Automatic camera arrow spotting makes Olympic debut in Tokyo

Heartbeat monitoring wasn’t the only technological innovation to debut during the archery competitions at Tokyo 2020.

For the first time at the Olympics, arrow hits were measured using remote cameras, which then fed live results to the in-venue scoreboards and the graphics displayed on television broadcasts.

The system, called RyngDyng and developed by Archery Analytics, has been used at World Archery events since the start of 2021.

It is placed below the targets in the arena and interprets data from three cameras to triangulate the impact point of an arrow, accurate to within a millimetre, then assigning a score value within a second.

These results are then confirmed – or adjusted – by judges at the target.

“Quick scoring data is imperative to allow spectators, both in and out of the venue, to follow the sport,” said World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen. “Innovations like the RyngDyng make archery more accessible to the public.”

This new system replaces the previous laser-spotting target frames, which were big and heavy, first introduced at the Olympics five years ago in Rio.

The RyngDyng’s compact form factor and portability make it a more sustainable piece of technology to deploy at events around the globe.

It has not just been developed for elite competition, though.

Packaged with a data analysis application and integrated with both Ianseo and Artemis, the tool is designed for club, shop and personal use, with the ability to auto-track and evaluate the results of standard archery rounds.

“One of the first steps to making an improvement is accurately understanding your own ability,” said Archery Analytics CEO Jochen Hertle. “RyngDyng automatically tracks, stores and interprets your results, then teaches you to evaluate and act upon the data, resulting in real performance improvements.”

The system will continue to be deployed at international events under an ongoing partnership agreement between World Archery and Archery Analytics.