The Vibrado Basketball Shooting Sleeve Will Give You The Perfect Shot
Anybody who has ever played basketball knows the feeling when you launch the perfect shot. You don’t even need to look at the rim to know the ball is going to drape nothing but the bottom of the net because ‘it just felt right.’ The company Vibrado out of Sunnyvale California is attempting to make those perfect shots a regular reality with the development of its sensor-laden shooting sleeve.
The innovation of the sleeve involves tracking a player’s arm movement and calculating the arch of the ball on the shot. Sensors sit on a user’s bicep, forearms, and hand and compare the person’s shot with what is commonly known as the perfect form – elbows in, arms up, and a follow through with the wrist. The statistics of a model shot are also adjusted for three pointers and free throws in which studies show that a release angle of 52 degrees gives a person the best chance of making the shot.
The sleeve aims at developing a player’s consistency. Suppose a user is alone in the gym shooting free throws. The sleeve will give cues with lights and beeps when shot form is lagging. By adjusting the follow through and motion a person can develop muscle memory and improve their form for real-life situations. The sleeve also logs data which can be transferred to a laptop and eventually a smart phone app to see how many shots fell in the ‘ideal’ mode.
It’s not a perfect science as a shot by the greatest shooter of all-time Larry Bird would probably be considered a fail under the ‘model shot’ example, but it’s a good way for players to develop a consistent shot. Vibrado seems to be a pretty innovative company in the sports development field but there’s no word on if the “Tim Tebow Throwing Motion Corrector” is in the works or not.
