Presumably he has a good idea of the possible market based on his digicue sales. I think this cue ball would have to work in tandem with the digicue to get a full set of meaningful data, so current digicue owners are probably the target market.
Is there a "smart" cue ball yet?
- Thread starter chenjy9
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Among other things a camera-based system would give you is measurement of cloth speed and cushion rebound. A huge advantage over a ball with a sensor in it is that it can constantly be upgraded with software changes.
Making consumer hardware is brutally difficult. It is quite a challenge to pull it off, especially something multi-disciplined like this. You always have to ask yourself what the value of the product is to your customers, why it is important, and why anybody would ever want it. If you can't come up with good answers then you are wasting your time and money.
I keep managing to answer all three questions with good answers.
The best alternative I have for a smart cue ball is one that lights up on the area where you should make contact with the cue ball.
Think of it as a follow through and visual aid trainer.
And then gives you feedback about if you contacted the correct area.
I did think about BB8 and a remote control cueball but that would just be for laughs.
Think of it as a follow through and visual aid trainer.
And then gives you feedback about if you contacted the correct area.
I did think about BB8 and a remote control cueball but that would just be for laughs.
I am not a hardware engineer, so I won't try to discuss what various sensors and composite material are or are not available to possibly make a smart cue ball. However, I do want to put this out there as food for thought.
How much of the current and hugely popular innovations we have in the world of billiards right now were the result of, from your perspective, a solution looking for a problem? Take low deflection or carbon fiber shafts for example. There is nothing wrong with a maple shaft. People can adjust to squirt. People can burnish wood to make it slick again. I am sure someone had the same thought once upon a time just like you about both products. Same with training cue balls with spin diagram and the countless of YouTube videos out there with each offering unique perspectives on improving aim and stroke. Why do those exist if all anyone has to do is "hit a ball a million times"? Simonis cloth is another great example; why would a historic textile company consider making cloth for pool tables? Additionally, why bother adding Teflon to pool tables? Doesn't the old cloth work just fine and dandy?
Innovative tech and data help us understand and appreciate the world around us better. It's absolutely fine if a smart cue ball might not be useful for you. Maybe you don't need additional help improving your game and practice sessions to where you are trying to get it. But surely you can appreciate that more precise and readily available information has historically and empirically help make lives and the world a better place?
Assuming the cue ball could work, it's much more portable than any camera based system.
That is a really good idea. Maybe it could start beeping as it approaches the pocket. Closer=>> faster
Sports have seen a huge influx of new technology that is just reporting on data. It'd be beyond naive to thing there isn't a pool oriented one that wouldn't sell.
But novelty gifts are timeless. I still vote for the beeper.
Would cost less and be easier to setup as well, therefore be more widely accessible.
That's a big reason I don't understand some of the reactions. Sports franchises invest hundreds of millions into statistic based groups. They put sensors on players and equipments to monitor heart rate, BMI, oxygen levels, steps, and speed. Dietitians help them keep track of calories, carbs, and proteins down to the individual ingredients and throughout the cooking process. In pool, people look for angle and speed combinations to break better. All of this is widely accepted and embraced. Yet, inquiring if there is a cue ball to help provide valuable data on hit location and stroke speed is ridicule worthy?
You probably already carry a camera-enabled system that has already replaced radar guns for measuring break shot speed.
Do I have one that will track RPMs on a ball over time without me needing to manually evaluate camera frames?
Yes there is a smart cue ball (sort of). This is from the Diamond website:
"Patented optical density sensor built into the ball return system allows the player to use Cyclop Billiard Balls with the professional grade Cyclop Cue Ball. No longer do the amateurs have to play with an over sized or magnetic cue ball."
The light shines through the cue ball and tells the table the cue ball has gone in the pocket, and the table diverts it to the cue ball chute.
"Patented optical density sensor built into the ball return system allows the player to use Cyclop Billiard Balls with the professional grade Cyclop Cue Ball. No longer do the amateurs have to play with an over sized or magnetic cue ball."
The light shines through the cue ball and tells the table the cue ball has gone in the pocket, and the table diverts it to the cue ball chute.
The sensor can tell the color-density difference.
Quit bitchin' already and go build it. You like the idea, some of us think its not needed. Deal with it. There's this new miracle drug, 'GROWACET', might want to get some. Look, you're on a forum full of pool players and you need a tad thicker skin to hang here.That's a big reason I don't understand some of the reactions. Sports franchises invest hundreds of millions into statistic based groups. They put sensors on players and equipments to monitor heart rate, BMI, oxygen levels, steps, and speed. Dietitians help them keep track of calories, carbs, and proteins down to the individual ingredients and throughout the cooking process. In pool, people look for angle and speed combinations to break better. All of this is widely accepted and embraced. Yet, inquiring if there is a cue ball to help provide valuable data on hit location and stroke speed is ridicule worthy?
It's a small matter of software.
Anybody on here play golf? Over the last 20-30yrs at least a billion dollars has been spent on all sorts of gadgets that guarantee a better game. Guess what? Overall scores/handicaps have not improved one iota over the same time-span. NO excuse for hard work/patience. This thing, if it ever happens, will end up in the junkpile of goofy gizmos.
Easy stuff? I have a camera on my table.It's a small matter of software.
Here is an article about Tiger Woods (I might know much about golf, but we can both agree that Tiger does) switching to new, prototype clubs over the years and is known to use gadgets like TrackMan and Full Swing Pro Series simulator to further elevate his game.
Now, gadgets and data will never replace practice and hard word. No one is remotely implying that. However, tech that can provide us with data that can be applied to practice if used intelligently will always be hugely invaluable.