High-tech sleeve helps develop the perfect basketball shot

A U.S. firm say its high-tech sensor-laden sleeve can improve basketball shooting skills by tracking player's arm movements and calculating the arc of shots. Vibrado, in Sunnyvale, Calif., said accelerometers in the sleeve sit over a player's biceps, forearm and back of the hand to track arm movement and compare it with an ideal model of arm motion for a basketball shot, NewScientist.com reported Friday. A series of light and sound cues from the sleeve's sensors can provide instant feedback, or they can be silenced until a player can check his or her performance afterward on a laptop, the developers said. "We asked coaches, 'How do you teach a shot? What do you consider good form?'" Cynthia Kuo, Vibrado co-founder, said. "They look at things like keeping your elbow in, following through with your wrist, and keeping your arm up, but not too far up. So we created a model of the textbook shot." The sleeve has undergone testing at the Top Flight Sports Academy in San Jose, California. "Coaches can give players specific skills to work on -- they can say, 'I want you to go home and take 100 free throws' or something -- and the sleeve will help them work on their form," Kuo said.