Basketball make-miss shot sensing

1. An apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition device to obtain at least one attribute of a shot of a basketball towards a basket, the at least one attribute being sensed by at least one sensor carried by the basketball or derived from signal output by the at least one sensor, the at least one attribute comprising acceleration of the basketball during the shot;

a processing unit;

a memory containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by comparing the acceleration of the basketball during the shot to at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket; and

an output device to present output to a person based on the determination of whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot, wherein the memory comprises instructions to direct the processing unit to calibrate and establish a directional coordinate system for the basket and wherein the instructions to calibrate and establish directional coordinate system for the basket comprise instructions to calibrate and establish a baseline for an earth compass direction of the basket with respect to the basketball using a magnetometer carried by the basketball.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the memory comprises instructions to direct the processing unit to identify a signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot based upon signals received from the at least one sensor carried by the basketball during at least one made basket calibration shot.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the at least one made basket calibration shot comprises at least one of a made bank shot, a made swish shot and a made rim shot.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot comprises acceleration of the basketball sensed by the at least one sensor during a period of time consisting of a time that begins while the basketball is passing through a net of the basket.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processor to prompt the user to input whether each made basket calibration shot was a swish, a bank shot or impacted the rim.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processor to prompt the user to input a height of a non-regulation, user selected rim height and wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace is for made baskets with the non-regulation, user selected rim height.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot comprises acceleration of the basketball sensed by the at least one sensor as the basketball passes through a net of the basket.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot comprises a sensed characteristic of the basketball sensed by the at least one sensor as the basketball passes through a lower half of the net.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot comprises a characteristic of the basketball sensed by the at least on sensor as the basketball travels from the net to the ground and into impact with the ground.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket shot comprises a sensed deceleration of the basketball within a predetermined range as the basketball is passing through a net of the basket.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by additionally comparing other sensed characteristics of the basketball during the shot to other corresponding signature characteristics of a made basket shot.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the other sensed characteristics of the basketball comprises a spin of the basketball.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the other sensed characteristic of the basketball further comprises a spin of the basketball.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the other sensed characteristics of the basketball comprise at least one of a spin of the basketball, a maximum height of a parabolic path of the basketball, a velocity of the basketball, and a distance traveled by the basketball until encountering resistance.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acceleration of the basketball comprises a sensed vibration of the basketball corresponding to impact of the basketball with a backboard of the basket.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acceleration of the basketball comprises a sensed vibration of the basketball corresponding to impact of the basketball with a rim of the basket.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acceleration of the basketball comprises a sensed vibration of the basketball corresponding to impact of the basketball with a rim of the basket.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions prompt input of values as to a location of a current location the basketball with respect to a location of the basket.

19. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot by comparing the acceleration of the basketball during the shot to at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket in which the basketball during the made basket impacted at least one of a backboard and a rim.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition device to obtain at least one attribute of a shot of a basketball towards a basket, the at least one attribute being sensed by at least one sensor carried by the basketball or derived from signal output by the at least one sensor, the at least one attribute comprising acceleration of the basketball during the shot;

a processing unit;

a memory containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by comparing the acceleration of the basketball during the shot to at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket; and

an output device to present output to a person based on the determination of whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot, wherein the memory comprises instructions to direct the processing unit to calibrate and establish a directional coordinate system for the basket, wherein the instructions direct the processing unit to utilize a localized magnetic field in a basketball court containing the basket to calibrate and establish a directional coordinate system for the basket.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition device to obtain at least one attribute of a shot of a basketball towards a basket, the at least one attribute being sensed by at least one sensor carried by the basketball or derived from signal output by the at least one sensor;

a processing unit;

a memory containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by comparing the at least one attribute of the shot to one or more predetermined signature characteristics of a made basket; and

an output device to present output to a person based on the determination of whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot, wherein the memory comprises instructions to direct the processing unit to calibrate and establish a directional coordinate system for the basket, wherein the instructions to calibrate and establish directional coordinate system for the basket comprise instructions to calibrate and establish a baseline for an earth compass direction of the basket with respect to the basketball using a magnetometer carried by the basketball, and wherein the instructions prompt a person to move the basketball in a direction of the basket from a free-throw line perpendicular to the free-throw line.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition device to obtain at least one attribute of a shot of a basketball towards a basket, the at least one attribute being sensed by at least one sensor carried by the basketball or derived from signal output by the at least one sensor, the at least one attribute comprising acceleration of the basketball during the shot;

a processing unit;

a memory containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by comparing the acceleration of the basketball during the shot to at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket; and

an output device to present output to a person based on the determination of whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot, wherein the instructions contained in the memory are to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot based upon a characteristic of the basketball sensed by the at least one sensor as the basketball travels from the net to the ground and into impact with the ground.

23. An apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition device to obtain at least one attribute of a shot of a basketball towards a basket, the at least one attribute being sensed by at least one sensor carried by the basketball or derived from signal output by the at least one sensor, the at least one attribute comprising acceleration of the basketball during the shot;

a processing unit;

a memory containing instructions to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot by comparing the acceleration of the basketball during the shot to at least one signature acceleration trace of a made basket; and

an output device to present output to a person based on the determination of whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot, wherein the instructions contained in the memory are to direct the processing unit to determine whether the shot is a made basket shot or a missed basket shot based solely upon at least one sensed characteristic of the basketball sensed by the at least one sensor during a time that begins while the basketball is passing through a net of the basket.