Wilson Sporting Goods is moving into “smart basketball” with the Wilson X Connected basketball and app, using proprietary technology to track made and missed shots in real time. The ball, which is only being launched in North America for the time being, was developed in a partnership between Wilson and Sport IQ, a Finnish sports technology and analytics company. The two have been working together for the last three years to integrate sensors and gamification technology into sports equipment. The concept is based on a small sensor embedded in the ball, which connects to an app on the user's smartphone through Bluetooth. The app enables the players to share the tracked results with friends or a coach. They may choose from one of four modes, from focused shooting drills to a noisy version including horns, music and announcers to simulate the game experience. The sensor has a battery that is meant to last for 100,000 shots.

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