The Slam Dunk competition at the NBA All Star game (Feb. 25 at 8pm Eastern on TNT) will feature the Object-Based Media Group's Slam Force basketball net, which measures the energy of a dunk.
A basketball net incorporates segments of conductive fiber whose resistance changes with degree of stretch. By measuring this resistance over time, hardware associated with this net can calculate force and speed of a basketball traveling through the net. Applications include training, toys that indicate the force and speed on a display, “dunk competitions,” and augmented reality effects on television broadcasts. This net is far less expensive and more robust than other approaches to measuring data about the ball (e.g., photosensors or ultrasonic sensors) and doesn’t require a physical change to the hoop or backboard other than providing electrical connections to the net. Another application of the material is a flat net that can measure velocity of a ball hit or pitched into it (as in baseball or tennis), and can measure position as well (e.g., for determining whether a practice baseball pitch would have been a strike).
Video
Courtesy of Turner Sports
Researchers
Santiago Alfaro (Research assistant, PhD student)
V. Michael Bove Jr. (Group head, Principal Research Scientist)
Daniel Novy (Research assistant, MS student)
Selected Coverage
- BostInnovation: The MIT Media Lab Rates the Force Behind Monster Slam Dunks During NBA All-Star Weekend
- Wired: "New Net Measures the Force of Monster Dunks"
- USA Today: "New technology is a slam dunk for viewers"
- NBA.com: "MIT's Media Lab creates the Slam Net Force Meter for Saturday's Sprite Slam-Dunk Competition"
About the Object-Based Media Group
The Object-Based Media group creates systems that explore how sensing, understanding, and new interface technologies can change everyday life, the ways in which we communicate with one another, storytelling, and entertainment.
Contact
Alexandra Kahn
MIT Media Lab
akahn [at] media [dot] mit [dot] edu
