Patent ID: 8659663

Claim:
A method for tracking participants in a baseball game at a baseball park, the baseball park includes a playing field, comprising the processor-implemented steps of: analyzing video frames obtained from one or more cameras, the video frames provide images of participants in the baseball park; based on the analyzing, determining that a start of a half-inning of the baseball game is about to occur, the determining comprises: for each of multiple participants, determining a track which indicates successive locations of the participant in the baseball park at successive points in time; based on the tracks, detecting an integer number N>2 of the participants moving from a dugout region of the baseball park to respective fielding locations in the playing field and detecting an amount of time the participants remain at the fielding locations; associating a first probability with the detecting of the participants moving from the dugout region to the respective fielding locations, where the first probability is higher when the integer number N is greater; associating a second probability with the detecting the amount of time that the participants remain at the fielding locations, where the second probability is proportional to the amount of time; combining the first and second probabilities to provide a combined probability; and comparing the combined probability to a threshold; and in response to the determining that the start of the half-inning is about to occur, updating a digital record of the baseball game to identify the start of the half-inning.