South African AI and deep-learning developers who have a big office betting pool on the Rugby World Cup started wondering if they can predict the winner.
They ended up creating Ruggerbot, a prediction engine that uses historical data and a range of factors to figure out which team is likely to win a match – and by how much.
Ruggerbot thinks the Springboks will win three of its first four matches by big margins, but will be in trouble against New Zealand.
A South African developed deep-learning system currently thinks the Springboks will do better against Namibia than against Canada, beating the neighbouring country by 63 points while only scoring 55 points against the North American team.
But Ruggerbot, the Rugby World Cup predictor, says the South African team will be beaten by New Zealand's All Blacks in their match on 21 September – by 14 points.
That is not a reflection of their own rampant patriotism, the developers say, and they still have high hopes the Springboks will win the tournament, even though they haven't yet seen the final prediction of their forecasting robot.
That prediction, on the big matches at the end of the World Cup, is still waiting on "a few more data points", developer Thomas Davies told Business Insider South Africa this week, including the weather on the day, which referees control matches, which players are in the starting teams, and what kind of form those players are in.
"The model will constantly be updated, as new data comes in, and we'll be updating the predictions as results come in and players change etc," Davies said.
Ruggerbot was created by developers at Johannesburg software engineering company Re:source, which then roped in design company Timesquare for its look-and-feel work.
The software team was inspired by the record size of its office SuperBru betting pool, the group says in RuggerBot's GitHub entry, to see if match outcomes could be accurately predicted. They decided that building a sophisticated model was the only way to be sure.
The team dug up an ESPN rugby statistics database that goes back back to 1896, created a model to rank individual players based on factors they believe impact rugby ability, and then started to include other data that might affect match outcome.
In testing on warmup games the model got the scores wrong, by up to 40 points – but accurately predicted every winner, which convinced the developers they were on to something.
Putting the bot online for sports-lovers and "the fanatical betting person" is mainly an experiment to see how many people notice and how it is used, the team says. But with any luck they'll make some money too.
"We're not really in this for the money, mainly for our SuperBru office pool. Having said that, we'll place a few bets, and see what happens," says Davies.
At the time of publication, this is what Ruggerbot forecast for the Springboks' first four games:
South Africa vs New Zealand: lose by 11 points
South Africa vs Namibia: win by 63 points
South Africa vs Italy: win by 41 points
South Africa vs Canada: win by 55 points
Article by Phillip De Wet for Business Insider, read more on SA developers are using a deep-learning engine to figure out who will win in the Rugby World Cup – and their robot thinks the All Blacks will thrash the Springboks
West African Gaming Expo (WAGE) is the first and only technology conference and exhibition in West Africa focusing on animation, video, mobile games and related products.
WAGE provides the best, brightest, and most innovative professionals in the interactive entertainment industry with publicity and media exposure, product and service sale opportunity, networking opportunity with leading-edge companies and end users.
A fun educational event consisting of Conference talks, Hackathons, Workshops / tutorials , Exhibition, Esport Competitions, Tournaments, Giveaways, Product launch and brand activation opportunities.
WAGE connects you with both new and existing partners and provides unprecedented exposure to emerging markets. WAGE is where new worlds of the interactive entertainment industry are inspired.
Please note the WAGE conference is open to all attendees
Please note the WAGE conference is open to all attendees
Stand out from the crowd and improve your chances of landing that dream job by becoming a Unity Certified Developer.
Validate your Unity knowledge and skills and earn a credential to help build your resume and communicate your skills to employers.
Come and speak with the professionals, see courses avaialbe at Bournmeouth University for students interested in gaming and animation.
Looking for a Job in Gaming and Animation, bring your CV and portfolio to WAGE 16 and meet the employers directly.
Listen to Joost Jetten Interntional Business Development Manager at Logitech introduce attendees to Logitech Gaming Devices.
UNITY will be hosting 2 conference sessions. Any one interested in developement or Animation creation should not miss this sessions.
Are you the best FIFA player in the region. Why not come along and take part in WAGE 16 FIFA 17 tournament. Over N100 000 to be won
This is a pane session hosted by Vortex, This panel will include speakers such as Ibrahim Ganiyu, Ayodele Elegba, Somto Ajuluchukwu, Tobechukwu Nwakere, Edu Shola. They are set to Showcase PAPA Ajasco Animated series, Spirit Wars (Mobile PC Fighting Games) and Many more
Come along as Ultima Limited takes us on a journey of how they created the WWTBAM APP. Listen to their story of what they had to do to get it right. Dont miss the chance to take part in the WWTBAM APP tournament and win BIG
Lagos based Indie Game company, launches their first game THRONE OF GODS. Throne of Gods is an epic fighting game based on African mythology.
Are you the best Mortal Kombat player in the region. Why not come along and take part in WAGE 16 Mortal Kombat tournament. Over N100 000 to be won