Tag: Sports

Because innovation is everywhere, sports manufacturer Wilson recently unveiled its 3D Airless Basketball prototype, a new basketball created as near to the specifications of its official game-used NBA balls but with no air. Or leather. Or the same aerodynamics since it’s filled with holes.

I was just thinking the other day how crazy it was that nobody had made a mobile ping-pong table; then today, I wake up and see this: Le vélo table de ping-pong, an art piece constructed by Benedetto Bufalino.

This is the Mad Fly Sports Raptor Football, a toy football/plane hybrid that can be thrown over 100 yards. So maybe for once when my brother tells me to go long, he’ll actually mean it. The toy does require a unique throw (read: not a football spiral) for the creation of maximum lift and distance though, so there is a learning curve involved.

Sorry NBA players. You are on the way out. Once they perfect basketball robots that is. This guy is the first step. Check out some videos below of the Toyota Engineering Society’s CUE 3 humanoid robot, a robot designed to shoot baskets with “nearly 100 percent accuracy.”

How fast can you swing a golf club? I have no idea what the record for a human might be, but I know that pros can swing at about 110 MPH. The rest of us, not very fast.

Is there anything better than robots playing sports? I think not. The latest in miniature robot sports games is TOMY Soccerborgs. These interactive robot toys for kids let them play a game of soccer, and battle it out on your table.

Well, it looks like Transformers are becoming a real thing if this basketball drone is any indication. But is it an Autobot or a Decepticon? It is definitely more than meets the eye. That’s all I know for sure.

Is your park’s basketball court busy all day? Or do you just not get to play until after work? As the days get shorter and with Daylight Savings Time coming to an end soon, night will be upon us earlier and earlier too.

Looking for a truly unique gift for the sports fan in your life? Then check out these sweet custom LEGO kits based on iconic stadiums around the country. These models are designed by StadiumBrick, who does a great job capturing the spirit and unique design attributes of dozens of popular sports venues.

Japan is doing what Japan does best to give its national volleyball team an edge: using robots. They are using some high-tech training robots to help out. These bizarre-looking ‘bots mimic the opposing team’s defense and are each made up of a pairs of hands and arms attached to a mobile torso.

Filmmaker Devin Graham and Cinechopper got together to perform some cool trick shots using drones. Cinechopper customized the drones to carry and drop bowling balls, which allowed them to do some stuff in a bowling alley and much more.

Wilson has announced what they’re calling the “world’s first smart football.” The Wilson X Connected Football has a built-in sensor that can measure throw speed, distance, spin rate and spiral efficiency. The ball can even detect if someone catches it or drops it.

If you can’t afford a table tennis coach but a wall isn’t good enough for you, check out the Trainerbot. It’s a smart ping pong ball launcher that will give you the exact shot you want for as long as you want.

In competitive running, pacers are hired runners who run at a pre-determined speed – and therefore time – so that the contestants can gauge their own pace or be motivated to run faster. To push its sponsored runners during training, Puma made Beatbot, a robotic pacer.

Everything I know about surfing, I learned watching Blue Crush because Kate Bosworth. That is to say, I don’t know anything about surfing other than you stand on the board, and if someone gets on your wave you have to kick their ass.

Action cameras are already a hit with both professionals and amateurs, but they still have a ton of untapped potential, with live broadcast being one of its biggest applications. For example, earlier this year the NHL announced that it will be equipping its players with GoPros.