Patent ID: 11900678
Assignee: nan
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 15:
16. A computerized system for automatic identification of various pitch-types pitched by a pitcher and/or classification of a ‘strike’ or a ‘ball’ or a ‘hit’ in a game of baseball on a baseball field having a home plate, a pitcher's mound, a first base, a second base, and a third base, the system comprising:
at least two cameras wherein a primary camera is positioned above and within view of the home plate, and a side camera is positioned to the left or right of the home plate, wherein each camera captures a continuous video image:
and wherein the field of view of the primary camera is at least 120° and includes the positions of a batter (while on the home plate) and a catcher and a pitcher, and wherein the field of view of the side camera is at least 120° , and also includes the batter (while on the home plate) and the catcher and the pitcher;
wherein both cameras are in functional communication with and transmit video images to a computer programmed with software running an AI-based object detection algorithm that monitors and analyses the video images comprising at least a Human Pose Estimation engine and a Strike Prediction Engine running a trained AI system, wherein the computer (i) uses Human Pose Estimation to ascribe facial and skeletal coordinates to the batter, (ii) ascribes coordinates to a home plate, a baseball mitt, and a baseball bat, if present in the frame, and (iii) integrates information about the coordinates of the batter and the coordinates of the home plate to define a real-time virtual three-dimensional volume (the strike zone), and further
(iv) identifies the ball in motion, continuously collects data about the location and speed of the ball, and provides this data to the Strike Prediction Engine,
wherein the data is transformed and analyzed to produce an output defining the pitch as a strike, a ball or a hit; and further,
wherein the AI system detects and maps the ball in real-time, and calculates the speed of the ball and calculates and/or predicts the path of travel of the ball relative to the home plate space and predicting the entry and exit points of the ball relative to the home plate space, and analyses the data so-produced by the AI-system to classify the pitch-type into at least a fast-ball, a slow-ball and a curve-ball.