Will the referee of the future be a robot? One has to ask that question after seeing ST37 Sport Et Technologie’s cameras effectively serve as a referee. Founded by a fencing champion, their product, Mia, offers the opportunity to assist and improve the judgment of existing referees.

Mia combines a camera, edge processing, artificial intelligence, and a wireless network interface to autonomously judge, either on a stand-alone basis or as an assistant to a human referee. It is a referee for fencing, canoeing, kayaking, and horseriding.

At CES2020, Carolina Riquelme-Sobrin indicated that soccer, volleyball, basketball, and tennis are some of the new sports Mia can judge. Some sports, such as tennis, require up to five cameras, while others, such as fencing, only require one to three cameras.

It also provides the added benefit of streaming the video and providing real-time statistics. Additionally, ST37’s analytics provides a training tool for athletes.

At €6,500 per camera, it opens up the market for electronic referees. With its ability to live stream video and statistics, it could bring be a game-changer for niche sports and mainstream with smaller audiences.