[ti:Goal Line Technology Makes Its Debut in International Football] [ar:June Simms] [al:Technology Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.80]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.89]Goal line technology made its debut [00:09.53]in international football [00:11.42]at the Confederations Cup in Brazil [00:14.76]that ended on sunday. [00:17.10]The move to goal line technology [00:19.73]follows international pressure [00:22.68]on the sport's governing body FIFA [00:25.63]after a missed call in the 2010 World Cup. [00:30.55]Video replays of a match clearly show [00:34.43]that England's Frank Lampard had scored a goal against Germany. [00:40.07]However, that goal was denied because neither the referee [00:45.09]nor linesman saw the ball cross the goal line. [00:49.78]The incident caused such a stir that FIFA [00:54.77]approve the development of goal line technology. [00:58.60]That technology was put to the test [01:01.74]at the Confederations Cup in Brazil which began June 15. [01:07.87]Bjorn Linder is the chairman of GoalControl, [01:12.35]the German-based company [01:14.94]that won the goal line technology contract [01:17.98]for this year's Confederations Cup. [01:21.16]His team spend weeks in Brazil before the games [01:25.49]as part of the FIFA certification process. [01:29.34]"The whole system uses 14 cameras [01:31.82]that are installed on the catwalk. [01:33.52]We have seven cameras per goal and computers [01:36.21]that are connected to those cameras. [01:37.76]The computers are catching the images, [01:40.15]around 500 pictures per second." [01:43.41]Computers track the path of the ball in real time [01:47.69]and reconstruct the play. [01:51.18]"Once the computer perceives the ball has crossed the goal line, [01:54.27]it gives a signal to the referee's watch, [01:56.61]so all the referees on the field receive the signal. [01:59.09]It vibrates and gives an optical signal 'goal' [02:01.74]and he knows a goal has occurred." [02:03.68]Electronic eyes on the goal line may settle arguments, [02:07.81]but the data is still only a reconstruction of reality. [02:12.40]Nic Fleming is a London-based science and technology writer, [02:17.68]he believes the use of goal line technology is a chance [02:22.71]to educate people about the role of uncertainty in science. [02:27.56]"These are fantastic tools, [02:28.90]but let's be realistic about their limitations, [02:31.94]that science is about probabilities. [02:33.88]What better way than to have this message in a game so popular." [02:39.91]GoalControl claims an accuracy of plus-or-minus 5 millimeters, [02:46.14]this is well under FIFA's minimum requirement of plus [02:50.47]or minus 3 centimeters. [02:53.21]Nic Fleming would like to see that number flashed on the screen. [02:57.65]He says viewers could compare the replays [03:02.03]to the computer reconstruction and learn a little science. [03:07.30]"The wider point really is that science is central [03:10.50]to many public debates today, [03:12.10]whether that's climate change or nuclear power or genetic modification. [03:16.19]In all of these cases science provides probabilities. [03:21.17]It does not provide yes-no, black-white answers [03:24.91]that is quite important to the public understands that." [03:28.04]Goal-line technology may become a central part of the sport, [03:32.85]but it is important to remember that is still the referee, [03:38.18]not the computer, that makes the final call. [03:42.52]And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English, [03:47.79]for more about reports, visit our website at 51voa.com. [03:55.86]I'm June Simms. [03:58.06]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM