Nick Anglin with an early, wooden prototype of Strikey Sensors.

RYAN M. KELLY/THE DAILY PROGRESS

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Pitch Perfect

A teen invents a device to improve a baseball pitcher’s accuracy

October 10, 2016

By Andrew Klein

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What steps do people follow to design a new invention?

Major League pitchers can hurl a fastball at more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. But baseball experts say that a pitcher’s aim—not speed—is the real key to striking out batters (see Taking Aim).

Nick Anglin, a 14-year-old student at Sutherland Middle School in Charlottesville, Virginia, pitches for his local recreational league. But Nick had trouble with his aim. “I was wild and inaccurate,” he says. Nick came up with a way to improve his pitching—an electronic strike-zone target that gives pitchers feedback to improve their technique.

Major League pitchers can hurl a fastball at more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. But baseball experts say the real key to striking out batters isn’t speed. It’s the pitcher’s aim (see Taking Aim).

Nick Anglin is a 14-year-old student at Sutherland Middle School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He pitches for his local recreational league. But Nick had trouble with his aim. “I was wild and inaccurate,” he says. Nick came up with a way to improve his pitching. He invented an electronic strike-zone target. It gives pitchers feedback to improve their technique.

BIG-LEAGUE IDEA

JAMES PROVOST

TAKING AIM: A pitch is considered a strike when the ball is thrown into a batter’s strike zone and the batter fails to hit it. This three-dimensional space above home plate begins at the middle of the batter’s torso and ends at his or her knees. That’s why the strike zone varies depending on the height of the batter.

“Young pitchers have trouble consistently throwing strikes,” says Brian Cammarota, a physical therapist and athletic trainer at Penn Therapy and Fitness in Radnor, Pennsylvania. “It’s difficult for them to repeat their pitching mechanics.”

A pitcher should throw pitch after pitch at a clear target to improve accuracy, says Cammarota.

This idea inspired Nick while taking a design and engineering workshop at his school called Maker Corps. Students were asked to improve upon something they enjoyed by using technology. Nick decided to focus on his pitching. He came up with an invention he dubbed Strikey Sensors. It uses lasers to determine whether a pitch is in the strike zone.

“Young pitchers have trouble consistently throwing strikes,” says Brian Cammarota. He’s a physical therapist and athletic trainer at Penn Therapy and Fitness in Radnor, Pennsylvania. “It’s difficult for them to repeat their pitching mechanics.”

A pitcher should throw pitch after pitch at a clear target, says Cammarota. This will improve accuracy.

This idea inspired Nick. At the time, he was taking a design and engineering workshop at his school. The workshop was called Maker Corps. Students were asked to improve upon something they enjoyed. They had to use technology to do so. Nick decided to work on his pitching. He came up with an invention he named Strikey Sensors. It uses lasers to tell if a pitch is in the strike zone.

TARGET PRACTICE

To create his device, Nick constructed a rectangular frame lined with lasers. These concentrated beams of light shine into the center of the frame, where they intersect to form a grid. When a ball passes through the grid, a computer analyzes the pitch. A light signals whether the throw was a strike or a ball, a pitch thrown outside the strike zone. Pitchers can then adjust their technique as needed.

Nick hopes to sell Strikey Sensors to pitchers like himself who want to improve their game. “I struggled with my accuracy, and I hope that the device could help other kids like me,” he says.

To make his device, Nick built a rectangular frame. It was lined with lasers. These concentrated beams of light shine into the center of the frame. They cross each other to form a grid. When a ball passes through the grid, a computer examines the pitch. A light tells if the throw was a strike. A different bulb lights up if the throw was a ball—a pitch thrown outside the strike zone (see How Strikey Sensors Works). Then pitchers can change their technique as needed.

Nick hopes to sell Strikey Sensors to other pitchers. Like him, they may want to improve their game. “I struggled with my accuracy, and I hope that the device could help other kids like me,” he says.

HOW STRIKEY SENSORS WORKS

Nick Anglin invented a laser target to help pitchers improve the accuracy of their throws. It determines whether a pitch is thrown inside or outside of the strike zone.

LASER BEAMS: Lasers—similar to those found in laser pointers—line the frame, 7 along the bottom and 11 along the left side. The laser beams intersect in the center of the frame, forming a 181 square centimeter (28 square inch) strike zone.

PHOTORESISTORS: Each laser beam hits a photoresistor positioned on the opposite side of the frame. These electronics sense changes in light intensity. As a ball passes through the grid, it temporarily blocks some of the lasers. The photoresistors detect the brief dip in light intensity in the location where the ball crosses the grid of lasers.

ARDUINO MICROCONTROLLER: This small computer is programmed to interpret signals from the physical environment. In this case, it senses the decrease in light intensity from the photoresistors. The computer is coded, or programmed, to know when a throw is a ball or a strike based on the location where it crosses the grid of lasers. The computer then alerts the pitcher by lighting up the appropriate bulb—green for “strike” or red for “ball.”

HOW STRIKEY SENSORS WORKS

Nick Anglin invented a laser target to help pitchers improve the accuracy of their throws. It determines whether a pitch is thrown inside or outside of the strike zone.