# Improving Object Detection Quality in Football Through Super-Resolution Techniques

Source: [Improving Object Detection Quality in Football Through Super-Resolution Techniques](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa7a741e209131cea83562>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-26T05:21:01.557Z

Authors: Karolina Seweryn, Gabriel Ch\\k{e}\\'c, Szymon {\\L}ukasik, Anna Wr\\'oblewska

Published: 2024-01-31T20:37:35.000Z

## Abstract

This study explores the potential of super-resolution techniques in enhancing object detection accuracy in football. Given the sport's fast-paced nature and the critical importance of precise object (e.g. ball, player) tracking for both analysis and broadcasting, super-resolution could offer significant improvements. We investigate how advanced image processing through super-resolution impacts the accuracy and reliability of object detection algorithms in processing football match footage.   Our methodology involved applying state-of-the-art super-resolution techniques to a diverse set of football match videos from SoccerNet, followed by object detection using Faster R-CNN. The performance of these algorithms, both with and without super-resolution enhancement, was rigorously evaluated in terms of detection accuracy.   The results indicate a marked improvement in object detection accuracy when super-resolution preprocessing is applied. The improvement of object detection through the integration of super-resolution techniques yields significant benefits, especially for low-resolution scenarios, with a notable 12\\% increase in mean Average Precision (mAP) at an IoU (Intersection over Union) range of 0.50:0.95 for 320x240 size images when increasing the resolution fourfold using RLFN. As the dimensions increase, the magnitude of improvement becomes more subdued; however, a discernible improvement in the quality of detection is consistently evident. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these findings for real-time sports analytics, player tracking, and the overall viewing experience. The study contributes to the growing field of sports technology by demonstrating the practical benefits and limitations of integrating super-resolution techniques in football analytics and broadcasting.

## Recorded benchmark results

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## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.00163>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/2402.00163.pdf>)