MEMS inside a baseball bat to help players analyse the swing

To give an example of how the MEMS sensor can be used for a creative application such as sports, Blast Motion has launched a product called Blast Baseball by using the MEMS sensors from ST microelectronics to help players to analyse the mechanics of their swing, empowers them to make meaningful adjustments, and offers a new way to share achievements. The dustproof, shockproof and waterproof sensor device weighing one ounce, attaches to the end of any bat. This swing motion data is wirelessly trnsmitted to the smart phone such as iPhone or iPad providing the swing data of the player's bat motion. Blast Baseball’s accuracy is compared to some of the most sophisticated tracking systems in the world. Blast Baseball even understands the difference between practice swings and real hits, and can store swing information when the sensor is out of range of its partnered mobile device. “Essentially invisible, Blast Baseball lets players focus on the game without changing their natural swing and provides access to important metrics when they want them,” said Roger Weingarth, President and COO of Blast. “It is important to us that Blast Baseball not only track key metrics, but give users new ways to interact with the data. They can track and learn about their swings, compare metrics and easily share that information with coaches and friends. Our continued collaboration with ST will...