Tennis Ball Trajectory Tracking for Confined Practice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tennis players face challenges in practicing their skills, such as hitting and returning balls, without monopolizing a real tennis court and dealing with the scarcity of tennis balls, especially in confined spaces or adverse weather conditions.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a launching device, an image detector, and a processor that calculates and stores trajectory characteristics of projectiles, allowing practice in confined spaces by propelling and tracking the trajectory of balls, using cameras or smartphones for image detection and processing, and providing feedback on virtual landing spots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a ball launcher is used to practice returning balls on a real court, then the player can see where returned balls land and practice directing balls to designated locations, but the entire tennis court is monopolized and a large supply of tennis balls is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the tennis court environment using image processing and display technology. Instead of requiring a physical court, the system projects a virtual court representation onto a wall or screen, allowing players to practice ball-returning skills with accurate visual feedback about where balls would land, without monopolizing a real court.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of a physical tennis court with an optical and computational system. Cameras capture ball trajectories, processors analyze the data, and displays show virtual court markings and landing zones, substituting physical infrastructure with electronic imaging and processing components.
2Ease of operation
If a ball launcher is used to practice returning balls, then the player can practice on a real court, but a large supply of tennis balls is required and time is spent picking up balls
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically tracking and displaying ball trajectories without requiring manual ball collection. The camera system continuously monitors ball flight, and the display automatically shows where balls land and where they should be aimed, allowing players to practice continuously without interrupting to pick up balls or manage ball supply.
3Productivity
If practice is carried out in an enclosed space without a ball, then swinging practice can be done frequently, but the absence of a ball limits effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual ball representation in the enclosed space that mimics the visual and spatial properties of a real ball. The system tracks the actual ball's trajectory and displays it as a virtual object that players can interact with visually, maintaining the effectiveness of ball-based practice while enabling frequent practice in confined indoor spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising a practice device for practice of hitting a tennis ball includes a server configured for serving the tennis ball to a user, a net disposed to intercept a flight of the tennis ball after the tennis bell has been hit by the user using a racket and to direct the captured tennis ball back towards the server to be served again to the user, an image detector configured to observe the tennis ball as the tennis ball hurtles towards the net, and a processor. The processor determines, based at least in part on image frames received from the image detector, data indicative of the tennis ball's virtual landing spot. This virtual landing spot is an estimate of where the tennis ball would have landed on an opposing court had the tennis ball not been intercepted by the net.