The OpenBiomechanics Venture: Driveline Goes Open Supply
3 min read
Over a decade in the past, Driveline Founder Kyle Boddy proposed open-sourcing biomechanics data. Wanting again, the premise was easy: Open-source pitch physics information essentially modified baseball. If open-source movement seize information may have a fraction of the identical impression, we may change the sport once more.
Final week, we lastly began to ship on that promise by launching The OpenBiomechanics Project, an open-source initiative for anonymized elite-level athletic movement seize information.
Whereas it’s not pitch-by-pitch MLB biomechanics information, OBP does characterize the biggest and highest-skilled open-access baseball biomechanics dataset so far.
What’s the OpenBiomechanics Venture?
At its easiest, The OpenBiomechanics Venture (OBP) is a website and a data repository. At our web site, you will discover primary details about the challenge, utilization phrases and situations, and find out how to contact us in case you have any questions. Our GitHub repository homes extra biomechanics-specific documentation, uncooked and processed movement seize information, and supporting code.
In our preliminary launch, we offered information from 100 pitchers throughout their movement seize evaluation at Driveline Baseball. Not less than two game-effort fastballs for every athlete have been offered, relying on what number of pitches have been processed and uploaded to our inner database.
Per week later, we did the identical for 98 hitters.
Shifting ahead, we hope to broaden to different athletic actions and different sports activities.
Why did we do it?
We did it to stick to Driveline’s core values: Acquire insights. Use these insights to get gamers higher. Give again to the baseball neighborhood. Lather, rinse, repeat.
We did it to offer entry to movement seize information to those that wouldn’t have entry to it in any other case. College students from socioeconomically deprived or in any other case marginalized teams. College students from scientifically creating nations. We wished to offer them a way to do tasks and submit purposes that may compete with these from extra lucky backgrounds. Perhaps at some point, OBP makes the distinction for somebody, someplace getting that internship or successful that scholarship that helped jumpstart their profession.
We did it to extend collaboration between Driveline, researchers in educational settings, and researchers in different trade positions. Many fingers make mild work.

We did it to assist display screen internship/full-time candidates. Need to get a job right here? Need your software to face out? Take this dataset and present us one thing we didn’t even know was there. Or, even higher, present us the place we are able to enhance!
How will you assist?
One of the best ways you possibly can assistance is to use the info for one thing. Poke round. Visualize it. Analyze it. Do a analysis challenge with it. After which write about it. Put your challenge out into the world and let everybody know Driveline gave you the means to do the challenge within the first place. Curious individuals are already doing it.
In the event you’re focused on contributing or donating to OBP, e mail [email protected]
Assist us change baseball once more…
This publish was written by Kyle Wasserberger, Principal Sports activities Scientist.