Real-time event monitoring system for basketball-related activities

Abstract

An event monitoring system for tracking, tabulating and displaying in real-time player and team performance statistics and events (such as scores, shot percentages, ball possessions, steals, rebounds and turnovers) during a basketball game or basketball-related activity involving a basketball goal, a plurality of players, and a basketball equipped with active or passive RFID tags. The system includes a plurality of wireless ball trackers worn on the wrists of participating players and officials, or attached to the goals, and a wireless mobile computing device with an event monitoring program and a set of data objects configured to store data representing current and historical events and performance statistics associated with the basketball activity and participants. The event and performance data may be displayed on a display screen associated with the mobile computing device in real-time and/or uploaded to and displayed on a connected scoreboard or cloud-based server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A real-time event monitoring system for a basketball-related activity involving basketball goat, a plurality of players, and a basketball equipped with an RFID tag configured to transmit a radio frequency signal encoded with a ball ID for the basketball, the real-time event monitoring system comprising:
 a) a mobile computing device comprising a wireless communications interface, a microprocessor, a memory, an event monitoring program stored in the memory, and a set of data objects stored in the memory, the set of data objects arranged to store for each player in the plurality of players, a player ID, a player tracker ID, a ball ID and a player performance statistic;   b) a plurality of player tracking devices configured to be worn by the plurality of players, respectively, each player tracking device including a player radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a player RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag on the basketball if the basketball is in reading range of the player RFID reader, and a player data processing unit programmed to (i) determine that the player wearing the player tracking device has gained or lost possession of the basketball based on an output from the player RFID reader, and (ii) transmit a possession change event message to the mobile computing device via the player radio frequency transceiver indicating that the player has gained or lost possession of the basketball, the possession change event message including the player ID for the player, the ball ID and a possession change event type; and   c) a goal tracking device, configured for attachment to the basketball goal, the goal tracking device comprising a goal radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a goal RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag of the basketball if the basketball is in reading range of the goal RFID reader, and a goal data processing unit programmed to (i) determine that a shot has been taken based on an output from the goal RFID reader, and (ii) transmit a shot event message to the mobile computing device via the goal radio frequency transceiver, the shot event message indicating that the shot has been taken and including the goal ID and the ball ID;   d) wherein the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor (i) to determine which player in the plurality of players shot the basketball on the basketball goal based on the possession change event message, the shot event message, and one or more values stored in the set of data objects in the memory, and (ii) to record a change in the player performance statistic for the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         2 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's wrist. 
     
     
         3 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's shoe. 
     
     
         4 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's upper arm, or chest, or leg or abdomen. 
     
     
         5 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the RFID tag in the basketball is a passive RFID tag configured to transmit the radio frequency signal encoded with a ball ID in response to being interrogated by the RFID reader in the player tracker device. 
     
     
         6 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the RFID tag in the basketball is an active RFID tag configured to periodically transmit the ball ID to any listening RFID reader without first being interrogated by an RFID reader. 
     
     
         7 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the basketball goal comprises a rim and a net; and   b) the goal RFID reader is attached to the basketball goal so that the basketball will pass into the reading range of the goal RFID reader when the basketball passes through the rim and the net.   
     
     
         8 . The event monitoring system of  claim 7 , wherein:
 a) the player performance statistic stored in the data object is a scoring total for each player; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to increment the scoring total for the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         9 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a) the basketball goal comprises a backboard, a rim and a net; and   b) the goal RFID reader is attached to the basketball goal so that the basketball will pass into the reading range of the goal RFID reader when the basketball strikes the backboard, the rim or the net.   
     
     
         10 . The event monitoring system of  claim 9 , wherein:
 a) the player performance statistic stored in the data object is a shot-attempt count for each player; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to increment the shot-attempt count for the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         11 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a) the mobile computing device further comprises a display screen; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to display the change in the player performance statistic on the display screen in real-time.   
     
     
         12 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a) the mobile computing device further comprises a network adapter for establishing a data communications channel to a cloud-based server; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine that the data communications channel is currently available, and to transmit the change in the player performance statistic to the cloud-based server over the data communications channel.   
     
     
         13 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values stored in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has lost possession of the basketball to another player. 
     
     
         14 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has passed possession of the basketball to another player. 
     
     
         15 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has taken possession of the basketball from another player. 
     
     
         16 . The event monitoring system of claim wherein the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device comprises program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type, the shot event message, and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has assisted a made shot taken by another player with the basketball. 
     
     
         17 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device comprises program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type, the shot event message, and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has collected a rebound of the basketball after a missed shot on the basketball goal. 
     
     
         18 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a) the basketball-related activity involves at least two basketball teams and at least two basketball goals, each basketball goal being equipped with at least one goal tracking device, said at least one goal tracking device comprising a goal radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a goal RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag of the basketball if the basketball is in reading range of the goal RFID reader, and a goal data processing unit programmed to (i) deter that a shot has been taken based on an output from the goal RFID reader, and (ii) transmit a shot event message to the mobile computing device via the goal radio frequency transceiver, the shot event message indicating that the shot has been taken and including the goal ID and the ball ID; and   b) the set of data objects in the memory is further arranged to store a team ID for each player in the plurality of players, and a team statistic for each basketball team in the at least two basketball teams;   c) wherein the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor (i) to determine, based on the possession change event message, the shot event message, and said one or more values stored in the set of data objects in the memory, which team the player who shot the basketball on the basketball goal plays for, and (ii) to record a change in the team statistic for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         19 . The event monitoring system of  claim 18 , wherein:
 a) the team statistic stored in the data object is a scoring total for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to increment the scoring total for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         20 . The event monitoring system of  claim 19 , wherein:
 a) the mobile computing device further comprises a wireless data communications link to a scoreboard configured to display the scoring total for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to transmit the incremented scoring total for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball to the scoreboard using the wireless data communications link.   
     
     
         21 . The event monitoring system of  claim 18 , wherein:
 a) the team statistic stored in the data object is a shot-attempt count for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to increment the shot attempt count for the basketball team of the player who shot the basketball.   
     
     
         22 . The event monitoring system of  claim 18 , wherein the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor (i) to determine, based on the possession change event message, the shot event message, and said one or more values stored in the set of data objects in the memory, that a player on one of the at least two basketball teams has taken possession of the basketball away from a player on another of the at least two basketball teams, and (ii) to record a change in the team statistics for at least one of the at least two basketball teams. 
     
     
         23 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a referee tracking device configured to be worn by a referee involved in the basketball-related activity, the referee tracking device including a referee radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a referee RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag on the basketball whenever the basketball is in reading range of the referee RFID reader, and a referee data processing unit programmed to (i) determine that the referee wearing the referee tracking device has gained or lost possession of the basketball based on an output from the referee RFID reader, and (ii) transmit a game stoppage event message to the mobile computing device via the referee radio frequency transceiver, the game stoppage event message including a referee ID for the referee and the ball ID. 
     
     
         24 . The event monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein each player RFID reader and each goal RFID reader comprises a secondary RF transceiver. 
     
     
         25 . A real-time event monitoring system for a basketball-related activity involving a basketball goal, a plurality of players, and a basketball equipped with an RFID tag configured to transmit a radio frequency signal encoded with a ball ID for the basketball, the real-time event monitoring system comprising:
 a) a mobile computing device comprising a wireless communications interface, a microprocessor, a memory, an event monitoring program stored in the memory, and a set of data objects stored in the memory, the set of data objects arranged to store for each player in the plurality of players, a player ID, a player tracker ID, a ball ID and a player performance statistic;   b) a plurality of player tracking devices configured to be worn by the plurality of players, respectively, each player tracking device including a player radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a player RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag on the basketball whenever the basketball is in reading range of the player RFID reader, and a player data processing unit programmed to (i) determine that the player wearing the player tracking device has gained or lost possession of the basketball based on an output from the player RFID reader, and (ii) transmit a possession change event message to the mobile computing device via the player radio frequency transceiver indicating that the player has gained or lost possession of the basketball, the possession change event message including the player ID for the player, the ball ID and a possession change event type; and   c) a goal tracking device, configured for attachment to the basketball goal, the goal tracking device comprising a goal radio frequency transceiver for wireless communication with the mobile computing device, a goal RFID reader configured to detect and decode the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag of the basketball whenever the basketball is in reading range of the goal RFID reader, and a goal data processing unit, programmed to transmit a shot event message to the mobile computing device via the goal radio frequency transceiver whenever the goal RFID reader succeeds in detecting and decoding the radio frequency signal transmitted by the RFID tag of the basketball, the shot event message including the goal ID and the ball ID;   d) wherein, when the mobile computing device has not received a shot event message within a predetermined time period after receiving a possession change event message, the event monitoring program on the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor (i) to determine which player in the plurality of players gained or lost possession of the basketball based on the possession change event message and one or more values stored in the set of data objects in the memory, and (ii) to record a change in the player performance statistic for the player who gained or lost possession of the basketball.   
     
     
         26 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's wrist. 
     
     
         27 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's shoe. 
     
     
         28 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein each player tracking device in the plurality of player tracking devices is configured to be worn on the player's upper arm, or chest, or leg or abdomen. 
     
     
         29 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein the RFID tag in the basketball is a passive RFID tag configured to transmit the radio frequency signal encoded with a ball ID in response to being interrogated by the RFID reader in the player tracker device. 
     
     
         30 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein the RFID tag in the basketball is an active RFID tag configured to periodically transmit the ball ID to any listening RFID reader without first being interrogated by an RFID reader. 
     
     
         31 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein:
 a) the basketball goal comprises a rim and a net; and   b) the goal RFID reader is attached to the basketball goal so that the basketball will pass into the reading range of the goal RFID reader when the basketball passes through the rim and the net.   
     
     
         32 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein:
 c) the mobile computing device further comprises a display screen; and   d) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to display the change in the player performance statistic on the display screen in real-time.   
     
     
         33 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein:
 a) the mobile computing device further comprises a network adapter for establishing a data communications channel to a cloud-based server; and   b) the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine that the data communications channel is currently available, and to transmit the change in the player performance statistic to the cloud-based server over the data communications channel.   
     
     
         34 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device further includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values stored in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has lost possession of the basketball to another player. 
     
     
         35 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has passed possession of the basketball to another player. 
     
     
         36 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein the event monitoring program in the memory of the mobile computing device includes program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor to determine, based on the possession change event type and said one or more values in the set of data objects, that one player in the plurality of players has taken possession of the basketball from another player. 
     
     
         37 . The event monitoring system of  claim 25 , wherein each player RFID reader and each goal RFID reader comprises a secondary RFID transceiver.