System for determining the end of a path for a moving object
AssigneeSportvision, Inc.
InventorsRichard H. Cavallaro, James R. Gloudemans, Stanley K. Honey, Terence J. O'Brien, Alan C. Phillips, William F. Squadron, Marvin S. White
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Abstract
A system is disclosed that can determine the distance a baseball would have traveled after being hit if its path was not interrupted. Thus, when a player hits a home run and the ball collides with an obstruction such as the seating area of a stadium or a wall, the present invention can determine how far the ball would have traveled had the ball not hit the stadium or the wall. The present invention can also be used to determine information about the path of objects other than a baseball.
Claims36
A method for determining information about a hypothetical uninterrupted path of a ball after said ball is hit by a bat, comprising the steps of:
- sensing camera orientation data for a set of one or more cameras pointing at said ball while said ball is traveling along said hypothetical uninterrupted path, said step of sensing uses one or more camera orientation sensors;
- capturing video images of said ball while said ball is traveling along said hypothetical uninterrupted path, said video images are captured using said set of one or more cameras;
- and
- determining an end of said hypothetical uninterrupted path based on said captured video images and said camera orientation data.
A method for determining a distance a ball would have traveled after being hit by a bat, comprising the steps of:
- determining one or more locations of said ball after said ball has been hit by said bat, said step of determining is performed during a game, said determined locations do not include an end of said ball's uninterrupted path;
- and
- using said determined locations to determine said distance said ball would have traveled after being hit if said ball's path was not interrupted, said step of using said determined locations comprises the steps of:
- determining path information using a first set of location data,
- using said path information to predict a future location,
- capturing video from a set of cameras looking at said future location, and
- using said captured video to determine said distance.
An apparatus for determining information about a ball's travel along a hypothetical uninterrupted path, comprising:
- a first video camera capable of being oriented;
- a first set of one or more camera orientation sensors, said first set of camera orientation sensors sense camera orientation data for said first camera;
- a second video camera capable of being oriented;
- a second set of one or more camera orientation sensors, said second set of camera orientation sensors sense camera orientation data for said second camera;
- a storage element capable of storing program code;
- and
- a processor in communication with said first video camera and said second video camera and said storage element, said processor programmed by said program code to perform a method comprising the steps of:
- receiving video images from said first and second video cameras captured while said first and second cameras are pointed at said ball traveling on said uninterrupted path;
- receiving a first set of camera orientation data from said first set of camera orientation sensors, said first set of camera orientation data pertains to an orientation of said first camera while said first camera is pointed at said ball traveling on said uninterrupted path;
- receiving a second set of camera orientation data from said second set of camera orientation sensors, said second set of camera orientation data pertains to an orientation of said second camera while said second camera is pointed at said ball traveling on said uninterrupted path;
- and
- determining an end of said hypothetical uninterrupted path of said object based on said video images received from said first and second video cameras, said first set of camera orientation data and said second set of camera orientation data.
An apparatus according to clam 25, wherein:
- said information includes a distance said ball would have traveled, but did not travel, had the ball's path not been interrupted.
A method for determining information about a hypothetical uninterrupted path of a ball after being hit by a bat, comprising the steps of:
- detecting a sound of said bat hitting said ball;
- capturing video images of said ball;
- and
- determining an end of said hypothetical uninterrupted path of said ball based on said captured video images, said step of determining is performed in response to said step of detecting.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.