CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Blast Motion, developer of motion-capture technologies, has piggybacked on the success of GoPro’s action camera line by introducing a motion-sensor attachment called Blast ActionCam designed to connect to a GoPro case to automatically control operation and capture performance metrics.
At the same time, the company launched through the big-box chain its Blast Basketball designed to record performance metrics to help athletes adjust and improve their game play.
Pricing for both products is $149 each, with availability through BlastMotion.com and Best Buy stores, which recently added special GoPro endcap displays.
The latest introductions complement Blast’s existing portfolio of products that include Blast Baseball, Blast Golf and Blast Athletic Performance, giving athletes the ability to view motion metrics in real time.
The Blast ActionCam merges two hot new CE trends: action video cameras, which have dominated the camcorder category, and sports and fitness monitoring, which is particularly popular in the wearables space.
The Blast ActionCam combines a Blast precision motion sensor with a GoPro Hero to enable the capture of action metrics (acceleration, vertical height, rotation and hang time) and overlay them on top of dynamically created video highlights.
The Blast ActionCam motion sensor connects via a Bluetooth LE interface to a compatible Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod.
The Blast motion sensor is affixed to the GoPro action camera case with a waterproof action camera attachment. Alternatively, it can be worn with a clip attachment, allowing users to capture extreme sporting events from the athlete’s point of view.
The company said a Blast mobile app pulls video from the GoPro camera’s integrated Wi-Fi network and dynamically identifies video highlights, overlaying a user’s performance metrics while creating Blast highlights so that the achievements can be shared via email and social networks.
Blast video highlights are captured in FullHD 1080p quality, allowing athletes to “see” and share motion scenes. In order to further expand an athlete’s understanding of the captured metrics, Blast Motion also introduced Blast prescriptions to improve an athlete’s performance with tips and drills for mechanical adjustments.
Meanwhile, the Blast Basketball clips a Blast motion sensor to the waistband of a basketball player to capture accurate realtime performance metrics, including jump height, rotation and hang time, the company said.
The motion sensor is triggered by user motion and automatically captures 3D action metrics in real-time.
“By making our natural motion capture solutions more accessible to consumers, we’re creating a new class of athlete and extreme sports enthusiast who are empowered by technology,” said Donovan Prostrollo, Blast Motion Now marketing senior director. “Now, athletes of all ages and skill sets can see motion come alive with metrics over video, giving them the insights they need to gain the competitive advantage and win.”
