did not see the robot contacting the ground entirely within the zone on that particular cycle. So, either it did not qualify for the possession in the zone, OR a ref standing about 15 feet away and looking right at it missed seeing it AND 2 refs at about 30 feet away looking right at it missed it. (Or couldn't remember when asked a couple matches later--pick your choice of the three options.)
Now, how does that example play into why getting past those obstacles is hard? Consider this: The camera(s) for any instant replay will almost certainly be farther away than the refs' eyes, and due to arena considerations, probably higher up. They will need to be looking at the area in question. And they will need to be able to show--clearly--whether a robot is contacting the floor in a given area, from what will probably be a worse angle. That means a really good camera set, and trained operators--no closeups of flipped robots, no moving the camera(s) to random locations, sharp focus on key areas... Guess what, that means extra money to rig the cameras and make sure they're operating "properly".
I could go on, but I'll keep it short: I haven't gone into the logistics of calling for a review, getting the video to point X for review by ref Y, and keeping the time down. Nobody's really figured out much of an actionable plan for those. Until someone figures out all those logistical items in a way that makes sense, instant replay will be good only for match highlights.