AR paddle system with modular handles and live motion feedback for immersive table tennis training
From Houston's 2021 ITTF Table Tennis Championships Finals to Las Vegas' 2025 WTT United States Smash, America has become the stage for many of the most prestigious events of Table Tennis. However, while the pro scene is on the rise, everyday play is slipping: the number of casual U.S. players has fallen from about 19 million in 2010 to roughly 16 million today.
Despite hosting world-class tournaments and growing professional visibility, grassroots participation continues to decline steadily year over year.
What is pushing regular paddlers away even as the spotlight on the sport grows brighter? How might we lower the barriers to entry and make table tennis more accessible for casual players?
One site must serve ~76,000 people. Tables are packed and wait times are long.
Private coaching often costs $80+ per hour, with venue fees adding $30+ per table hour.
Many players drive 30+ minutes each way to reach a club. Travel can take longer than practice itself.
$80–$300 blade, a pair of $60-$180 consumable rubbers, a box of $10-$20 balls. Annual gear cost easily tops $200+.
Coaching pushes an adult beginner up the ladder 2X the speed as solo practice. Yet only a small slice of U.S. players can continuously afford lessons or reach a qualified coach, so the majority stall around the 1400 mark, see little progress, and eventually drift away.
I conducted comprehensive user research with 48 anonymous survey feedbacks to understand pain points and opportunities from the perspective of actual table tennis players.
Cited time constraints as a major barrier to playing
Find opponents by approaching strangers at clubs
Find landing quality hits most rewarding
Based on research insights, I developed detailed user personas representing different skill levels and their unique challenges. I also identified the 6 key skills that players need to develop.
Through analyzing user pain points and behaviors, I identified six critical user demands and created storyboards to illustrate three key scenarios: "Pricey Promises, Painful Reality", "Too Far, Too Busy, Too Late", and "Virtual Victories, Real Defeats".
Players want a personal training guide on the go that tells them exactly which drill to run next, so they can stop wasting court time on guesswork and start every session with a purpose.
Whether it's a topspin loop or a tricky serve, users want real-time numbers on speed, spin, and sweet-spot accuracy so they can correct mistakes on the very next ball instead of finding out later on video replay.
The modern amateur needs a setup that works in a cramped dorm, a quiet basement, a public park, or a full-size club—online or offline—so practice never has to wait for the "perfect" venue or partner.
Table tennis is more fun with people. Players want one-tap partner matching, quick challenge invites, and highlight clips they can post and compare, turning solo drills into a shared experience.
Small rating bumps, XP streaks, and visible badges matter. Seeing USATT-style ratings rise or a new badge flash on screen keeps motivation high long after the honeymoon phase of a new gadget is over.
Nothing ruins training faster than fake feel! Users demand true racket weight, real ball contact, and spin physics that transfer seamlessly from living-room drills to club-night matches.
A high-fidelity VR game that simulates full table-tennis physics.
Players face AI bots or online opponents in a 3×3 m play area; stats, replays, and ladders are built in leaderboards.
A Bluetooth jump-rope with built-in magnetic sensor and 3-axis accelerometer.
It counts rotations offline, then syncs to the app for guided workouts, XP badges, and leaderboards.
A 6-gram clip-on gear that attaches to the racket butt cap.
Measures swing speed, spin category, and sweet-spot percentage; data appears in the mobile app after each rally.
Simulates the core feedback loop of the Table Tennis Pocket Coach — detecting a player's swing completion and correct racket orientation via IMU fusion and jerk analysis, then triggering haptic feedback to simulate instant coaching response.
Experience the full interactive demo with all 8 screens, complete navigation, and advanced animations. Click through the pages using the bottom navigation bar to explore each feature.
How to explore: Use the bottom navigation to switch between Home, Profile, Quick Match, Awards, and Friends pages. Click on buttons, cards, and interactive elements to trigger animations and see real-time feedback. The radar visualization in Quick Match allows you to find nearby opponents, and clicking will navigate to the versus screen.
Real-time map with player locations and interactive navigation
Innovative radar visualization with scanning animation for finding opponents
Interactive charts showing rating progression and detailed statistics
GSAP-powered transitions, stagger animations, and micro-interactions