Personal Sports Simulation Robot

Abstract

A sports simulation robot for playing games and drills on a standard court or field during which the robot will simulate the competitive play of a human opponent with specific playing characteristics such as strategy, physicality, playing style and skill level. The robot is small enough and light enough to be easily stored, transported and deployed; has a ball storage device for retrieving, storing and dispensing the balls; can reload the balls into the ball storage device by catching them or by autonomously reloading them; has a ball firing system that is compact, lightweight and efficient, that can generate the shot dynamics that the corresponding human opponent would be capable of generating; has a drive system that makes it capable of moving around the court at speeds that are comparable to the speed of the human opponent that is being simulated; has the ability to call shots In or Out, keep the score, provide coaching, and keeps a record over time of the player's performance against different categories of simulated opponents.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sports simulation robot comprising;
 a structure for integrating one or more systems;   one or more computational systems, integrated into the structure, operable for running one or more services;   one or more services, comprising sequences of software instructions and data structures, running on a computational system;   a ball storage system integrated into the structure, responsive to the ball firing service, operable for storing and dispensing game balls into the ball firing system;   a ball firing system, integrated into the structure, responsive to the ball firing service, operable for firing each dispensed game ball with a specific velocity, spin, elevation angle, and azimuth angle in relation to the court, field or pitch;   a player interactive system, integrated into the structure, in communication with the simulation service, operable by a player for indicating the specific velocity, spin, elevation angle, and azimuth angle of each ball to be fired in the sequence of balls to be fired;   a ball firing service, responsive to the simulation service, in communication with the ball storage system and the ball firing system, and operable to control the specific interval, velocity, spin, elevation angle, and azimuth angle with which each game ball is fired; and   wherein the simulation service, responsive to the interactive system, operable for storing and retrieving the specific interval, velocity, spin, elevation angle, and azimuth angle, as indicated by the player using the interactive system, in communication with the ball firing service, and operable for communicating the specific interval, velocity, spin, elevation angle and azimuth angle for each ball in the sequence of balls to be fired in the course of running a drill or game.   
     
     
         2 . The robot of  claim 1 , wherein the ball storage system is detachable from the structure and operable by a player for retrieving the balls from the court, field, or pitch. 
     
     
         3 . The robot of  claim 2 , wherein the ball storage system comprises an opening that is smaller in diameter than the diameter of a game ball, and a wheel mounted on one side of the opening that is operable to rotate and compress a game ball against an opposite side of the ball storage system opening and rolling the game ball into or out of the ball storage system. 
     
     
         4 . The robot of  claim 1 , wherein the ball firing system comprises three or more electric motors controlled individually by electronic speed controllers and with each of the electric motors driving a wheel, with each wheel arranged opposite each other in a ring and separated by a distance less than the diameter of a game ball, forming an opening through which the ball passes, wherein the wheels operating at individual speeds as controlled by the electronic speed controllers act together upon the game ball to provide a specific velocity and spin. 
     
     
         5 . The robot of  claim 1 , comprising a navigation service comprised of one or more sensors, integrated into the structure and operable to generate signals representing the position, velocity, acceleration and azimuth angle of the robot in relation to the court, field, or pitch; 
     
     
         6 . The robot of  claim 5 , wherein the simulation service, responsive to the navigation service, is operable to autonomously orient and configure the robot for running a drill or game on a standard field, court or pitch. 
     
     
         7 . The robot of  claim 5 , comprising a drive system integrated into the structure, in communication with the simulation service, and operable for moving and orienting the robot to the desired position on the court for the launching of each ball in the course of running a drill or game.