Instant Replay Challenge—A Thought Exercise

[EricH]

The problems I see with team recording are these:

1) The cameras will by nature be focused on one robot. This is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you--but tracking an object at zoom from 40+ feet away isn't easy if it's moving fast. This is where I'd prefer having a trained operator.

2) Time to get the film down to the field after the match. At an offseason, 1 minute is reasonable, if a bit of a stretch when cue time is factored in. At any event IRI or official, add 1-2 minutes for film to arrive. Or have a "Team Filming Area" (which would also address my third concern, below). Review time to determine if you caught something, 1 minute goes out the door.

3) Obstructions and bouncy cameras. Somebody pops up to cheer...right as a challengeable call happens. Maybe it's the camera person. Either way, lousy video quality. A team filming area would limit that.


Brain wave to deal with a few of these things...
What if every team was asked to have someone volunteer to record their robot every time it played? I'm sure there would be no shortage of volunteers for that one. However, each official replay volunteer would get a short training in "what to look for" (staying on the robot, appropriate zoom levels, etc), maybe 20-30 minutes long--this also gives a chance to check equipment for quality settings. Then, six to twelve spots around the arena are designated as "film spots" where the replay volunteers can set up cameras. Start when the MC begins the countdown, stop when the head ref gives the all-clear, head for the field in case of replay challenge.

For timing, it should vary based on venue layout, but say a team has 1 minute to initiate a video challenge, and then has 1-2 minutes to get the video to the head ref, cued up and ready (variable based on whether we're dealing with a high school gym or the Edward Jones Dome). Head ref watches the segment, reaches decision, and it's announced after the next match.


Edit: There is one other thing that I would suggest. If an event were to use instant replay, the head referee should have the ability to call for a video review, whether or not a team requests it. If the head referee calls without the team requesting a video review (say, the team asks about interpretation and the head ref decides that he wants to take a quick look again, or the ref huddle can't agree on how bad a foul is), no penalty to teams' ability to call for a video review later.