Smart Ball A Ball Tracking System Dorian Chen Stephen Gu Constance Lu

Students Dorian Chen – EECS 2 nd year Stephen Gu – EECS 4 th year Constance Lu – EECS 2 nd year

Students Background EECS coursework – Programming experience (Java) – Circuitry – Signals and systems Musical background (i.e., piano)

Area of Interest Electrical engineering – Hardware: circuits, electronics – Software: programming, graphics Its relation to today’s world – Popular gadgets (e.g., iPhone) – Everyday use (e.g., TV, computer) – Internet (e.g., Facebook)

Ball Tracking Tracking device inside ball keeps track of its location within the field on an xyz axis Sensors around the field – GPS – Optical – Wireless – Bluetooth – Cell technology Data is visualized and sent to the referee

Ball Tracking: Diagram Ball Tracking Sensor Field

Ball Tracking: Diagram Information from the field sensors Graphic visualization Referee

Ball Tracking: Pros and Cons Benefits – More precise refereeing – Improved viewership (and appease fans) – Cooler replays on TV Limitations/Challenges – Precision of current technology – Cost and durability of materials – Applicability to non-sport areas – Need to run a prior art search

Alternative Ideas iGuitar: Radio energy Refrigerator Printer Automatic check-out

iGuitar Attachment to iPhone that simulates playing an actual guitar

Radio Energy Radio waves generate electricity and prolong battery life without plugging in to charge radio waves Array of sensors Battery

Refrigerator / Printer Senses the amount of remaining inventory/ink; sends request to store via Wi-Fi

Automatic Check-out System senses the products that you have in your cart and adds up the price total Detector/Scanner System Inventory Database

Prior Art Search Ball tracking – Hawk-Eye: tracking system that displays the most statistically likely path of a ball – U.S. Patent 5,489,099: Apparatus and method for tracking the flight of a golf ball iGuitar – Using iPhone as the interface Radio energy – Nothing similar so far

Prior Art Search Refrigerator – U.S. Patent 6,204,763: Household consumable item automatic replenishment system including intelligent refrigerator Printer – U.S. Patent 5,689,288: Ink level sensor Automatic check-out – Nothing so far