The Brief

Tools: Arduino Motion and Impact Sensors (Gyro-meter, Accelerometer and Magnetic bearing) MakerBot Replicator 2 (3D Printer) Standard Cricket Bat, Pads and Ball Cricket is the world’s second most popular sport and more than US$2 billion are spent on cricket sponsorships annually. However, the game has been played the same way for the last century and is popular among the commonwealth countries, especially India. Provlov Cricket intends to measure and records all future games of cricket through sensors in the ball, bat and pads of players in a field. The data will prove useful for the players and coaches to help improve their play and better decide game-day strategies. The technology is currently at beta stage and the algorithm is being improved through play-testing.

Intention/Purpose: The innovation will help make cricket a more data-centric sport. The data can be used to inform anyone from professional coaches to amateur players looking to challenge their friends by comparing individual player statistics. The technology was created directly for cricket players who aspire to be professionals or wish to improve their game. The technology collects data that could be useful for sports networks and media owners to publish and compare player statistics. The technology is a combination of existing platforms and technologies like Arduino to allow us to prototype quickly. The technology has been applied to other sports but never in cricket. Each Provolv kit will include a companion mobile application with social features, a custom ball with sensors, two palm-sized sensors placed on the cricket bat and pad respectively and a stump cam casing to record the game. The sensor on the bat accurately identifies different shots made in cricket, including drive, cut and defense moves. The sensor within the ball measures the bowling speed and spin. All data are synced with the mobile application via Bluetooth technology and can be shared as a sports statistics with friends over social media. Our team's hired full-time developer controls the technology stack. The next stage of development is to increase the existing accuracy of the algorithm for the sport. The technology received investment from the agency's internal R&D budget for the Alpha prototype. It is currently raising seed investment through a hardware accelerator to get the product to market. A crowd-funding campaign is being planned for the end of this year.

We intend to allow as many cricket players as possible to access and purchase the kit. With a majority adoption, we will look at securing brand and media partnerships. The technology is expected to make cricket a more competitive game as the data can now inform teams and players to make better decisions. We have been invited to showcase the technology at Dublin Web Summit and are in the final rounds of interview with a prominent hardware accelerator with offices in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen. We currently have working prototypes of the wearable technology kit and the sensor within the ball is undergoing development.