Blast Motion is a bat sensor technology that gives feedback on multiple aspects of a player’s swing. The sensor directly measures certain metrics of the bat’s movement, then immediately transmits that data to the Blast Motion app via Bluetooth.
Launched in 2014, Blast Motion has since been integrated across all playing levels from youth teams to the major leagues. Blast sensors can be used for on-field activity outside of games in MLB and have been approved for in-game use in the Minor Leagues.
Features/Set-Up
Blast Motion collects data through a single sensor that is attached to the end of the bat. The sensor charges wirelessly via a charging pad, with a full charge taking about 1 hour.
The bat sensor connects wirelessly to the Blast Motion app which stores and presents all measured data across various features. The dashboard presents results from your most recent round of swings, and the progress feature tracks your results over time to indicate improvement or decline in certain areas.
The sensor and its measured data can also be paired with a video of a player’s swing to be uploaded to the app and integrated with the data captured from the sensor. This allows coaches to oversee swing data of their players and provide video analysis, markups, and feedback.
Measurement
For a single swing a total of 10 pre-contact metrics are measured independently. Then, similar metrics are grouped into 1 of 3 categories; Plane, Connection, and Rotation. The metrics and categories they fall under are grouped below:
Plane: Measures the percentage of your swing that is on the ideal swing plane.
Metrics: On-plane efficiency and attack angle.
Connection: The relationship between vertical bat angle at impact and body tilt.
Metrics: Early connection, connection at impact, time to contact, and vertical bat angle.
Rotation: Measures how quickly your bat accelerates into the swing plane.
Metrics: Bat speed, rotational acceleration, peak hand speed, and power.
The grouped metrics under each category are evaluated and given an overall quality score from 20-80, where 20 is poor and 80 is excellent. The 20-80 score assigned is based off swing results from other players at a similar playing level. This allows players to compare metrics of their swing with others in their competitive group, which helps drive the focus of their swing training.
Summary
Blast Motion provides great insight into the makeup of a player’s swing. The data can help identify areas for improvement, drive training programs and tell coaches what needs to be improved and how to improve it.
Related Links
https://blastmotion.com/about/support-2/blast-connect-baseball/coaches/#gref
https://rocklandpeakperformance.com/a-review-of-blast-motion-baseball-and-its-swing-quality-metrics/
https://blastmotion.com/products/baseball/baseball-coach/#gref
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