Design and Analysis of Smart Balls and Development of Coaching Techniques using ML

Project Title

Design and Analysis of Smart Balls and Development of Coaching Techniques using ML

Project Area of Specialization Mechatronics EngineeringProject Summary

Our project is about development of Smart balls using a new cost-effective method. This method can be applied to all sport balls (Basketball, cricket ball, soccer Ball etc.) with minor changes. It aims to help players improve and also to introduce new ways of coaching.

Our project involves 4 major phases.

• First, we will develop 3-D kinematic equations to that would govern the trajectory of the ball, its flight path and motion after hitting the ground. These equations would help us identify the variable which govern the path of the ball.
• After the variables have been identified, we will specify sensors and they would be placed inside the ball for the measurement of these variables. These sensors would be highly specific depending upon the size of the ball and the stresses it faces during game play.
• After that an interactive system must be designed that can take in data from the sensors and give visual trajectory results. Like a MATLAB program which will solve equations and give 3-D plots for the ball trajectory
• In the 4th Phase we would apply machine learning logics for 2 things:

• There are many constant whose values change with location, conditions and many other factors. They control the accuracy of path prediction. We would use our smart balls and record their trajectories by external means, such as high-speed cameras. These recorded trajectories would create a large data set and help us estimate these constant. Hence providing a major advantage that the accuracy of our smart balls would increase every time they have been used. NOTE: This phase is only to increase accuracy, project can do well without it. This process would be terminated once sufficient data is collected.
• They would also be used to improve coaching. Users would enter the trajectories they want the ball to follow, and our system would tell them the best values of variables that can be used to achieve the particular trajectory. In Lay Man Terms “It would tell how fast you need to pitch a cricket delivery at what spin rate to achieve the desired amount of swing.”

These smart balls would be designed keeping following principles in mind:

• The design should allow large scale manufacturing, to become a widely available product of the sports good industry.
• The balls could be used both in big international matches and also for domestic use.
• The size and weight or other properties must not differ from the balls which are in use today.
• The system should be user-friendly.

Project Objectives

The project has the following objectives:

• We would design smart balls that would trace the trajectory followed by the ball during its flight path and also after it bounces off the ground.
• These balls would help in player development of their respective sports at all levels. They would also provide new ways of coaching young talent which can prove extremely effective.
• They would be made available commercially, by designing them cost effectively and for large scale manufacturing.
• The system that would run with the smart balls, should require small computational power such that it can be used on a simple mobile phone or laptop. It should also be user-friendly.
• The balls would be designed such that they would have the same specifications (like weight) as internationally used balls.
• The system of trajectory calculation is designed in such a way that as its use increase it would provide larger data sets and so the accuracy would increase as well.
• The system of trajectory calculation would be made highly flexible so it can be applied to multiple sports with minor changes in the system.
• The trajectory calculation techniques would be based on available scientific data and mathematical modelling methods. Hence as the science behind it improves, so would our system.

Project Implementation Method

The phase by phase project implementation methods are provided below:

• In the first phase which is to develop the 3-D kinematic equations, we would identify the different forces which act on the ball during its flight. We will make a balance of these forces to find the net force equation. We would then split the equation according to the 3-D coordinates. We would solve each of them numerically using software like MATLAB to get the trajectory plot.
• In the next phase, which is to identify the sensors for variable measurement and place them in the ball, we would use datasheet of different sensors to find their specifications and then choose the best one for our needs. We would use Software like SOLIDWORKS to design sensor placement and to perform stress analysis, to see if the sensors would hold. We would also provide the sensors with wireless charging and wireless data transfer capabilities.
• Next we would make program on a Software such as MATLAB or Python to receive data from the sensors and use it for trajectory measurements.
• In the last phase we would make data set by playing with smart balls and store these data sets online on cloud so they can be used with any smart balls. Then different machine learning techniques would be applied to make trajectory variable predictions.
• After that manufacturing techniques and tools would be identified and tested using software such as SOLIDWORKS. This would help in creating a prototype or working model of the smart ball.

Benefits of the Project

Our project would have enormous benefits. Some of them are,

1. The smart balls we would make would prove revolutionary for many sports. New coaching methods would be introduced which would prove extremely efficient compared to the old techniques used. The results would be visible instantly on large screens.
2. This would help young talent in sports improve by providing them a clear and numerical estimation of their capabilities.
3. The smart balls would integrate sports good manufacturing with sensor and IC usage, hence providing new technology for the industry.
4. These smart balls can prove to be a very successful sports good in terms of sale.
5. This would replace the old and expensive equipment used nowadays in sports, like hawk-eye ball tracking system in cricket and tennis.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Our final deliverable would have the following technical instruments and capabilities.

1. The smart balls we would design would have sensors inside them that would calculate real-time values of velocity and spin rates.
2. These sensors must be powered electrically hence a small rechargeable battery or cell would be present which would have the capability of wireless charging.
3. Since we cannot take sensors out of the ball, hence they must have the capability to transfer data wirelessly.
4. A cloud storage such as google sheets would be used to store the data received from external sources like high speed cameras that would be used to improve the measuring system accuracy.
5. A program would be developed which would require low computational power and can be used on mobile phone or laptop like an app or a web page.
6. This program would perform trajectory calculations and would give visuals plots of the ball trajectories and numerical values of ball speed and spin instantly.
7. This program would also be linked to the cloud.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry OthersOther IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	80000
Sensors	Equipment	3	8000	24000
Wireless Charging system	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Wireless Data transfer System	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Manufacturing costs	Equipment	1	30000	30000
HIgh speed camera testings	Miscellaneous	1	10000	10000