Smart Ball Sensor Nesting in Cork Core
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of affordable and accessible technology for performance monitoring and improvement in sports, particularly in lower levels of cricket, where coaches and players lack easy-to-use tools to measure metrics such as bowling speed, relying heavily on personal intuition.
Innovation Solution
A smart ball with an embedded sensor assembly, including a cylindrical cavity and a motion-capture mechanism, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, secured by potting material, which transmits data to a microcontroller and wireless antenna for analysis, allowing for accurate measurement of motion parameters without affecting the ball's performance or weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sensor assembly is embedded in the ball, then performance monitoring capability is improved, but the ball's weight and performance may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor assembly is nested within a cylindrical cavity drilled into the inner sphere of the ball. The cavity houses the sensor assembly, battery, and charging port, with the outer sphere completely covering the inner sphere containing all electronic components. This nesting approach integrates the sensor system within the ball's existing structure without adding external weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor assembly is positioned at the center of the cylindrical cavity, which is located at the central core of the ball. This central positioning ensures that the sensor assembly is equidistant from all outer surfaces, minimizing its impact on the ball's overall weight distribution and performance characteristics while maximizing measurement accuracy.
2Ease of manufacture
If a cylindrical cavity is drilled into the inner sphere to house the sensor assembly, then sensor integration is improved, but the structural integrity of the ball may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cylindrical cavity is drilled into the inner sphere, and the sensor assembly is nested within this cavity. The outer sphere then completely covers the inner sphere, providing structural reinforcement to the areas around the cavity and maintaining the ball's overall strength despite the hollowed-out section.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball consists of an inner sphere containing the cylindrical cavity with sensor assembly, and an outer sphere that completely covers the inner sphere. This composite structure allows the cavity to be integrated while the outer sphere provides structural integrity, combining the benefits of sensor integration with maintained strength.
3Ease of manufacture
If the sensor assembly is positioned off-center, then manufacturing is simplified, but measurement accuracy and alignment with ball axes are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor assembly is positioned at the center of the cylindrical cavity, which is located at the central core of the ball. This central positioning ensures that the sensor assembly is equidistant from all outer surfaces, allowing orthogonal measurements to be aligned with the orthogonal axes of the ball, thereby maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor assembly is placed at the center of the cylindrical cavity, creating a position of geometric equivalence. This central location ensures that the sensor assembly is equidistant from all outer surfaces of the ball, providing an optimal position for measuring orthogonal parameters along the ball's orthogonal axes without introducing positional bias.
4Ease of manufacture
If the outer sphere is made from at least two halves stitched together, then ease of assembly is improved, but the seam may affect ball performance and aerodynamics
Solution Approach 1:
The outer sphere is divided into at least two halves that are stitched together to form a seam, allowing the ball to be assembled by joining separate components. This segmentation facilitates the integration of the inner sphere containing the sensor assembly with the outer sphere, enabling modular construction while maintaining complete coverage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables cost-effective performance monitoring and improvement by providing accurate data on spin, acceleration, orientation, and velocity, allowing for data-driven coaching and player analysis, enhancing the coaching and performance improvement ecosystem at lower levels of cricket.
Implementation Method 1
accelerometers
Implementation Method 2
gyroscopes
Implementation Method 3
magnetometers
Data Source
AI summary
A smart ball (100) comprising: an inner sphere portion (12) consisting of a cork like material and an outer sphere (19) that ensconces said inner sphere, said inner sphere further comprising: a cylindrical cavity (14), located substantially at the core of said ball, said cavity formed by drilling into said cork from an operative top side; a sensor assembly (16) placed in the centre of said cylindrical cavity along a reference plane defined by a locus of points wherein said points being collinear points running from a first end of said seam (18) to a second end of said seam, thereby ensuring that orthogonal measurements of said sensor assembly being aligned with orthogonal axes of said ball; and a charging port on said seam, said charging port connected to a battery placed in said cylindrical cavity and said battery connected to said sensor assembly.