3D training app to be demoed at CES could democratise sports analytics

UK product developers Cambridge Consultants (CC) is set to demo an app that captures and interprets the 3D trajectory of your ball-throwing skills at CES next year, to make better sportsmen and women of us all. 

The technology consultant has worked on a ridiculously wide variety of products in its day, from a smartphone vaccine checker and a coffee machine, to surgical instruments and antennas for the world's largest telescope. Ruth Thomson, head of consumer product development at CC, told Wired.co.uk the company has been working on developing "novel connected systems" for a wide variety of sports and fitness brands for years, and wanted to demonstrate this technology to the mainstream (all the aforementioned projects are still confidential). The glut of work CC has had in this area suggests the mainstream is ready for a shift from mere monitors, like Nike Fuel band, to integrated systems that can actually teach you how to play better. 

"The component technologies have become sufficiently low cost and low power to be incorporated into products and systems that are accessible to the mass market," said Thomson. "The use of smart algorithms means you can extract usable and actionable information from large data sets fast. There are already some technique-focused systems available for elite teams, but our demo shows you can make this technology available at much lower cost."
The ArcAid system uses low cost cameras fixed to the backboard in a basketball court (it can be used for any sport, but basketball was picked for the US demo) and other select areas. In the future the camera could be swapped for a smartphone with a special support mount to fix it in place. With the help of the Cambridge University Basketball team, CC was able to refine the system to be useful for any training player.
"They gave suggestions on the type of information that would be valuable, for example they wanted to know where shots were taken from on the court and the level of success of those shots -- this would help them show what types of shots they needed to practice more," explains Thomson.
All the image data is sent to the app for tracking. For the purposes of the CES demo, the algorithms will be on a PC because the team says wireless at the event is notoriously patchy. Ultimately, though, a smartphone or tablet will be used.
"It measures the 3D trajectory of the ball in space, it compares this against the mathematically optimal trajectory from that point of release to give you a 'score' on how good your throw was and the system gives you feedback on the power of your throw, the trajectory and the angle," explains Thomson.
"We could imagine fusing in information from additional sensors to provide a richer data set and perhaps spot additional patterns in player behaviour, for example it would be easy to integrate in heart rate monitoring."
Coaches could use the system mid-game to show players where the opposition is shooting most successfully from so the defense can cover that ground, or over time to show how well players are progressing in different skill areas.
CC has not shown the low-cost tech to any companies yet and is, according to Thomson, only just finishing up the demo now. But at CES the hope is it can find partners to bring the product to market in such a way that anyone with a smartphone has the ability to learn and train like the best. They're democratising big data sports analytics, one smartphone-owning sporting enthusiast at a time.
"Only elite training academies will have access to professional coaches who would be able to teach good techniques," says Thomson. "This technology is trying to bring that benefit to a wider audience. A sports teacher in a school can't be an expert at every sport -- this will be an aid to them to support them with their teaching. If we want to develop truly excellent athletes for the future then we need to teach the movements and actions to them when they are young."
The visual nature of the system means it's easy to interpret and great for kids, so "they can clearly see progress which will aid motivation".

CC will be demonstrating its ArcAid app at CES from 7 to 10 January in Las Vegas, along with its smartphone vaccine checker.