Baseball Experience - Pitch ינטעראַקטיווע ויסשטעלונג

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The exhibit was created following a call for proposals from the Yogi Berra museum. The goal was to provide an easy to engage with, interactive installation which presents the physics of baseball to all visitors. It had to be convenient enough for indoor use while at the same time delivering some ball whirling action, while not marginalizing the myth of baseball and Yogi Berra himself. We developed a concept that would meet all this prerequisites and most importantly, is lots of fun to play!

Dimensions & Packaging

The pitching installation consists of a 3x2 seamless Displays matrix in a rig with a secure glass front in order to take hits from the baseballs. Mounted on top is a LMS laser ranger from Sick to track the balls position and a radar gun from Stalker Technology which measures the balls speed. All of this is interconnected via a specific hardware setup and the incoming data is processed in real time through our application. Everything is handcrafted specifically for this purpose. Last but not least there is a basket full of softballs eagerly waiting to be tossed around!

Tags

baseball, Yogi Berra, interactive exhibit, family-friendly, permanent exhibition, museum, tracking technology

Production Technology

The Installation utilizes a laser range sensor in order to track the incoming balls impact location on the screen while a radar speed sensor measures its impact speed. This data is being processed in real time into the game logic and drives the game mechanics. These two system are top mounted onto the Display grid which shows a stylized version of a batter platform, whose players react accordingly to the speed and hit location of your pitch while giving you feedback about your performance.

Design Challenge

The creative challenge was to simplify the physics of baseball to an absolute bare minimum while preserving a maximum joy factor for 4 to 104 year old visitors. It should be self explanatory and accessible from the first second you encounter it and still deliver an entertaining and memorable experience of playing a game about a wonderful game. It should be for anyone at anytime while being durable enough to withstand heavy usage without a scratch. We wanted to cast smiles on the faces of amateurs and professionals alike.

Research

We put a lot of research into the topic of tracking fast moving objects like baseballs. The challenge was to get an accurate position and speed rating every time a ball was thrown either by a child or even a professional. In order to acquire the highest precision possible with minimum to none false positives, we had to experiment with the technicality and calibration of motion based field scanners in order to detect a super fast and hard hitting baseball within fractions of a second correctly.

Inspiration

Our inspiration for this project was to merge the playfulness of the popular sport of baseball with its importance for American pop culture. We wanted to create a game about a game itself and capture its magical fascination, addressing all people young at heart, regardless of age and constitution. Ahead of everything else the exhibit needed to capture the cult of Yogi Berra himself, one behemoth of baseball history with his memorable quotes, his success and influence on sports culture.

Project Duration

The installation went live in June 2018 and is still part of the exhibition (as of August 2019), Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, NJ, United States.

Operation Flow

Visitors take one of the soft baseballs provided and throw it as hard as they can towards the animated Pitcher on the display-wall. When the ball hits the glass, its digital twin is transferred into the game and continues his original trajectory in slow-mo while the batter tries to hit it (or the catcher catches it). Standard baseball rules apply. The different stages of the game are thoroughly animated as are the statistics of your throws. If you strike the batter out, you get rewarded with legendary quotes from Yogi.

Image Credits

photos & video: Eyup Kuş
photos: Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center