Speck&Tech Talks “Short track for the win!”
with Anthony Cioppa and Chiara Betti

Talk 1 – Anthony Cioppa
“SoccerNet: building the largest and most comprehensive open-source dataset and benchmark for sports video analysis”

Talk in English

Artificial intelligence is transforming sports analysis. Since 2018, SoccerNet has established itself as the largest and most comprehensive open dataset, resulting from a collaboration initiated by KAUST (Saudi Arabia) and the University of Liège (Belgium), and now strengthened by many academic partners (Aalborg University, UCLouvain, EPFL, etc.) and industrial partners (EVS, Sportradar, Spiideo, Footovision, etc.). With more than 850 hours of manually annotated videos and over 15 million annotations (actions, players, cameras), SoccerNet provides a unique resource for developing and comparing computer vision methods, covering tasks such as action spotting, camera calibration, and player tracking. Beyond the data itself, SoccerNet fosters a dynamic international community: more than 1,800 researchers on its Discord server, annual challenges that have attracted over 1,500 submissions from 300 teams, and more than 30 publications. The success of SoccerNet illustrates the importance of open data and shared benchmarks in driving scientific innovation. The talk will finally focus on the concrete applications that directly emerged from these innovations, from enhanced broadcasting for the viewers to improved well-being of the athletes.

Talk 2 – Chiara Betti
“Short track: decisioni sul filo del ghiaccio“

Talk in Italian

Una conversazione con Chiara Betti, atleta olimpica di short track, per entrare nel dietro le quinte dello sport ad altissimo livello. Dagli inizi in Trentino fino alle competizioni internazionali, esploreremo cosa significa oggi essere un’atleta professionista: allenamento, preparazione mentale, gestione degli errori e delle aspettative, dentro e fuori dalla pista.
Nel corso della chiacchierata, uno sguardo particolare sarà dedicato al ruolo della tecnologia nello sport: dagli strumenti utilizzati ogni giorno in allenamento all’evoluzione dell’attrezzatura, fino all’uso di dati e analisi per migliorare le performance. Un racconto diretto e concreto, tra esperienza personale e innovazione, per capire cosa succede davvero quando performance umana e tecnologia si incontrano.

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How to participate

NOTICE: This event will be partly in English and partly in Italian.
Mandatory registration on Tickettailor for attendance in person. Registration is now open!

About the speakers

Anthony Cioppa is an Assistant Professor at the University of Liège (ULiège) in Belgium. He earned his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 2017 and later completed his PhD in 2020 in computer vision and artificial intelligence at ULiège, supported by the FNRS. Following his PhD, he was awarded a three-year postdoctoral grant by the FNRS, during which he spent a year in 2023 as a visiting postdoctoral researcher at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), working under the supervision of Prof. Marc Van Droogenbroeck and Prof. Bernard Ghanem. His research focuses on computer vision, video analysis using AI, real-time processing, and video understanding. He is also actively involved in organizing international AI challenges. Finally, he also co-organizes the yearly CVsports workshop at the CVPR conference.

Chiara Betti (Trento, 2002) è un’atleta italiana di short track. Cresciuta a Pergine Valsugana, si avvicina al pattinaggio su ghiaccio fin da giovane, intraprendendo presto un percorso agonistico che la porta a distinguersi a livello internazionale.
Dopo gli studi al Liceo Classico “Prati” di Trento, ottiene i primi risultati di rilievo ai Campionati Mondiali Junior, conquistando due medaglie di bronzo nella staffetta femminile (Canada 2019 e Bormio 2020). Nonostante un grave infortunio alla colonna vertebrale, superato con determinazione, nel 2021 entra nella squadra senior, e nel 2023 conquista la sua prima medaglia ai Campionati Mondiali, avviando una presenza costante ai massimi livelli internazionali.
Nel corso della sua carriera ha partecipato alle principali competizioni internazionali, ottenendo medaglie in Coppa del Mondo, Campionati Europei e Mondiali. Ai recenti Giochi Olimpici Invernali di Milano-Cortina ha vinto la medaglia d’oro nella staffetta mista e la medaglia d’argento nella staffetta femminile.
Dal 2022 fa parte del Gruppo Sportivo della Guardia di Finanza ed è iscritta al corso di laurea in Scienze e tecniche di Psicologia Cognitiva presso l’Università di Trento.

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Speck&Tech Association

Speck&Tech is the digital community of Trentino. Founded on March 1st, 2016, it aims to bring together people passionate about technology and innovation, fostering the exchange of ideas and knowledge through events (over 100 in these 10 years)
The events follow a simple format: two 30-minute talks on the same topic, delivered in Italian or English, followed by a short Q&A session.
The evening then wraps up with an informal networking moment featuring speck, focaccia, and beers.
All information on: https://speckand.tech/

Photogallery credits: edomenegaz©