Google's DeepMind develops AI-powered football assistant for Liverpool FC
In a joint venture with Liverpool Football Club, Google's DeepMind has engineered an advanced artificial intelligence system called TacticAI. This cutting-edge technology zeroes in on corner kick strategies, offering tactical insights to football coaches. The collaboration was sparked by Liverpool's memorable goal against FC Barcelona in the 2019 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, which paved the way for this pioneering research project in 2024.
A revolutionary approach to corner kick strategies
As outlined in a paper published by Google DeepMind in Nature Communications, TacticAI harnesses predictive and generative AI to deliver tactical insights on corner kicks. The system uncovers patterns in opposing teams' tactics and formulates effective countermeasures. Despite the scarcity of top-tier data on corner kicks, TacticAI utilizes a geometric deep learning method to construct more adaptable models.
TacticAI's endorsement by football experts
Google DeepMind disclosed that human expert raters favored TacticAI's suggestions 90% of the time over conventional tactical setups. The system empowers coaches to examine and experiment with different player arrangements for each corner kick routine, choosing those with the highest predicted success rate. Several benchmark tasks have confirmed TacticAI's usefulness, including predicting receivers and shot attempts, as well as suggesting player position modifications.
TacticAI's successful collaboration and future prospects
The creation and assessment of TacticAI was accomplished through a multi-year research partnership involving experts from Liverpool Football Club. The AI model concentrates on scrutinizing corner kicks, providing coaches with direct opportunities for intervention and enhancement. This sophisticated system represents a significant advancement in applying AI technology to sports strategy, potentially altering how football teams devise their game plans.
