At last, quantification seems to have finally made its way to where it’s actually important: Sports – baseball, in particular. Slovenia-based Scoutee has launched a $50,000 Kickstarter campaign for a smart radar that can measure the speed of baseball pitch and transfer the data to smartphone via Bluetooth.
The team behind Scoutee says its tool can help coaches and players who want to keep track of games and training sessions.
Instead of the traditional speed gun or special speed sensing balls to measure the speed of the pitch, Scoutee radar utilizes Doppler technology and claims an accuracy within ±1 mph. Its companion app for iOS and Android allows you to make quick notes regarding each tracked pitch, as well as record video with the speed data laid over.
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Scoutee radar, which is about the size of a soap bar, can be held by hand in the measurement process, as well as hung on a fence, put on a tripod, or snapped to a smartphone with a magnetic sticker. Its rechargeable battery lasts up to six hours of continuous measurement within a 130 feet (some 40 meters) range.
While Scoutee is aimed at baseball players and was founded by a former player of Slovenia’s national team, it can used for any other ball sports where the speed is important.
“We are starting with baseball because our CEO Miha Uhan played baseball for many years, but we also plan to expand Scoutee into other sports,” Scoutee co-founder and CMO Majda Dodevska told TNW. “We are already getting requests from other sports, such as cricket, tennis, golf, lacrosse, hockey, handball, etc.”
The device is currently offered to Kickstarter backers for a super early bird price of $129, while the planned retail price is $299. The shipments are set to begin in April 2016.
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