Imaging-Based Ball Machine Rating With Adaptive Shot Difficulty
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing racquet sports rating systems are time-consuming, inconsistent, and lack accuracy, especially for non-tennis sports, due to varying evaluation criteria and the inability to account for unique shots in alternative racquet sports.
Innovation Solution
A ball machine with an imaging system and controller to evaluate player skills by launching balls and monitoring returns, adjusting difficulty based on performance, and providing an accurate start rating through various evaluation routines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional rating systems based on multiple matches over time are used, then rating accuracy is improved, but the time required to obtain a rating increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The ball machine performs preliminary evaluation actions by automatically delivering shots and measuring player responses before a formal rating is needed. The system pre-assesses player capabilities through structured evaluation routines that simulate match conditions, establishing a baseline rating without requiring extensive match history.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball machine acts as an intermediary between players and the rating system. It objectively measures player performance metrics (shot accuracy, reaction time, placement precision) and translates these into rating values, eliminating the need for multiple human-observed matches while maintaining measurement consistency.
2Ease of operation
If subjective evaluation by pros/coaches is used to determine start ratings, then initial rating assignment is simplified, but rating consistency deteriorates due to varying criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The ball machine performs self-evaluation by automatically delivering shots, tracking player responses, and calculating ratings without human intervention. The system uses embedded sensors and software to objectively measure performance metrics and generate consistent rating values based on predefined criteria applicable across all players.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms subjective evaluation into objective parameter-based assessment. Instead of relying on coach judgment, the ball machine measures quantifiable parameters such as shot accuracy percentage, reaction time in milliseconds, and placement precision, ensuring consistent and comparable ratings across different players and sessions.
3Measurement precision
If tennis-based evaluation criteria are used for all racquet sports, then tennis player ratings are maintained, but accuracy for alternative racquet sports deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The evaluation system dynamically adapts its criteria and shot sequences based on the selected racquet sport. When configured for pickleball, it emphasizes dink shot accuracy and kitchen zone placement; for platform tennis, it incorporates wall-play scenarios and larger court coverage shots. This dynamic reconfiguration maintains measurement precision for each sport while ensuring broad versatility across racquet disciplines.
Data Source
AI summary
A ball machine provides a sequence of shots to a player on a racquet court, where each shot corresponds to a predefined shot described by initial parameters that may be modified by difficulty modifiers. The returned shot of the player is monitored and evaluated by the ball machine to determine if the returned shot meets various success criteria, such as location, speed, height. When the player returns one or a certain amount of shots meeting the success criteria, the difficulty of the shots provided to the player is increased, which repeats until the player is no longer successfully able to consistently return shots that meet the success criteria. At this time, the evaluation routine may be terminated, the player's skill level is assessed.