Sensors in Vibrado sleeve help you nail basketball shots
Tech Industry
-Some people are bored to play basketball.
Others are less skilled.
But advances in wearable technology may offer hope for the hopeless like me.
This sleeve is embedded with sensors that can boost your basketball game.
-We can actually model how the ball is gonna-- you know, trajectory the ball as it leaves your hand.
-The wearable device was developed by Vibrado Technologies, a spin-off from Carnegie
Mellon University.
The goal is for you to shoot more consistently and have good form.
To do that, the sleeve uses three sensor modules.
One on the bicep, the second on the forearm, the third on the back of the hand.
-Little small sensor nodes.
Each sensor node has a three-access gyroscope, three-access accelerometer, and a three-access compass.
And so, that can very accurately detect where it is in space.
-Using that data, a speaker built into the sleeve provides immediate feedback.
A buzz signals poor form.
But after a good shot, there's a victory tone.
A companion app drills into the data further, telling you the exact angle of your wrist, the height of your arm, and more.
-What we're gonna do is say, the one thing you need to do is work and gain that wrist through.
Or the one thing you need to do is keep that elbow in.
We want to give you the one concrete thing that will make you a better performer.
-Vibrado says all athletes, whether kids or pros, stand to benefit.
It's already tapped youth basketball coach Deric Thompson to test
the technology.
His take, the sleeve is a slam dunk.
-Any experiences is off chart.
I have muscle memory now.
-Of course, basketball also requires solid, if not fancy, footwork.
So, Vibrado's future plans include a leg sleeve, as well as a full body suit that would work for other sports.
The sleeve is expected to cost around $200, and starts selling in late 2014.
I'll just put my hoop dreams on hold 'till then.
In San Francisco, I'm Sumi
Das, CNET for CBS News.
-That's perfect.
