CourtOne

How it fits together

CourtOne, part by part

Scroll or tap a part. Press “See the 3D CAD design” to watch the model, built from our CAD, light each part up and show how it connects.

See the 3D CAD designShow the concept

Real-time 3D render · drag to rotate · final design may varySwipe sideways to rotate

1. 01

   The whole CourtOne

   The backboard is the product and its own official: an AI camera, two corner cameras, a Pi Zero 2 W and a secure element in the frame, a rim sensor on the ring plate, LED edge lights, a call tone and a double-sided shot clock above the board call baskets, points, shot clock resets and goaltending from inside the backstop at each end.

2. 02Brain

   Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W in the top rail of the home backboard

   The brain: it runs the courtone-board program

3. 

   03

   AI camera in the top rail

   Looks down at the ring, the key and the top of the arc (tilted 48 degrees): the ball through the ring, goaltending above the ring and the shooter's feet

   Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W in the top rail of the home backboard · CSI-2 ribbon cable inside the top rail · Ball and player positions (the model runs on the sensor)

4. 04

   Corner cameras in the side rails

   Each side rail sees its own corner and wing, looking out of its side face 30 degrees to the court (rev T): the shooter's feet against the 3-point line

   XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense · SPI inside the frame tube (foot positions, not video; clips on request) · Foot positions at release and short clips

5. 05

   Rim sensor on the ring plate

   Feels every rim and net hit, a player hanging on the ring and a ring that has worked loose

   XIAO nRF52840 Sense · USB-C lead from the ring box into the frame (USB serial) · Rim hits, hang time and vibration

6. 06

   Shot clock display above the board

   Shows 24/14 (or 35) seconds on both faces, tenths in the last 5 seconds, blank when needed

   64x32 LED panels · HUB75 ribbon from the Matrix Bonnet up the support column · Shot clock digits

7. 07

   Edge lights and call tone

   Red all round at the end of each period, yellow along the top at the shot clock signal; in club mode green, amber, white and blue flashes for each call, with a tone

   LED strips · One GPIO data line (WS2812) and one PWM line inside the frame · Light colours and the tone

8. 08

   Secure element and tamper switch

   Signs every call with its clip; the tamper switch marks the log if the frame is opened

   ATECC608 · I2C and one GPIO inside the top rail · Signatures and the tamper state

9. 

   09

   Away backboard

   The same smart backboard at the other end: makes, shots, rim hits and its own shot clock in step

   Pi Zero 2 W (away board) · Gym Wi-Fi (MQTT), BLE as the back-up between the boards · Shot clock state, makes and rim hits at the away end

10. 10

    All connected

    8 key parts, one program, and your phone

Our circuit board · rev A-0

One board of our own inside CourtOne

Every chip on one board we design, shaped to fit: the processor, cameras and sensors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, lights, sound and power. No plugs, ribbons or adapters. It is checked in our CAD against every part around it, and it arrives from the maker ready to run our software from a microSD card. Turn the model, or pick a part below to see where it sits.

Demo · 6 real-world moments

See CourtOne work

Short animated scenes of real moments: what happens today, what CourtOne does about it, and what lands on your phone. The same scenes play in the IEMI app.

Demo scenes show how CourtOne and its app are designed to behave. CourtOne is in design; nothing here is recorded from real equipment yet.

The idea

The backboards are the referee: they call baskets and points, reset the shot clock, call goaltending, light up and run the rest of the gym

How the parts connect

CourtOne, wired up

Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.

The program

What controls CourtOne

while True:
    pos = cam.positions() + corners.feet()   # IMX500 + 2 ESP32-S3, time-synced
    hit = rim.read()                          # USB serial from the ring box
    for c in referee.calls(pos, hit, clock):  # basket 1/2/3, reset, violation, goaltend
        if c.conf < c.threshold: c = c.unsure()   # never guesses: clip to the captains
        log.append(secure.sign(c, clip.around(c)))
        if mode.club: edges.show(c); tone.play(c)
        app.publish(c)
    clock.apply(app.keys(), referee.resets)  # operator keys in league mode
    panels.draw(clock.text()); away.sync(clock)
    if clock.zero(): strips.yellow()
    if game.period_end(): strips.red()

To your phone

How the data reaches CourtOne

The scorer's tablet at the table and the coach's or facility manager's phone

1. Home backboard
2. Gym Wi-Fi · MQTT (WPA3, TLS)
3. Scorer's tablet and the coach's phone
4. CSI-2, SPI, USB, HUB75, WS2812, I2C and Wi-Fi
5. Home backboard

Key specs

Targets for production units; they may change during development.

Pricing

Target pricing. A plain pair of glass boards ($1,226 each), rings and padding (about $500 per end, est.) and a two-clock shot clock package ($2,900) is about $6,350. Our separate products for one court (CourtCall, SmartHoop for 2 hoops, ShotClock, CornholeCam, CoachVision) add up to $9,174 + $257/month. Parts cost about $3,330 per pair at qty 1 and the whole cost about $3,830 (est.).

Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.

1. 4 Nov 2026, 07:15LatestA club or school buys CourtOne as the backstop front at both ends of its court: the backboard, ring and shot clock at FIBA 2026 equipment size (https://assets.fiba.basketball/image/upload/documents-corporate-fiba-official-rules-2026-equipment-v1-0.pdf). So the electronics must be boards an assembly house makes and tests the same way every time, inside the 50 × 60 mm frame tube, the ring box and the shot clock box, on the gym's shot-clock feed, with nothing sticking out of the frame.

   • What we designed: boards of our own in each backboard. An 8-layer main board lies flat in the top rail with the processor and a heat block into the aluminium frame, memory, the Wi-Fi module behind a new radio window, the security chip, the latched microSD card, a magnet sensor for the service cover and a small call tone. Its camera chip sits on a small head tilted 51° down at the ring and the arc. A corner board stands in each side rail with an ESP32-S3 and a 5 MP camera chip looking out of the side face; it keeps the last 2 s of frames and sends only the ones round a shot. A rim board on the ring plate feels every rim and net hit. Twenty-nine light sections line the frame’s slots, and the shot clock box holds two digit boards and a power board on the gym’s shot-clock feed.
   • How we checked it: the boards are written as code and opened in KiCad (0 design-rule violations). The code places 182 parts at their sizes and checks no overlaps, the heights in every gap, each board inside its rail or box, the lights over their slots, the gap between the mains and 5 V sides, the lead voltage drops, and that every call from the CAD (the ball in and through the ring, the ring’s front edge, goaltending, the free-throw line, the feet on the arc, the wing and both corners) passes through its window from where each lens really sits. The shared design review: 23 pass, 2 fixed, 11 to prove, 0 fail, with a request for quote written from the parts.
   • What we learned: the ball through the net is 74° below level from the top rail, so its line of sight leaves the front face far below the lens; the small round window could never pass it. An M8 lens low in the rail and an 18 × 39 slot window pass every call. The corner cameras looked through the front face turned 55° out, which put the corner spot 84° off the face; they now look out of the side faces, 61° at worst. The CAD moved the same day, with a radio window in the aluminium frame and the tone holes over the board. There were no new CricketOne board decisions since the last update, and every other board was re-run and still passes.
   • What is next: the head brackets and the boards inside the backboard CAD with every part checked in 3D; Wi-Fi range through the radio window; the corner frames’ transfer time on the dev kit; the lights and digits read from across the court; and the next board, RoadOne.

   See it in 3DFull research and design

2. 29 Oct 2026, 18:15FIBA's Official Basketball Rules 2026 took effect on 1 October 2026: replay may check goaltending and basket interference after a foul, and courts get more freedom in line colours (FIBA). US high schools add a 0.3 s rule after a late throw-in touch for 2026-27 (NFHS).

   • Market and rules check (DESIGN.md): every FIBA 2026 and NFHS 2026-27 change listed with what it changes in CourtOne; the 2026 equipment rules the boards were built to are unchanged, so the CAD and the legal checks stand
   • Goaltending and basket interference: in league games the boards now keep the clip even when a foul is called on the same play, for the new FIBA replay rule (equipment.json)
   • 3-point value: the line is placed from the court's measured size at setup, never from its paint, because courts may now use other line colours
   • New assist for US schools: the boards time the catch and the shot near the basket against the 0.3 s rule, and the app clock shows tenths for the whole last minute
   • Competitors: a new search found no youth or rec basketball product that makes calls; the NBA's camera plans are for arenas. Price kept at $4,990 for the pair
   • Product page https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/ gains a 2026 rules FAQ and the new assist in its specs
   • Next: ask school officials in phase 3 whether they would use the 0.3 s timing; close-out C9 (recommend the first product to the owner) from 30 Oct 00:00

   See it in 3DFull research and design

3. 28 Oct 2026, 18:49A rec centre or school gym needs its open gym and club games called fairly with no referee: varsity officials cost about $92-131 a game each (Massachusetts MIAA fee schedule), and a plain pair of glass boards with a shot clock set already costs about $6,350 (dealer prices, est.).

   • Buyer check with sources: what gyms pay for boards, shot clocks, referees and shot tracking today, and the three closest products (Huupe smart hoops and its $699 upgrade kit, Noah shot tracking, Daktronics-style shot clocks); none of them makes calls
   • Parts list prices checked on maker pages today: parts $3,328 a pair at qty 1
   • Cost and margin table in the design notes: the old $4,690 left only about 18 % at qty 1, so the target price is now $4,990 (about 23 % at qty 1 and 43 % at qty 100, est.), still below plain boards and a shot clock set
   • Product page: the summary leads with the calls, the specs list what it calls alone and what it only assists, the shot clock text now matches the rev O design, power 9.5 W per board, and the first three FAQs answer the buyer's top questions
   • Stage 2 verdict: stage 2 ready, with three questions for customer reviews (calls in open gym and league games, the price, and the FIBA Level 1 ring and digits)

   See it in 3DFull research and design

4. 28 Oct 2026, 02:45Basketball is short of referees: about 500 of Kansas's 2,300 basketball officials left in four years (KSHB, https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/going-360-examining-impact-of-referee-shortage-on-kansas-city-area), and leagues stretch the rest over double and triple headers (Hawaii Tribune-Herald). Open gyms, PE and club games run with no referee, so the gym needs the backboard itself to call baskets, points, shot clock resets and goaltending (FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024, Art. 29 and 31), with nothing else on the court.

   • Rev O design of CourtOne: the backboard now calls made baskets and whether they were worth 1, 2 or 3, resets the shot clock when the ball touches the ring, calls shot clock violations, goaltending, basket interference and a lodged ball, and keeps the score, by itself in club, school, pickup and training play. Fouls near the basket are evidence only. In league games it only assists the referees
   • Inside each board: a corner camera behind a small flush window in each side rail, the top camera tilted to see the arc, a call tone, a tamper switch and a secure chip that signs every call. The edges flash green, amber, white or blue for each call in club play and stay FIBA red and yellow in league play. Below a stated confidence it says unsure and the captains check the clip
   • Designed for the hits: dunks and hanging on the ring (the ring still bolts to the support frame, never to the glass), ball strikes on the windows and the shot clock, and players running into the padded edge; no new edges. Corner threes right by the board line, fouls away from the basket and a ball on top of the board are listed gaps
   • CAD review: every new part sized from its datasheet, the script checks that each camera sees the 10 call targets it needs, no collisions and no floating parts. New app screens, including a no-official game mode. Price $4,690 a pair against about $6,350. Next: RacketOne becomes its own umpire (rev O4); see https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

5. 27 Oct 2026, 23:35A rec centre or school gym buys backboards, rings, padding and now a shot clock (32 US state associations used a shot clock in 2025-26, NFHS; a two-clock package is $2,900 plus freight, GHSA). FIBA's 2026 equipment rules fix the board at 1,800-1,830 x 1,050-1,070 mm, the ring at 3,050 mm and 151 mm out, and put the shot clock on the backboard support. The product must be that backstop, legal on the court.

   • Redesigned CourtOne (rev S) as a smart backboard pair: board, padding, ring and shot clock at both ends drawn in code CAD, and the script checks the FIBA 2026 sizes (board 1,829 x 1,067, ring Ø457 at 3,050 mm and 151 mm out, no ring contact with the glass, clock 320 mm above and behind, light strips on 99 % of each edge)
   • Inside each board: an AI camera and a Pi Zero 2 W in the top rail, red and yellow LED edge lights in the frame, a rim sensor on the ring plate, and a double-sided LED shot clock with its power supply above the board
   • Removed the ceiling head, far-half head, wall key, rim pods, wall shot clock faces and table key; the scorer's own tablet runs the shot clock in the app, so there is no detachable part; cornhole, gym pickleball and full-game film are listed as gaps with the reason
   • CAD review: every bought part sized from its maker page or datasheet, both ends on the gym's support frames 28 m apart, no collisions, no floating parts. Price $4,490 for the pair vs about $6,350 for plain boards and a shot clock set (est.). Next: ball-impact tests on the clock box and the RacketOne smart net posts; see https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

6. 27 Oct 2026, 23:35One basketball product per gym, as the smart backboard itself.

   • Still part of CourtOne, now redesigned as a smart backboard: https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

7. 27 Oct 2026, 23:35One basketball product per gym, as the smart backboard itself.

   • Still part of CourtOne, now redesigned as a smart backboard: https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

8. 27 Oct 2026, 23:35One basketball product per gym, as the smart backboard itself.

   • Still part of CourtOne, now redesigned as a smart backboard: https://iemilabs.com/products/courtone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

Smart equipment · legal on the field

CourtOne is the basketball backstop front (pair): backboard with frame and padding, made smart

It replaces a gym's glass backboards, rings, edge padding and shot clock set at both ends, hung on the gym's existing wall or ceiling support frames, with every part built in. Everything is inside the backboard frame, the ring plate and the shot clock box: an AI camera behind a window and a Pi Zero 2 W with the clock driver in the top rail, LED light strips in the frame's inner border, a rim sensor in a box on the ring plate, and two LED panels with the power supply in the shot clock box. Rev O adds a corner camera behind a flush Ø12 window in each side rail (3.6 m above the floor, above the padding), a call tone, a tamper switch and a secure element in each top rail. Same size, support frame and installation as a plain glass board and shot clock. About 8.7 kg frame, 49.2 kg glass and 15.5 kg ring set per end (from the CAD) plus about 1.4 kg of electronics (est.).