Novocomms develops antennas for tracking sports

This solution allows coaches to analyse the performance of athletes, managers to improve team performance and viewers to enjoy an enhanced experience of teh sport they are watching.

Design engineers based at Novocomms were faced with the problem of building antennas that created high rate of pulses, but with sharp 'edges' that could be measured both within a broadband environment

Much of the development work was based on the Fourier principle, which outlines that a complex waveform can be broken down in a series of sine and cosine waves. In practice, this called for the development of aerials and antennas that could receive high radio wave signals, without corrupting the incoming data.

“In effect, we are trying to perfect a radar system that can deal with not one, but two moving objects at the same time – the player and the ball. We also need to generate a lot of power and gain in order to accurately position fast moving objects, such as rugby balls, cricket balls or footballs, in real time. Thanks to our team’s proprietary technology, unrivalled skills set, in-house test facility and sheer determination, we got there in the end!” said Colin Tucker, Chairman of Novocomms.

To ensure this high level of position, navigating and timing (PNT) accuracy across a football or rugby pitch required a significant increae in the gain of the antenna. But to remain within strict legal boundaries, this meant a trade-off between signal quality, gain and power, while eliminating signal distortion.

This technology is now being rolled out across the world of sport.