KZone – How it Works

Pitches are tracked by two or three mounted sensor cameras. These sensor cameras do not provide video for broadcast, they are only used for tracking the strike zone and the ball. Each of the sensor cameras communicates with tracking computers that are connected to each other and to the strike zone imaging computer. An operator sets the strike zone for each batter prior to each pitch, at the moment the batter plants his front foot just before receiving the pitch. By knowing the three dimensional positions of the ball and the three dimensional positions of the strike zone, the KZone system determines when the ball intersected the front surface of the strike zone as soon as the pitch hits the catcher’s mitt. Inside a production truck, images of the strike zone are created by a series of virtual imaging computers that draw the three dimensional strike zone in the video. Animation is created instantly, depicting the strike zone, and the point that the pitch entered the zone.