Hoopfit

A player shoots, the machine catches the ball under the hoop and sends it back out to wherever the player is standing.

I was the only hardware engineer, and later the CTO. I designed the machine, the parts inside it, and the way it gets built in large numbers.

The camera and the screen are an iPad. A camera good enough to track a player and a ball costs real money, and so does a custom screen. An iPad has both, plus the processor to run the tracking. It made the machine lighter and cheaper. It also meant we could write an iPad app instead of building an interface from nothing, which was quicker for us and better to use.

The launcher took six versions. The early ones struck the ball: an arm pulls back, lets go, and knocks it out. The version we shipped used a single flywheel instead. It pinches the ball against a guide and rolls it out, so the speed of the pass comes from the speed of the wheel and you can hold that steady. One motor replaced the whole striking arm, and the machine got lighter.

Catching nets usually take two people to put up. I redesigned the net so one person can raise it.