Pickleball Swing Sensing for Realistic Impact Simulation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sports simulators fail to effectively simulate the game of pickleball, particularly in quantifying and evaluating player form, technique, and strategy, limiting the ability to improve performance.

Innovation Solution

A system and method utilizing sensors to capture the swing of a pickleball paddle, detect impacts with physical or virtual balls, and display the trajectory of virtual balls, combined with software to provide feedback and training recommendations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If existing sports simulators are used, then general sports simulation is possible, but pickleball-specific simulation capability and performance evaluation are insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepickleball simulation capabilityVSAvoidperformance evaluation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the simulation parameters to be pickleball-specific, including paddle geometry, ball physics properties, court dimensions, and player movement constraints. This specialized parameter configuration enables accurate simulation of pickleball gameplay and reliable performance evaluation metrics tailored to the sport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If physical pickleball simulation is implemented, then realistic gameplay is achieved, but measurement and detection complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegameplay realismVSAvoidimpact detection complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces sensors as intermediary devices to detect paddle-ball impacts. These sensors act as mediators between the physical gameplay and the simulation system, capturing impact data without requiring direct complex measurement of the impact itself. The sensors simplify the detection process while maintaining gameplay realism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces direct mechanical impact measurement with sensor-based detection and virtual physics simulation. Instead of mechanically analyzing the impact, the system uses sensors to detect impact events and then simulates the ball trajectory using computational physics models, reducing mechanical measurement complexity while maintaining realism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Measurement precision

If sensor-based impact detection is added, then performance quantification is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveperformance quantification accuracyVSAvoidsystem component count

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The sensor system is designed with multi-functionality to reduce overall system complexity. The same sensors used for impact detection also provide data for trajectory analysis, spin detection, and performance evaluation. This universal data collection approach improves measurement precision without proportionally increasing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20260014437A1Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media storing instructions for simulating pickleball

Publication Date: 2026.01.15 TRUGOLF HOLDINGS INC

AI summary

Methods of simulating a sport may involve, for example, capturing, utilizing one or more sensors, a swing of a pickleball paddle. An impact of the pickleball paddle with a physical pickleball may be detected or an impact of the pickleball paddle with a first virtual pickleball may be determined. A display may display a trajectory of a second virtual pickleball responsive to detecting the impact of the pickleball paddle with the physical pickleball or of the first virtual pickleball responsive to determining the impact of the pickleball paddle with the first virtual pickleball.