A sophisticated pitching robot developed by two alumni of Waterloo Engineering is generating plenty of interest in the world of professional baseball.
Joshua Pope and Rowan Ferrabee launched Trajekt Sports in 2019, the same year they graduated with degrees in biomedical engineering and mechatronics engineering, respectively.
Joshua Pope is a co-founder and CEO of Trajekt Sports.
This month, their advanced pitching machine, the Trajekt Arc, created a buzz at the MLB (Major League Baseball) Winter Meetings in San Diego for its ability to replicate the pitches of every big-league pitcher so batters can prepare to face them in real games.
“We’ve fired a 120-mph fastball,” Ferrabee said of the machine’s abilities. “We’ve fired pitches that have so much speed and backspin, they rise.”
Based in Toronto, the company bills its device as the only commercially available pitching machine capable of replicating human pitchers.
Its technology combines robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D video to accurately replicate the spin axis, seam orientation, spin rate, velocity and shape of an actual pitcher’s pitches, giving batters the ability to practice in advance of facing them.
Trajekt Sports announced in the September that the Chicago Cubs had leased three of its state-of-the-art pitching machines and up to 12 MLB teams are expected use them next season after their recent exposure at the winter meetings.