Innovation of the week: A smart basketball that calculates your shot percentage

A new smart basketball "magically tracks your baskets and bricks," said Tim Moynihan at Wired. The Wilson X Connected Basketball uses an internal Bluetooth radio, low-power processor, and accelerometer to calculate shot percentage and the shooter's distance from the hoop.

Players can track their stats on an accompanying smartphone app, which comes with "plenty of goodies," like badges for improvement, a one-on-one virtual game between you and an app-driven ghost player, and crowd and buzzer noises for clutch shots. Unlike other smart basketballs on the market, the Wilson X doesn't require extra equipment, such as a "smart net" or hoop-mounted sensor. But because it can't tell who is shooting, it's only designed for one-player use. The ball's battery is good for up to 100,000 shots, or roughly two years of heavy play.

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