I'm out here on the San Francisco Bay right now, watching some of the fastest sailboats in the world prepare for a weekend of Sail GP racing. Now you can see the American boat there right behind me, and on the back of that boat is a new AI-enhanced camera that could change the way people enjoy watching this sport. In close calls to cap sizes, Sail GP has exploded in popularity since its launch in 2018, and as viewership grows, so does the broadcast operation. Here comes Australia, they make the turn, and now a drag race to the finish line. Tracking advanced hydrofoiling race boats that cut through the water at over 50 knots requires a lot of advanced tech. Each F50 race boat is packed with cameras and 125 sensors that capture billions of data points each day, and they're about to get a new AI-powered tool that Sail GP says will not only make the sport safer but will take the fan experience to the next level. The secret source is the software behind it. Warren Jones is Chief Technology Officer for

for sale, GP racing. He's talking about this camera that can be mounted on the stern of the boat that feeds data to a new AI algorithm in the Oracle Cloud. Using that data, the algorithm can predict with high accuracy a number of events that could happen next. This is footage of the camera being tested during Sale GP's recent event in Bermuda. It demonstrates how the camera can move and react to other boats. The camera can also use the data collected to identify individual athletes so fans can more closely follow them during a live broadcast. But how does a camera identify a person wearing a helmet and goggles while running back and forth across a boat? We can only see certain parts of their face, so we've measured what they look like from their skeletal, the height, their wingspan, their stride. But the camera doesn't just enhance the fan experience. It can make predictions that improve the broadcast but also help teams during a race. We know within 1 cm of where a CGP F50 will be and therefore then using Oracle AI to

be able to say where will that be in the next 20 seconds and 30 seconds, and then be able to move a camera within 100 milliseconds. Jones says the algorithm can identify if boats are on a course to collide within 30 seconds. It can then automatically send an alert to the crews so they can adjust their courses. Though it's not great for the teams who doesn't love seeing a boat capsize. The new camera can identify when a capsize is about to happen. We know the level of where the hull is on the boat, and from that point of view, we would say that if there's a 45% movement of the hull, therefore, then all cameras go onto that boat. Oh my Lord, disaster. This is footage shot by the camera during the 2024 Grand Final in San Francisco. Here it was placed on one of the racing marks where it could track the boats and capture this incredible view. This isn't the first time SGP has used AI. Last year, engineers launched an AI-based anomaly detection program.

algorithm analyzes billions of data points from those 125 boat sensors to identify when a part may be about to fail. These are very kind of subtle anomalies that provide early indication if a sensor or a valve or something on the boat is starting to deteriorate. Um, and it condenses those billions of data points, which we can never look through every day, down into like a top 10 list that we can go quickly see what the issue is. So right now the camera is just being tested, but SGP tells me that ultimately the goal is to put one of those cameras on every single one of those race boats next season. So I want to know what you think about those cameras. Let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, please don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to cette for more what the future.

SailGP AI Camera Can Spot Capsizes Before They Happen

CNET is the premier destination for explaining and navigating the changing world around us. Through news, product reviews, price comparisons, and more, we’ll tell you what’s new in the parts of modern life that increasingly matter more — from health, home, and money to tech, culture, and climate — and how to get the most out of them.