Today, big basketball tech news was announced in anticipation of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Spalding, announced a multi-year partnership with ShotTracker, the manufacturer of wearable technology for basketball who recently achieved 1 million shots tracked. The first technology resulting from the partnership, a system that tracks real-time basketball performance stats in multiple-player environments, will debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
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“A multi-player product has always been ShotTracker’s ultimate goal, and our partnership with Spalding is key to reaching that objective,” said Davyeon Ross, COO of ShotTracker. “This technology is a true industry benchmark because it captures stats on multiple players at the same time and there’s nothing like it on the market. While many competitors have attempted to automatically capture stats on multiple players in real-time, ShotTracker and Spalding are the only companies to develop a solution that is commercially viable for use at all levels of play.”
Decawave, provides the chip technology for the ShotTracker system which is comprised of three components that communicate with each other to track player location and ball movement. This is done by placing a small tag on each player’s shoe and the ShotTracker-enabled Spalding basketball will connect with portable sensors placed around the court. The software involved generates a real-time shot chart for each player and automatically tracks other metrics such as possession, passes, assists and turnovers. Players and coaches can use this performance data to identify areas of strength and opportunity as well as inform game time strategy. Much like the current SportVU player tracking tech that the NBA has permanently installed in the arenas of all teams.
“For more than a century, Spalding has been a driver of innovation in the basketball category, and our partnership with ShotTracker signals our ongoing commitment on this front,” said Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spalding. “Analytics are changing how sports are played and impacting the game on many levels. We believe this trend is a remarkable opportunity for basketball. From players to coaches to fans and recruiters, there are many constituents that will benefit from real-time information on player performance.”
This multiple player technology will be available for preview on a mini basketball court at CES starting Jan. 6th at the ShotTracker-Spalding booth #74212 located in the Fitness & Technology area. While the new tech is demonstrating at CES 2016, the commercial product is set to be available for purchase Summer 2016. Consumers can find out more at ShotTracker.com.