Many of the virtual graphics and analytics you see
on your screen while watching an NHL game are produced closer to home than you
may realize.

SportsMEDIA Technology, or SMT, is headquartered
in Durham.

The company partners with the National Hockey
League as the official statistics provider. 

They provide real-time puck and player tracking,
power play clocks, and virtual shot speeds.  

SMT also works with arenas around the country on cameras,
video boards and other fan experience elements. 

CEO and founder Gerard J. Hall explained one of
the statistics that has historically been in missing in hockey is who has the
puck and for how long. 

“With the advent of our algorithms and AI
technologies, we can infer that if this puck is moving at this speed, and this
player is moving at that same speed, and they’re moving in conjunction with one
another, we have algorithms that are self-training now that can determine who’s
in possession of the puck,” Hall said. 

While puck and player tracking makes the game more
accessible to fans, it also improves analysis by broadcasters. 

SMT’s control room is filled with operators
monitoring the game, suggesting different replays and graphics to NHL
producers. 

“The instant that puck goes in the net, we’ve
designed our system so 20 different graphic replays are instantly available,”
Hall said. “The system already knows who shot it, who was the goal scorer. The
technology never gets tired. We’re always tracking the players and the puck.” 

SMT can show projections on the ice of where the
shots have been, including where goals have been scored.

“You can see some stories being told just by the
way that data is presented,” Hall said. 

It’s not just the fan and broadcasting experience
that’s improving because of puck and player tracking. 

It can also change the play calls by coaches. 

“Think of all the different tools that data
can inform for coaches making decisions of, ‘Which line is performing well, Which
line is not performing well, How might I change things dynamically?’ That’s a
big thing in the modern world of sports,” Hall said. 

Improving the watch party experience

While Canes fans enjoyed Games 1 and 2 at home,
with Games 3 and 4 being played in Las Vegas, many flooded into Lenovo Center
to watch the matchup surrounded by other fans.

As the broadcast plays on the jumbotron above the
ice, fans watching Games 3 and 4 are treated to a unique experience on the ice
as well.

SMT is using internal technology called SPRITES to
transform watch parties.

“We created an app that gives us the ability to
have a 2 dimensional view, looking down on the ice, all the players, those
little circles moving around, and the puck moving as well,” Hall said.

SMT is now connecting that app to the lasers at
Lenovo, projecting on the ice where players and the puck are, a real-time
visualization of game action.

Hall calls it the ultimate second screen
experience, giving fans a view into a unique part of hockey that the broadcast
often doesn’t show: real-time player substitutions.

“It’s really a powerful thing because television
broadcast generally will follow the puck. They’re kind of obligated to, like
where’s the puck? Typically in hockey, they dump the puck in the zone while
they’re doing a line change, the camera pans to where the puck is, and what
people don’t see at home is people coming onto the ice,” Hall said.

The SPRITES technology allows fans to see where
the players are, regardless of what the broadcast is focused on.

Hall explains the SPRITES technology is so fast—accurate
to 70 milliseconds—that it beats the broadcast.

“If you’re holding the app on your phone, the
game’s being played in Las Vegas, you are getting the data on your phone within
70 milliseconds of live. Virtually instantaneous,” Hall explained. “The trouble
is the broadcast goes up to the satellite, down from the satellite, gets
processed. It’s about 30 seconds behind live. So, we had to delay our
application to put it on the ice to synchronize it with what the watch party’s
showing.”

The broadcast and the SPRITES will line up for
Tuesday night’s watch party at Lenovo, and the fans are hoping the Canes’ Game
4 performance lines up for them as well.