Diamond Kinetics has two aims: to help baseball and softball players – from kids to elite professionals – improve their game while ensuring they have fun doing it. Diamond Kinetics does this by integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technology into bats and balls. Players can then track their hitting and pitching performance, and use digital ‘gamification’ to earn achievements, challenge themselves and friends, and interact with Major League Baseball (MLB) in unique and exciting ways.
“We want to make player development fun for kids and help them establish a deeper connection with Major League Baseball and the sport in general,” explains Diamond Kinetics Chief Technical Officer Mike Ressler.
Ready for the big leagues
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company makes and markets the SwingTracker™ bat sensor and PitchTracker™ smart balls – with specific versions for baseball and softball. SwingTracker sensors fit almost any bat, while PitchTracker balls feature smart IoT technology integrated into balls that mimics regulation-specification baseballs and softballs.
“With our technology, players can take real swings and make real throws. Then they can straightaway see what they are doing right or wrong on our mobile app, which uses science-based analytics to deliver easy-to-understand performance information tailored to the user’s level of play,” Ressler adds. “Through our partnership with Major League Baseball, young players can also interact with MLB clubs, game content and Statcast data to merge MLB content directly into their everyday baseball activities.”
Power hitting with support
Diamond Kinetics is now on its third generation of IoT baseball and softball technology. At the heart of this third generation of bat sensors and smart balls is the Renesas DA14695 Bluetooth® 5.2 system-on-chip. “We use the Renesas DA14695 as the primary CPU for all our physical devices. Its low power consumption was important, and its cost is competitive. Moreover, Renesas is known for trusted Bluetooth connectivity and excellent support,” says Ressler.
In terms of support, Ressler points particularly to Renesas’s easy development environment and what he describes as “its willingness to dig in with us and work alongside our team to find solutions”. This was exemplified by a recent case where Renesas worked with Diamond Kinetics and IoT reliability consultants Memfault to debug an issue occurring in the field. “Their development support team worked hand-in-hand with ours to track down the issue and create a solution that allowed us to move forward with key aspects of our product innovation,” says Ressler.
Going the distance
“Our goal is to expand our footprint and product usage in the youth baseball and softball markets by growing our IoT device offerings and enhancing our mobile app experience,” says Ressler.
“Our fourth generation of devices is currently in development, and we are switching from rechargeable to primary battery solutions. We are so satisfied with the quality of the Renesas devices and their efficient power consumption that we have again built-in the DA14695 as the CPU of choice.”
Learn more about the DA14695 Bluetooth 5.2 System-on-Chip (SoC).
Learn more about the complete portfolio of Renesas Bluetooth® Low Energy products.