Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the 100-year old traditional sporting goods company that has always drawn on passion and emotional resonance to connect with its customers, is leading the way in bringing the Internet of Things to athletes everywhere.
When development for a connected basketball began three years ago, Wilson’s key objectives were to be universally accessible and to bring video games to the backyard. With automated scoring and make/miss technology, the Wilson X Connected basketball looks to reach a broad audience, get kids back outside, and solve arguments occurring in driveways world wide – was that sick shot you just sank a 3-pointer? Where’s your sweet spot on the court? What’s your percentage from the free throw line?
Whether you’re the kid who shoots 100 free throws before school or the one who likes to imagine that you are the clutch player with the buzzer beater to win it all, the Wilson X Connected Basketball is for you.
At first glance, it looks like any other ball – same size, same weight. But inside is a sensor that tracks data when connected to the Wilson X app via Bluetooth. This smart basketball can be used anytime, anywhere, a decision made to reach a broad audience with this product. All you need is this ball, the app, and any hoop with a net.
The sensor, developed with the sports technology and analytics company SportIQ out of Helsinki, measures makes, misses, and shot range. Bob Thurman, Vice President of Innovation at Wilson Labs, says they began an audacious journey in artificial intelligence in teaching the ball when it goes through the rim and when it misses to create an algorithm to track the data. Over 50,000 shots were captured on video and annotated to develop the machine learning for the ball.
The Wilson X app has training modes and game-time modes complete with crowd noise, a virtual opponent, announcer audio and a clock to train under real-life pressure situations. Practicing by yourself can now be more efficient. With heat maps, you’ll know the exact spots where you’re hot and where you could use some practice in addition to knowing the exact percentage of your made shots. And you can share your results via social media. Coaches will also benefit from the data collected and be able to customize training programs based on the results, thus validating their teaching philosophy, says Thurman. 
I had the chance to test out the Wilson X, and while I won’t share my stats because it’s quite obvious I haven’t played hoops since before social media was a thing, I will say that it made me wish I had this ball when I was growing up. I was the kid who made her dad paint a regulation court in the driveway and I shot 100 free throws every morning before school. Inevitably I would lose track of how many I made and how many I missed, but the effort was there. All those hours in the driveway and in the gym doing shooting drills would have been so much more productive with this data. Not to mention, I would have had something concrete to show my dad and my coach.
While it’s currently a shooters’ ball, only measuring makes and misses from beyond 7-feet, Wilson is working on drills for everything including passing, dribbling, and layups. They are also working on a multiplayer mode that will allow the ball to track multiple players using RFID technology. And staying true to their goal to bring video games to the driveway, you’ll be able to play with people in different locations. Now, kids can take on their cousins across the country in a game of H-O-R-S-E the same way they can play each other in Call of Duty.
Beyond the driveway, Wilson is also working to bring this hi-tech basketball to the NCAA. Fans will benefit from more interesting game broadcasts with real-time stats and analysis from the data drawn from the ball and the RFID technology that players will wear. Qualitative stats about the distance of a shot and proximity to a defender will elevate the game broadcasts. Student athletes and coaches will also benefit from the use of the connected ball in NCAA play. They will receive stats and analysis in accordance with the NCAA rules of the game of basketball for real-time analytics. The same heat maps and distance measurements that you can use to practice on your own will help collegiate teams know exactly where to get their hot shooter the ball. 
Though there is not a specific timeline for this implementation, the NCAA approved use of a sensor in a basketball last year. Wilson’s technology partner SportIQ is now working with the NCAA to determine how to best execute player tracking and ball data in live games.
‘We are playing to win,’ says Thurman, in talking about keeping the 100 year old company at the forefront of the Internet of Things in sports. Wilson is leveraging connected technology for their products across football, baseball, tennis, and golf. The products that are at the heart of the games we all love to watch and love to play will keep up with the technological advancements in sports.
Wearable devices help athletes train smarter, eat right, and know when to rest. Connected balls, rackets, and bats will help them develop the fundamentals of the game and make technique training smarter. And most importantly, these connected products will keep kids out in the driveway and backyard longer and make sure that the love of sports doesn’t fade away with the connected generation.
