Taking a page from Major League Baseball, automated officiating is apparently coming to the game of women’s lacrosse.
The bipedal robots, adapted from a model meant for use in hospitals, are being tested for mobility, the ability to judge line calls, detecting illegal use of the stick, and officiating the center draw.
“The LaxBot will revolutionize the game of lacrosse,” said Lo-Lo Parif, the CEO of LaxBot. “The bot can easily have heuristics programmed to spot shooting space, three-seconds in the fan, and any future rules changes, either for traditional field lacrosse, box, or Sixes.”
One feature of LaxBot can be found in the torso. Inside the body is a chamber with an internal laser measuring array, meant to check the legality of lacrosse sticks.
“What’s great about this feature is that the chamber is exactly 44 inches tall,” Parif said. “An illegal stick can’t fit inside. The laser measuring can amass metrics so much quicker than having to pull out a binder of specs from the scorer’s table and a measuring tape.”
LaxBot is, according to the company, fitted with a 360-degree camera which can see the game in all directions at the same time.
“This way,” Parif said, “you only need one official on the field at a time.”
The LaxBot’s mobility is enhanced by a pair of retro rockets located in the lower limbs.
“I understand that the robot may need to make it across the field in a short period of time,” said a Division I coach. “But we have artificial grass, and I’m not so sure that the rockets won’t damage the field. The resulting burn marks could form a permanent scar on our field.”
It is expected that the first use of LaxBot will be to officiate draws in youth lacrosse tournaments this summer, with the bots leaving the field after the draw — in other words, “Laxbot On, Get Off” or LOGO.
If the experiment works, it is expected that the full rollout of LaxBot could be as early as April 1, 2027.