UPDATED FOR RELEASE ON ANDROID
The new, pro-level feature you now get with Android & iPhone SmartPitch, pitcher Extension, uses even more of the advanced, sophisticated video analysis, math, geometry and physics for which SmartPitch earned a strong U.S. Patent.
For the importance of Extension in pitcher effectiveness, and as a training tool, see our earlier post and the links there to articles showing how Extension is used by MLB pitchers. This is a feature that until now, you could only get in systems costing thousands and thousands of dollars!!
See behind the scenes and some of the details SmartPitch uses to calculate Extension at this blog post.
Here is how to use this new feature that provides Extension data measuring the distance from the Rubber to the point where the pitcher releases the ball.
Use Settings to Enter Pitcher's Height - First time only: the height is saved
Throw at least 10 pitches.
Extension is shown on the live results screen for each pitch
To get the final session value of Extension, examine the data on the Session Results table.
Extension for this session is 6.91 to 6.99 feet, the largest values.
If the app cannot measure Extension on a pitch, the value 0.99 ft is shown. Ignore these 0.99 ft values.
SmartPitch captures detailed data from the 75 million pixels of live video it analyzes every second. Extension is the first new "REVEAL" from this precision data that we will release going forward. As cited in our earlier post, we are developing a measure of Batter's Decision Time to Swing which will also chart the path of the ball in different pitches.
These are just more dramatic reasons why SmartPitch is #betterthanradar, adding to our hitting Exit Velocity / Launch Angle / Distance hitting data; and ability to use SmartPitch in the Dugout or foul territory: wherever you manage or watch the game!