Everybody needs a hobby when they retire, and former major league baseball player Jason Giambi turned to virtual reality, teaming with EON Sports on a virtual reality hardware-software package to teach players how to recognize pitches and understand the strike zone.
The solution, which is called Project OPS consists of software, a Bluetooth controller and virtual reality headset that can plug into an Android or iPhone. You fire up the software, put on the headset, and have a 360 degree view of a ball park with a pitcher on the mound pitching to you.
The idea is that as the pitch comes to the plate, you make your pitch selection and decide whether you think it’s going to be a strike or not. It’s set up in a game format, so you get more points the more often you understand what you’re seeing. The training software is designed to help hitters understand the skills and techniques to begin to get better at pitch and strike zone recognition in the game (and presumably eventually in real life).
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