The xFactor Hitting System Patents
The landscape of baseball and softball training is rapidly evolving as technology, data, and analytics become increasingly integrated into player development. X Factor Technology has focused on advancing that evolution through proprietary systems designed to measure, analyze, and improve the timing, geometry, and execution of the hitting event.
Our technology extends beyond conventional practice tools. It combines hitter-specific timing, pitched-ball kinematics, collision-level analysis, biomechanical measurement, and intelligent training systems to create a more precise framework for understanding what occurred, why it occurred, and what successful execution requires.
The X Factor intellectual-property portfolio includes granted U.S. patents as well as pending U.S. patent applications covering additional technologies in biomechanical force analysis, time-domain video analysis, hitter-relative collision geometry, predictive analysis, and virtual and augmented reality applications.
The patents and pending applications presented below provide an overview of the proprietary technologies underlying the X Factor Hitting System, including AI SwingPilot™, Swing Dynamics Pro™, Swing Alert™, and related analytical and training methods.
This patent protects the method of measuring how long a batter takes to complete a swing—broken into precise time segments that define the swing process from start to contact.
The system issues a swing cue, then uses sensors to capture the start of forward bat movement and the moment of contact with the ball (or object). From these two captured events, the system measures:
- Swing Delay™ – the time between the cue (decision to swing) and the first forward movement of the bat. This reflects both reaction time and any hesitation and/or mechanical latency before launch.
- Swing Time – the time from the swing launch (start of the swing) to the moment of contact. This isolates the execution portion of the swing.
- Overall Swing Time – the total time from cue to contact. This is the full swing process, from prompt to result.
The system also measures stride time using a separate cue, either audio, visual or haptic, and it supports training based on preset pitch speeds and distances (Tempo Trainer Pro). Data can be stored, averaged across attempts, displayed for review, or used to calibrate future swing cues.
In plain terms:
This patent protects any system that captures and breaks down a batter’s swing
into measurable time intervals—capturing how long it takes to react, swing,
and make contact. If a product measures that full sequence, it falls under
this patent.
Pitch Tracking and Pre-Captured Swing Time
This patent protects the method of issuing a swing cue in real time based on live captured or preprogramed pitch velocities and the batter’s unique swing time. The system processes the speed and flight path of a pitch, then calculates when the ball will arrive at a target location in the hitting zone.
The batter’s total swing time—measured in advance—is applied to this calculation. That time is subtracted from the pitch’s arrival time to determine the exact moment the batter must start the swing. At that moment, the system delivers a cue—visual, audio, tactile, or virtual—telling the batter to swing.
Additional claims cover variable pitch speeds, stride cues, multiple cue types, and compatibility with various input methods and devices.
In plain terms:
If a product tracks a live pitch and signals the hitter to swing, this patent
protects it.
This continuation patent expands protection to virtual, augmented, and simulated hitting environments, including VR goggles, projection systems, screen-based trainers, and pitching machines. It covers any system that delivers a swing cue based on predefined pitch parameters and measures swing timing-even without a real ball.
What’s new:
This patent introduces target zones-defined spatial areas where contact
is expected. Swing timing is measured by issuing a cue, detecting the start of
forward bat motion, and detecting the bat’s entry into a target zone. These
zones may be real or virtual.
From these events, three proprietary metrics are calculated:
- Swing Delay™ – cue to launch
- Swing Time – launch to zone entry
- Overall Swing Time – cue to zone entry
This enables precise timing measurement for dry swings, tee work, or simulated pitches-with or without ball flight.
The system supports:
- Zone-specific timing profiles (e.g., inside vs. outside pitch timing)
- User-selected pitch types and speeds for simulation
- Real-time swing cueing based on pitch trajectory and individual swing profiles
- Integration with pitching machines using inputted velocity and distance
- Sensor flexibility, including accelerometers, gyros, mics, cameras, and optical gates
In plain terms:
If a system delivers swing timing cues in a
non-live or simulated environment and uses spatial zone entry
to calculate swing metrics, this patent protects it-whether the pitch is thrown,
projected, or virtual.
Phase-Resolved Ground Force Vector Analysis in Biomechanical Movement
Directional and Phase-Specific Ground Force Analysis
This application covers technology that advances conventional force-plate analysis from measuring how much force an athlete produces to determining how that force is directed and functions during distinct phases of movement.
The system analyzes three-dimensional ground-reaction-force data to identify directional force patterns and mechanical behaviors that conventional force magnitude, pressure maps, and center-of-pressure traces alone cannot distinguish. This includes separating active force application from passive movement and identifying patterns associated with propulsion, braking, rotational resistance, instability, and other mechanical inefficiencies.
In plain terms:
The technology determines not only how much force an athlete
produces and where it occurs, but the direction of that force, how it changes
through the movement, and whether it is contributing productively to the
intended action.
Pitched Ball and Batter Video Analysis Systems and Methods
Time-Domain, Collision-Level and Immersive Event Analysis
This application covers systems and methods that combine pitched-ball kinematics with batter-specific swing timing metrics to analyze recorded pitching and hitting events.
The technology compares the movement and arrival time of the pitched ball with the hitter’s individual Time to Impact, including Swing Delay / Adjusted Reaction Time and mechanical Swing Time. It can determine whether the hitter acted too early, too late, or at the appropriate time, distinguish temporal errors from spatial execution errors, and quantify how actual execution differed from what the event required.
The system can also evaluate alternative swing decisions and collision points, incorporate collision geometry and barrel orientation, and extend the analytical framework into three-dimensional, augmented-reality, and virtual-reality environments for event reconstruction, analysis, and training.
In plain terms:
The technology synchronizes the moving pitch with the hitter’s individual
timing and collision requirements to determine what happened, why it happened,
and what execution would have been required for a different outcome.
Swing Coordinate System for Biomechanical Analytics
Hitter-Relative Collision Geometry and Spatial Measurement
This application covers a hitter-relative coordinate system for measuring swing and collision geometry relative to the athlete rather than a fixed field landmark such as home plate.
The technology establishes a stable anatomical reference frame that allows collision depth, barrel orientation, and other spatial measurements to be compared across swings and hitters without those measurements being distorted by batter’s-box position, stance depth, body type, or other setup differences.
In plain terms:
The system separates execution from setup by measuring where and how the
collision occurs relative to the hitter’s own anatomical and swing geometry,
creating a standardized basis for comparing collision depth and barrel
orientation across hitters, pitches, and swing outcomes.