Israeli company, based on military technology, makes CourtSmart to record and analyze moves in order to improve performance.
by Karin Kloosterman, Israel21C
The story of this Israel startup could be the setting for the next TV hit: Imagine three Israeli middle-aged men, all partners in big high-tech companies since leaving the army, where they worked on top-secret weaponry and war simulators. After taking that experience into 15 years of building technologies sold to some of the world’s biggest defense clients, they started looking for something new.
The story of this Israel startup could be the setting for the next TV hit: Imagine three Israeli middle-aged men, all partners in big high-tech companies since leaving the army, where they worked on top-secret weaponry and war simulators. After taking that experience into 15 years of building technologies sold to some of the world’s biggest defense clients, they started looking for something new.
One of the partners,
Chen M. Shachar, hatched the new idea while watching his teenage daughter
practice tennis. Why did such a high-level sport, resting on billions, not have
any advanced tools to help young club players learn from their own mistakes to
play better?
He and his buddies
combined heads and took the “brains” from army simulator technologies and tuned
them to
tennis. The result: PlaySight, a company that makes kiosk-size units that record
and analyze moves, giving players quick online feedback on how to improve their
play.
The company’s
SmartCourt unit sits on the sidelines following the moves of both players and
the ball, using five cameras strategically placed around the court.
While the system can’t
turn anyone with a racket into a Federer or a Williams overnight, it can give
emerging athletes the critical feedback they need.
Chen imagines the
units in high schools and tennis clubs. And in the hands of pro-athletes,
CourtSmart can be “served” to suit individual specifications at a premium cost.
Made for any sport
USA Today recently called CourtSmart a
“game-changer” and not only in jest. The company has eight systems operating
now on courts in the United States, and plans to sell 4,000 by 2018.
The idea takes the
partners’ experience from building simulators to a more friendly game. They
started with tennis, but the system — which can also say whether a ball was
“in” or “out,” — can be adapted to virtually any sport.
“To just record the
match with video is not a problem. That’s been done for years,” says Shachar.
“We are not just recording but analyzing players’ positions and movements. We
can take statistics as well, and tell a player after the match how much
distance he covered, and what were his unforced errors.”
The idea of having
computer software untangle the who’s who in a football scrimmage is a bit
complicated right now, but that’s the mission –– to provide an automated tool
to help players and their coaches identify points to work on, says Shachar.
“It’s like a mirror
used in the dance world,” he tells ISRAEL21c.
SmartCourt costs about
$10,000 per unit. Clients also pay a monthly fee. Users who log into the system
can get a basic plan for free, but pay more for more storage space and premium
features.
Chen is also banking
on the novelty of social video files, hoping that athletes will buy a low-cost
premium package to store visual evidence of their latest matches. One planned
feature will let them share their videos on social outlets, and theoretically
with traditional TV networks.
Another Israeli
product, ACE IntelliGym, is also based on military knowhow – in this
case, flight simulation software – to train basketball and hockey players to
perform better. The cognitive workout developed in Israel is used widely by
players from professionals to pee-wees.
The match point
PlaySight was founded
in 2010 in Kfar Saba, Israel. The company of 11 has been funded by about $2.1
million and is now seeking a new round of investment. In 2014, the company
plans on opening a sales office in New York and another in London.
It seems like the ball
is in their court, as Shachar explains how the International Tennis Federation
has agreed to allow such systems into pro games — not as a coach, or for
real-time feedback for players, but as a way for pro-players to review and
improve their game after the match.
It’s an interesting
development for pro tennis, since it is the only sport where coaches are not
allowed on the court to advise their players throughout the duration of the
game. “They want to keep it like two gladiators against each other, I guess,”
says Shachar.
SmartCourt will never
replace a good coach, but it will give coaches a better tool to understand how
pro matches can be better played, after the game has ended.
What’s up next? Keep
your eye on the dribbling ball. PlaySight is currently developing a product for
the basketball court.