Dribble Like a Pro: How Elete’s AI-Powered App Transformed Basketball Training
Elete is a revolutionary basketball training application that leverages deep learning, computer vision and augmented reality to help develop the user’s dribbling skills through training drills and in-app challenges. Valere designed and built the Elete application, turning it into a successful platform that provides real-time feedback and game-like experiences. By focusing on a single sport and skill, while also leveraging Apple’s CoreML technology, Valere built an app that is a top sports training product in the Apple App Store. Here’s how they did it.
The Beginning
Valere’s CEO, Guy Pistone, is a former professional basketball player who also previously sold a successful sports application that provided one-way communication in the form of video content to the end-user. He realized that many users had expressed a desire for feedback to track their progress in their skills. Pistone engaged his own software development firm, Valere to assist him in creating his new mobile application, Elete. Valere saw the potential and collaborated closely with Guy to gain insight into their business and concentrate on a specific sport, starting with basketball and focusing on the dribbling skill.
During the Discovery Phase, where the Valere team provides research, a roadmap, and visuals to bring the vision to life, the team designed a user experience and identified different “game modules” to be included in the app. They proposed a shift from traditional training methods to a more engaging approach where users would “play” while simultaneously improving their dribbling skills. Interviews with past users revealed the need for additional game modes, including a “Practice Mode” for solo users and a competitive “game mode” for those who wanted to compete against others. Valere also decided to incorporate playful language, design, and other elements to enhance the user experience.
Overcoming Technical Challenges: Building Elete’s Revolutionary Basketball Training App
Valere faced a daunting challenge in providing instantaneous feedback to users without relying on server-side processing, which would cause significant delays. After thorough research, the team concluded that the best solution was to build the app using Native iOS and leverage Apple’s CoreML technology. By processing data using machine learning directly on the iPhone, the app could provide real-time feedback to users. However, several technical obstacles emerged, including ball tracking, phone angles, background recognition, depth handling, and light refraction. Through tireless effort and the use of computer vision algorithms and gyro sensors, the team was able to overcome each obstacle and produce a revolutionary basketball training app.
Innovative Game Types and Engaging Gamification Strategies
With the technology and overall strategy in place, Valere proceeded to build various engaging game types within a three-month timeframe. The focus was on developing “Game Types” that would drive high user engagement upon the app’s launch. The key game type introduced was the “dribbling tournament,” where users would compete against four others over a two-week period. Winners of these tournaments would advance to more advanced leagues, starting from High School, then College, and ultimately Professional.
The developed game types employed gamification strategies, encouraging users to win points and tournaments. Some of the innovative game types include:
Speed Drills
Users engage in 50 traditional ball-handling drills, earning points based on their speed. Visual cues and a dribbling speedometer help users understand their performance level.
Rhythm Drills
Inspired by the popular game Dance Dance Revolution, users watch a demonstrator dribble to a rhythm and must mimic the rhythm and dribble moves for high points.
Beat the Hand
An augmented reality hand attempts to steal the ball, challenging users to react and time their dribble moves as they would in a real basketball situation.
Chase the Ball
Users evade a small hand by utilizing sequences of dribble moves while also stomping on ground targets for additional points.
Chase the Targets
Users stay connected to moving targets while maintaining their dribble. The longer they stay connected, the more points they accumulate.
Below the Line
Users must perform crossovers as low as possible, beneath an augmented reality line. Hitting the line results in point deductions, and the line progressively lowers as users level up.
With additional “game types” and challenges available for the player to complete. Users from young children to professional athletes have greatly enjoyed this gamified approach which helped them make practicing mundane skills fun and enjoyable.
Elete: From a Successful Launch to Substantial Growth
After a successful launch, Elete received overwhelming positive feedback from users, which was attributed to the founder’s strategic marketing on Facebook, Google, and Instagram. Within just 12 months, the app generated substantial traction, leading to numerous acquisition opportunities. In 2022, Elete was successfully acquired, resulting in a significant return on investment. To this day, this app continues to gather positive reviews, with plans to create more engaging and immersive games to elevate the players’ basketball skills in the comfort of their own homes.
Valere played a transformative role in turning a one-way sports communication app into a platform that provides real-time feedback and game-like experiences. Their incorporation of innovative game types, gamification strategies, and technical solutions contributed to the app’s success and eventual acquisition.
Looking to transform your sports app into a game-changing platform? Contact Valere today to learn how we can help take your app to the next level!
Valere is an award-winning software development agency that has built over 300 top-rated applications for startups and Fortune 500 companies in all verticals like healthcare, finance, sports, fitness, education, and more. Their apps have been featured by the New York Times, and have been consistently recognized as Apple App Store’s top featured apps, TechRadar, and Google Play Store’s top featured apps! Schedule a call with us today to learn how we can help your team create the perfect software or application that can Accelerate Your Business Goals!
