This proof of concept demonstrates that it's possible to track and log a soccer ball's landing position on a sports rebounder without using a webcam - instead, you can feed the output of several accelerometers into a trained recurrent neural network to determine where the ball landed with high accuracy.

Topics covered:

1. Electronics prototyping using off-the-shelf development boards.
2. Mechanical hardware prototyping using low-cost EMT conduit.
3. PCB schematic and layout design using KiCAD.
4. 3D CAD modeling, 2D engineering drawings, and renders using Autodesk Fusion 360.
5. Programming the ESP32 with the Arduino IDE.
6. Improving your code using OpenAI's ChatGPT.
7. Using Python to:
   1. Read serial data, parse it, plot it, and animate it.
   2. Train a neural network using Tensorflow.
   3. Read and process webcam images using OpenCV.

Next steps:

1. Test the system with other types of balls (baseball, volleyball, basketball, etc.)
2. Increase the speed of data collection.
3. Use more modern accelerometers.
4. Use all 6 readings (3 x acceleration + 3 x gyroscope) from the accelerometers to infer more information about the soccer ball bounce (bounce intensity, incoming and outgoing velocity and direction.) I can additionally utilize the radius data as it was tracked by the webcam for the neural network training.
5. Utilize the ESP's Wifi and Bluetooth capabilities to make the system wireless.
6. Include a rechargeable battery for the unit.
7. Replace the net's single piece of bungee cord with individual metal springs.
8. Create and utilize a custom accelerometer PCB, with a dedicated cable connector, and zip-tied directly to the rebounder net.
9. Any ideas or suggestions you have for this project! Leave your ideas in the comments.

The telescoping coupling used for this project is available for purchase from Elation Sports Technologies.

Check out our other blog posts! To subscribe to our free newsletter, click the Log In button in the top right corner of this page so you never miss a post:

• EMT Conduit-Mounted Weather Station Wind Sensors
• EMT Conduit Smart Telescoping Pole Part 2: Elation Sensing Methods + Photoresistor Implementation
• EMT Conduit Smart Telescoping Pole Part 1: Force-Sensing
• DIY Jumbo Telescoping Light Writer Made from EMT Conduit
• Telescoping EMT Conduit: A Technical Guide
• How to Make a Homemade/DIY Telescoping Pole from EMT (Electrical) Conduit

My business offers mechanical and electrical engineering design consulting. I'd be happy to discuss your project's needs to see how we may assist you - simply reach out to schedule a chat.

Thanks for reading!

Austin Allen

Founder and Owner

Elation Sports Technologies LLC