System for Interactive Sports Training Utilizing Real-Time Metrics and Analysis

Abstract

This document presents a system and method for installing a free-floating sensor mechanism within a ball and collecting sensor measurements from the ball during sports activity. The ball is one portion of the system, which includes sensors associated with the field, the goal or scoring portion of the field, and sensors within a wearable unit associated with players on the field. The data measurements from all sensors and the identification of the origin of the sensor measurements provide the smart sport system with the capability of providing metrics and analysis of the ball movement, player movement, and drill activities to permit players and coaches to improve and optimize player and team action on the field of play.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This Non-Provisional application claims under 35 U.S.C. §120, the benefit of the Provisional Application 62/371,378, filed Aug. 5, 2016, Titled “System for Interactive Sports Training Utilizing Real-Time Metrics and Analysis”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

Athletic training systems are used by athletes to increase skill at their chosen athletic endeavor through recording athletic practice sessions, analysis of the recorded visual and metric data to determine trends and changes in an athlete's performance, and implementing these changes to an athlete's performance. Such training systems work very well to increase the skill level of one or more athletes when in a practice environment. However data capture and analysis systems that may be used during an athletic contest are more difficult to implement and operate in real time during a game or other athletic activity.

Performance measurements that incorporate sensors that are associated with an item of athletic equipment do permit some data collection and analysis of metrics. A ball that incorporates a sensor suite, as well as a transceiver, within the skin of a ball has been used in soccer competitions, as an example, to attempt to collect such metric data on kicks, touches, direction, and velocity in an attempt to provide data for later analysis of performance of athletes in competition. Such systems readily encompass data from the ball in use, but do not provide for data from other important elements that are on the field of competition and which do have an effect upon the outcome of the competition.

Additional systems have not yet been fully integrated into the data capture and analysis of a competition as a whole. Such systems could provide for additional diagnostic and performance characteristics that generally occur only under the heightened adrenaline and stress levels of a game time performance, both for athletes and for the equipment being used during such competitions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain illustrative embodiments illustrating organization and method of operation, together with objects and advantages may be best understood by reference to the detailed description that follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of the smart sport system implementation consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the contact mechanism to be placed within a ball used with the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view of a physical model of the contact mechanism to be placed within a ball used in the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view of the data flow within a system implementation consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is presents a view of the individual data flow for each player using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a display view of the data flow for each player and associated ball using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operational flow diagram for the smart sports system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is presents a view of the display for an individual data flow for a player using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure of such embodiments is to be considered as an example of the principles and not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown and described. In the description below, like reference numerals are used to describe the same, similar or corresponding parts in the several views of the drawings.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality”, as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled”, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Reference throughout this document to “one embodiment”, “certain embodiments”, “an embodiment” or similar terms means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments without limitation.

Reference throughout this document to a “ball” refers to any shape of ball that may have a hollow, inflatable central portion and is used in the normal operation and performance of a sporting activity. In a non-limiting example, a ball may refer to a basketball, football, soccer ball, rugby ball, tennis ball, or any other ball having a hollow interior and used in the performance of a sports activity.

In an embodiment, the system and method may consist of sports equipment such as a ball that may contain a structure designed to capture impacts on the surface of the ball. The impact on the surface of the ball is captured as impact information. The impact information provides an indication of the force of the impact, point of impact, direction of spin, and duration of contact. This information may be stored within a memory associated with a circuit board embedded within the exterior surface of the ball. The circuit board may also contain a near field communication circuit that is enabled to transmit the collected impact information from the sports equipment to an external server where the external server and data storage may be implemented as cloud storage and a cloud service. The circuit board may also be encased in a lozenge of impact resistant material that is also transparent to radio frequency signals.

The system server may accumulate the data received from the ball and perform an analysis on the data in real time. The analysis module in the system server may recognize the exercise or drill being performed by the user from the impact information without human intervention. This recognition may be performed by comparing the collected impact information with stored profiles for the particular drill impact information to identify and present to the user the drill or skill the user is working on as the exercise proceeds. The system may also provide analysis data for comparison with any past performance the system has recorded and stored in an electronic database associated with the system server.

Overall System Implementation:

In an exemplary embodiment, in this smart sports system the ball, wearable system components, and vision vest may communicate with one another and wirelessly stream data back to the field pods. The data streamed to the field pods will be streamed wirelessly to a server implementation in the cloud. The data will then be held in the cloud where system algorithms may manipulate and analyze the data and send it to a device having a processor such as a personal computer, laptop, network computer, iPad, tablet, mobile phone, smart phone, smart watch, or any other device having the ability to receive data wirelessly and display the received data to a user.

The smart sports net may communicate with the ball, wearable, and/or vision vest. The smart sports net may be implemented utilizing multiple sensors in addition to the sensor mechanism inserted within the ball used in the performance of the sports activity. The sensors may be embedded in a goal structure, emplaced within a wearable item of clothing such as a vest to be worn by a user, embedded within or associated with shoes worn while the user is participating in the sports activity, and associated with one or more sensor emplacements on or surrounding the field of play. The sensor emplacements and the communication between each element in which a sensor is emplaced will allow the system to track where the on the playing field the shot was taken and the result of the shot. This data may include whether the player missed the goal or made the shot and where in the goal the ball crossed the invisible plane that forms the scoring delimiter for the game being played.

The wearable and vision vest will provide instant real-time feedback through visual, verbal, and/or haptic feedback.

In an embodiment, the overall system will place “field tracking pods” in the corners of the field. These pods will communicate wirelessly to the smart ball, player wearable, and smart vest to provide immediate feedback to the player/coach. The information from these devices will stream wirelessly to the cloud and then sent to a mobile device.

The information gathered from various sensor pods may include, but is not limited to:

Game Summary:

• • Shots
  • Shots on goal
  • Saves
  • Offsides
  • Fouls
  • Free kicks

Player Information:

• • Number of touches
  • Touch breakdown per region
  • Quickness of play (Speed of play)
  • Passes made
  • Passes received
  • Giveaways (balls lost)
  • Balls won
  • Timeline of touches
  • Goals
  • Assists
  • Shots on Goal
  • Tendency of Passes (Negative or Positive)
  • Player tendencies in specific regions of field
  • 1 Touch passes
  • Passing channels
  • Quality of First touch
  • Ball Mastery (player scoring on drills)
  • Goalkeeper positioning
  • Match ranking
    Individual Development: (Associated with Private Training)
  • Speed of dribbling
  • Efficiency of drill
  • Quality of drills (overall scoring)
  • Control Percentage
  • Distance/direction
  • Strike on ball
  • Number of touches (Left/Right)
  • Player ranking

Team Information:

• • Team shape (based on game being played)
  • Passing channels
  • Shots by position
  • Number of shots
  • Balls won/lost chart
  • Number of touches
  • Touch breakdown per region
  • Passing percentage
  • Team tendencies
  • Combinations between players
  • Movement on and off of the ball
  • Quality of passing
  • Quality of first touch

In this embodiment, the wearable will be able to able to track various data points and provide feedback based on the selected drill to the player/coach through visual, audio, or haptic feedback. The wearable could be worn on the ankle, leg, wrist, shoe, or waist band of the player and may communicate with other wearables, the ball, smart net, vest, and field pods. The information gathered will include but not limited to:

• • Number of touches on the ball
  • Differentiate between left and right foot
  • Swing path of players striking foot
  • Distance of plant foot
  • Quality of first touch
  • Quickness of touches

In this embodiment, the Smart net is a set of sensors attached to the posts of a goal and/or embedded in and around a playing field that create an invisible plain. These sensors will communicate wirelessly with the ball, wearables associated with each player, and vision vests that may be associated with players, coaches, and/or referees to determine the location/accuracy of the players shot in relationship to the goal, as well as track made and missed shots.

For individual training the player will wear two wearable devices (described above), which will connect wirelessly to the sensors inside of the soccer ball, as well as to the smart net sensors. The ball, wearables, and smart net will communicate wirelessly to a PC or mobile device using near field communication capability such as, in a non-limiting example, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) or WiFi direct. The data may then be stored in cloud-based storage, which can then be streamed wirelessly to a PC or mobile device to provide feedback to the user.

Mobile Application:

Players

This portion of the mobile application may contain a list of training categories players are able to choose from to help in their development. These categories include Skill Training, Workouts, Challenges, Head 2 Head, and Training Academy. After every drill players will receive instant feedback on their performance. Feedback will come from the visual, verbal, or haptic feedback done by the wearable or on the mobile device. The smart sports system will analyze each drill through machine learning, as well as utilizing advanced algorithms to analyze and provide results for each drill performed and captured.

Skill Training:

In a non-limiting example, training in the game of soccer requires a skill set that may be detected, measured, and analyzed to assist players in improving the skill set required to improve performance in the game. In this non-limiting example of Skill Training, players are able to choose from various training categories such as Dribbling, Ball Striking, Ball Mastery, Juggling, Passing/Receiving, and Aerial Control. This is a way for players to pick and choose which drills they would like to work on. This is strictly for practice. They are also able to share their results.

Dribbling:

• • This category will have several variations of cone dribbling, from two cone, to straight line, to zig-zag, figure eight as well many more. These variations include but are not limited to:
  • Inside chop
  • Outside chop
  • Sole
  • Outside foot
  • Inside foot
  • Figure 8
  • Zig-Zag
  • Cruyff
  • Small touches
  • Big Touches
  • Feints
  • Scissor
  • Stepover
  • L-Pulls
  • Slide turn
  • Slide catch
  • Outside-Inside

Ball Mastery:

• • Toe taps
  • Side to side
  • Rolls
  • L-Pulls
  • Stepovers
  • Scissors
  • V-Pull
  • Roll Outs
  • Sides then Sole
  • Outside-Inside
  • Back chop
  • Roll stepover
  • Slide Catch

Ball Striking:

• • Shooting with power
  • Shooting with power across goal
  • High inside bend
  • Low inside bend
  • Outside of the foot bend
  • Chip
  • Side Volley
  • Half volley
  • Knuckle

Juggling:

• • Laces
  • Inside
  • Outside
  • Alternating
  • Toe flick

Passing:

• • Inside bend
  • Outside push
  • Outside bend
  • Low Driven
  • High Driven
  • Lofted
  • One touch
  • Two touch
  • Scoop
  • Receiving stationary pass

Aerial Control:

• • Laces
  • Inside of foot
  • Outside of foot
  • Thigh
  • Head
  • Chest
  • Cruyff

Workouts:

In the Workout section of the app players will work through various levels of training drills. In this section of drills, the players are competing not only against themselves, but also against the system. The first level is the easiest and they progressively get harder. As you pass a level new drills appear.

Challenges:

The Challenge section of the app will have two options to choose from. They are Social Challenge and Predetermined Challenge.

The Social Challenge allows players to choose from a range of drills and record themselves as well as their results. From there players post their results and can choose to challenge their friends or have the system randomly pick someone who has a similar skill level.

Predetermined Challenges are drills that AthloTech comes up with for the community of players. Players can choose which challenges they would like to participate in and see where they compare to the rest of the AthloTech community. Players will also have the option to upload videos for other players to see their techniques and compare them against their own in a side-by-side video feature.

Head 2 Head:

This section allows players who are saved to the account to compete against one another in various drills.

Training Academy:

The Training Academy is an online academy where the system generates a daily training session for players based off of their skill level, strengths and weaknesses, and overall score. Players do not have to go through the hassle of scrolling through hundreds of drills. Everything is right there in front of them. All they have to do is hit start.

If players would like to make adjustments they are able to do so. Adjustments can include area of focus, number of drills, length of drills, length of training academy (number of days) etc.

Coach View:

The coach portion of the app will present displays of information to allow coaches to add players, manage their teams, see individual and team data, send homework to players, as well as provide feedback.

To send homework, coaches are able to select certain players and the drills they would like those players to perform. The players will then get a notification saying they have homework from their coach. After the players have performed the homework they receive scores and feedback from AthloTech as well as have their scores sent to the coach for confirmation.

If the coach does not want to go through the process of choosing players and the drills, we have an Automated Homework option where our system picks the homework drills based of the players individual skill level and sends them to the player. In an embodiment, herein is disclosed a system for data collection and analysis in a sports activity having a processor wirelessly connected to a plurality of sensors. The system may also have one or more sensors associated with a ball associated with said sports activity, one or more sensors associated with system components being worn by one or more individuals participating in said sports activity, and one or more sensors associated with field pods installed in contact with a venue within which said sports activity is performed.

The system may aggregate data from each sensor collecting data from a ball, system components being worn by participants, and installed field pods, where each sensor communicates at least some portion of collected data from each sensor with each other sensor. Additionally, each sensor may communicate all collected data wirelessly to the processor, where the processor is active to store the collected data and provide any portion of the collected data to one or more users on a display associated with the processor. Additionally, the processor may have a wireless communication connection from the processor to an external server.

In an embodiment, the system may have a ball having a hollow center portion enclosing an impact sensor element, a motion tracking element, and a near field communication device. The ball may have an impact sensor element that further includes a contact measurement mechanism.

Wearable system components being worn by participants may include vests, armbands, woven patches, other articles of clothing, and/or mobile devices that are attached to participants during participation in an athletic activity without interfering with a participant's freedom of motion.

Field pods associated with the system may include impact resistant housings, and are in dynamic communication with any wireless capable scoring system associated with said venue. The field pods may be embedded into the surface of the venue.

The system analyzes all collected data in real-time, providing a composite analysis on a display in communication with a server, where the display is visible to one or more players, coaches, or other spectators. The system may also have a sensor installed within one or more scoring positions within the venue. The collected data from the venue is provided to a server where the analysis of real-time data provides tracking of made and missed shots, location of the shot in one or more scoring positions, tracking ball position on the field, positions of players on the field, and positions of officials when required, and displaying all position and location data on a display visible to participants, coaches, and other authorized individuals.

Turning now to FIG. 1, this figure presents a view of the smart sport system implementation consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the smart sport system may facilitate use by both individuals 100 and organizations 106 to monitor, track, manage, and analyze data from all component parts of the smart sport system. These operations may permit individual users, coaches, managers, and data analysts to collect data about the performance of individuals 100 and team members 106 while using the smart sport system and design drills, plays, strategies, and coordination to improve performance of individuals and/or teams. A primary facet of the smart sport system is the installation with a ball 104, where the ball has a hollow center portion, of a sensor suite, impact and motion tracking element, and near field communication device. The sensor suite may be composed of a variety of sensors, as will be described later, attached to an impact and motion tracking element. When the ball is in motion and when the ball is struck, the impact and motion tracking element may deform or move in relation to the motion or impact. The sensors association with the motion tracking element will collect data about the range of motion, the direction and angular motion, height of the ball with relation to the ground, speed, spin, and force of any impact and transmit this information to the processor associated with the near field communication device 102. Data may also be collected from the venue 108 in which sensors collect data for transmission. This collected data may then be transmitted to a server, mobile device, or other communications relay point to transmit the data to a server located within the cloud 110.

In addition, the processor embedded within the ball may interact with other sensors and devices associated with the smart sport system. In a non-limiting example, the goal or other scoring element may have sensors associated with the goal to determine when the ball 104 has broken the imaginary plane that indicates a scoring action. This data, as well as data indicating the location of the ball in relation to the scoring element or in relation to field sensors 108, may be saved to the smart sport system for real time display of ball position or subsequent analysis for ball tracking and play progression. Additional elements of the smart sport system may include sensors embedded within the field of play, or installed within pods that are associated with the field of play, sensors included in wearable devices that are worn by each player, sensors embedded within a vest worn by players, coaches, or referees, and mobile devices that are associated with players, coaches, referees, or permitted observers. Each of these sensors and elements of the system may transmit collected sensor data to the server, whether cloud-based or dedicated 110, to be stored and analyzed.

In this embodiment, the collected data may be analyzed in real-time to provide individuals 100 or team players 106 with statistical or visual representations of the movement of the ball, player, or relative positioning of each player on the field, the ball, and any other individual within the sphere of sensor detection 114. Additionally, the collected and stored data may be analyzed by one or more modules or algorithms to provide tracking and management information for display on a computer display screen, mobile device screen, or any other display device 116. The data created by the analysis modules and algorithms may be displayed to one or more users on any display device and may be saved in digital storage associated with cloud-based storage for later retrieval and use.

The tracking and analyzed data may be used by individuals to provide metrics and visual displays of the individual's performance in drills or in games 114. Larger data sets may be created that showcase multiple players providing an ability for a game coach or manager to improve strategic placement and movement actions either during a game being played or in later analytical sessions with the players and other coaches and managers 116. The smart sport system may provide data to both individuals and organizations to promote improved performance in individual, group, or team play by tracking and analyzing collected sensor data from the ball, the scoring element (such as a soccer goal), field sensor pods, sensor data from wearables, and sensor data from other elements such as overhead cameras or drones that also report sensor data to the smart sport system. This complex web of data from sensors installed throughout the elements of the smart sport system permits the tracking, analysis, monitoring, and management of all of the data associated with drills, practice, and game play on an ongoing basis 112.

Turning now to FIG. 2, this figure presents a view of the contact mechanism to be placed within a ball used with the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, a ball used in a sporting activity may be a hollow sphere into which a sensor suite and measurement mechanism may be inserted. The measurement mechanism may have a plurality of “poles”, as shown in the figure as A₁-A₃, B₁-B₃, C₁-C₃, and D₁-D₃. In this non-limiting embodiment, the “poles” in the structure would be embedded with sensors and those “poles” would add additional data points that are collected by the sensors. Data from the sensors is collected when there is an impact or other motion of the ball that causes the poles to move or shift and come into contact with the interior surface of the ball. The sensors may be activated when a player impacts the ball by hitting or kicking the ball, or when the ball comes into contact with any surface such as the surface of the field of play, a goal post, a player, or any other surface on or near the playing field.

In this exemplary embodiment, the poles themselves are interconnected such that when one pole moves the connection also may cause some movement or shift in other poles in the mechanism. The interconnection may be made by an elastic type material, or other material, that connects one end of a pole to another pole in a particular configuration. The configuration may be established such that particular poles are held in a position with relation to additional poles such that when that physical configuration is moved, shifted, or disturbed, such as when the exterior surface of the ball is struck or otherwise impacted, a series of sensor measurements is transmitted from the ball to the smart sport system processor or cloud based system. The poles may be configured such that the construction of the poles is a known set of relationships. This may permit the mathematical determination of impact, impact strength, spin, velocity, and trajectory based upon which poles, and in what sequence, come into contact with the interior surface of the ball and the known time between sensor measurements. The sensor mechanism is free-floating within the hollow space in the interior of the ball and transmits the sensor measurements to a processor and data communication capability embedded within the exterior skin of the ball.

Turning now to FIG. 3, this figure presents a view of a physical model of the contact mechanism to be placed within a ball used in the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the figure presents a non-limiting example of the impact detection sensor mechanism that is installed within the hollow portion of a ball used in the field of play 300.

Turning now to FIG. 4, this figure presents a view of the data flow within a system implementation consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, a system implementation may consist of sensors installed within a ball 400, within or in proximity to a scoring position on the field, such as a goal placement 402, installed within a wearable device attached to a user 404, and within a vision vest that may be worn by players or officials on the field 406. The output from the sensors consists of data streams that are collected at a wireless access point 408. The data from these devices is streamed to the cloud from the wireless access point 410. The cloud may contain a virtual server, data storage, and algorithms to analyze the data and send instant feedback to the user. The cloud system communicates with a local wireless access point 412 that is active to stream the data to a server 414 associated with the system. The system will also send feedback to a system server, computer system, laptop, iPad, tablet, mobile device, smart phone, and any other device having a wireless communication capability and display that may be observed by a user (416, 418).

The smart net will communicate with the ball 400, goal 404, and/or wearable 402 and send data to the cloud 412 where pre-configured algorithms may analyze the data and provide feedback to the user on a device associated with the user (416, 418). The smart net will track made and missed shots as well as the location of the shot in the goal, and may also track ball position on the field, positions of players on the field, as well as positions of officials when required.

Turning now to FIG. 5, this figure presents a view of the individual data flow for each player using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the individual system uses a similar approach where the ball 400 and wearable 402 communicate with one another to provide instant real-time feedback. The data from these two devices is streamed to the cloud 412 where pre-configured algorithms analyze the data and send instant feedback to the user in any of visual, verbal, or haptic feedback. The system will also send feedback to any device associated with the user such as a mobile device or smart phone (416, 418).

The smart net will communicate with the ball 400 and/or wearable 402 and send data to the cloud where pre-configured algorithms will analyze the data and provide feedback to the user on any mobile device associated with the user (416, 418). The smart net will track made and missed shots, speed, direction, as well as the location of the shot in the goal.

Turning now to FIG. 6, this figure presents a display view of the data flow for each player and associated ball using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, a soccer ball 600 may have one or more sensors installed within the ball 600 and be configured to measure activity by the ball 600 and interaction between the ball 600 and one or more users or players. In this example, the soccer ball 600 may contain one or more sensors including, but not limited to, accelerometers, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and an altimeter. The soccer ball 600 may also contain a power unit containing a battery and recharging capability, a microcontroller having a digital memory, a signal processor and the capability to communicate with devices exterior to the soccer ball 600 through the use of near field communication standards such as Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), as well as other near field communication capabilities. The soccer ball may be configured to collect speed, direction, touches, velocity, and height, among other parameters, and transmit these sensor readings to a cloud based processing capability or to a mobile device associated with a user.

Additionally, a sensor package may be installed within a wearable unit that is associated with a user 602. The wearable unit sensor package may include, but is not limited to, sensors such as an accelerometer, altimeter, and gyroscope, among other sensors that may be installed as required to meet the collection of data points desired by the user. The wearable unit may also have a battery and recharge capability and have the capability to communicate with devices exterior to the soccer ball through the use of near field communication standards such as Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), as well as other near field communication capabilities. The wearable unit may collect data measurements and transmit the data points to a cloud-based application or transmit the data measurements directly to a mobile device associated with a user 604.

Turning now to FIG. 7, this figure presents an operational flow diagram for the smart sports system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. This exemplary embodiment presents the operational steps for the use of a sports ball utilizing the smart sports system. The smart sports system is initialized for use and placed in a wait state until one or more sensors are activated by use of the ball 700. The system detects when a ball is in motion through the activation of one or more sensors embedded within the sports ball 702. If the ball is not determined to be in motion, the system will log the information received and return to a wait state 700 until the ball is placed in motion.

If the ball is in motion at 704, the sensors, which may include accelerometers, an altimeter, gyroscope, magnetometer and other sensors as necessary, collect measurements about any impact on the ball, the height of the ball, location of the ball, spin imparted to the ball, and any other measurements the sensor suite is capable of collecting. The sensor measurements are transmitted through a near field communication and other communication capability to a cloud-based or local processor suite. The sensor measurements are also logged and stored within a digital memory. An analysis module calculates the rotation of the ball based upon the captured sensor measurements 706. The analysis module is operative to calculate the speed of the ball 708, and the force applied to the ball from the contact with the ball as well 710. The calculated measurements are stored in the digital memory and also displayed to a user on a mobile device in communication with the smart sport system.

The sensor suite continues to collect measurements and transmit them to the smart sport system until a pause in the movement of the ball indicates that the ball is no longer in motion 712. If the ball continues in motion, the sensor suite continues to collect measurements and transmit these measurements to the smart sport system. If the lack of motion indicates that the play may have ended, the smart sport system initiates the analysis module to calculate the total number of impacts, called touches, on the ball 714. If a single player is performing a drill, these touches are logged in a file associated with that player 714. If the ball is being used in a game or in drills that simulate shots in a game, the smart sport system may also perform a calculation to plot the ball's projected trajectory from the collected sensor measurements 716.

The sensor measurements and calculated values created from the sensor measurements, permit a user to understand how their action with the ball may be improved to achieve better performance when striking a ball. Alternatively, the sensor measurements and calculated values may permit a player, or a coach, to study the player's interaction with the ball to foster training and improvement in the player's interaction with the ball.

The smart sport system may also combine sensor measurements from the wearable device associated with a player, from the ball, from the goal, from the field, and from other sources such as vests or sensors associated with an umpire, in a non-limiting example, to permit evaluations on the performance and accuracy of a plurality of players. In this manner, an entire team of players may be analyzed to determine how improvements of patterns of play may be implemented either by players or coaches.

Turning now to FIG. 8, this figure presents a view of the display for an individual data flow for a player using the system consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention. In this exemplary embodiment, a display is created for a mobile device that may contain results from the analysis of captured sensor data for an individual using the smart sport system to perform a drill or exercise 800. The drill or exercise may be pre-configured as to the type of drill to be performed, the parameters of the drill, the number of times the drill is to be performed, and have a place holder for coach or manager feedback. In this non-limiting example, a player has chosen or been assigned a drill that is associated with juggling a soccer ball. The drill has been pre-configured to collect information regarding the foot to use, the number of times the ball should be touched or juggled, whether the ball remains in control, the height of the ball, and any angular velocity imparted to the ball which results in spin.

As the user performs the drill, the sensors within the ball and any sensors associated with a wearable device on the user will collect measurements. The measurements may be sent to the cloud or dedicated server through the near field communication capability of the processor embedded within the ball and in the wearable device. The cloud or dedicated server will then analyze the motion of the ball and the user based upon algorithms capable of creating the metrics to be displayed. The metrics and analysis may be provided to the user in a personalized display on a mobile device associated with the user, or any other display device on which the visual data may be displayed. The data may also be transmitted to a coach or manager for feedback input for the user. The coach or manager may enter a text string indicated instructions and comments for the user as feedback on their performance, or to indicate the next drill or exercise to be performed. The sensor data, all analysis, and the feedback may be stored in a digital database for later recall and use in tracking and trend analysis for the user performance.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description.

Claims

1. A system for data collection and analysis in a sports activity, comprising:

a processor wirelessly connected to a plurality of sensors;

one or more sensors associated with a ball associated with said sports activity;

one or more sensors associated with system components being worn by one or more individuals participating in said sports activity;

one or more sensors associated with field pods installed in contact with a venue within which said sports activity is performed;

each sensor collecting data from said ball, said system components being worn by participants, and said field pods;

each sensor communicating at least some portion of collected data from each sensor with each other sensor; and

each sensor communicating all collected data wirelessly to said processor, where said processor is active to store said collected data and provide any portion of said collected data to one or more users on a display associated with said processor.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a ball having a hollow center portion enclosing an impact sensor element, a motion tracking element, and a near field communication device.

3. The system of claim 2, where said impact sensor element further comprises a contact measurement mechanism.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication connection from said processor to an external server.

5. The system of claim 1, where said system components being worn by participants further comprise vests, armbands, woven patches, other articles of clothing, and/or mobile devices that are attached to participants during participation in an athletic activity without interfering with a participant's freedom of motion.

6. The system of claim 1, where said field pods further comprise impact resistant housings, and are in dynamic communication with any wireless capable scoring system associated with said venue.

7. The system of claim 1, where said field pods are embedded into the surface of the venue.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising analyzing all collected data in real-time, providing a composite analysis on a display in communication with a server, where said display is visible to one or more players, coaches, or other spectators.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor installed within one or more scoring positions within the venue.

10. The system of claim 8, where the analysis of real-time data provides tracking of made and missed shots, location of the shot in one or more scoring positions, tracking ball position on the field, positions of players on the field, and positions of officials when required; and

displaying all position and location data on a display visible to participants, coaches, and other authorized individuals.