huupe Launches New Tech That Turns Any Hoop Into A Smart Hoop

New products make smart basketball more affordable and accessible

Every Driveway Hoop Is About to Get Smart

Basketball players, coaches and trainers, do you want an affordable and accessible smart hoop created by basketball technology company huupe, and designed by co-founders Paul Anton and Lyth Saeed, to delight while improving both kids and adults? Launching two new products simultaneously this week gives consumers a cutting-edge option to enhance their driveways. The $995 ARENA Portable is a standalone, full-size portable smart hoop contrasted with the $699 ARENA Upgrade Kit that allows buyers to transform most hoops into a smart hoop in minutes. The Sports Techie community blog learned from Paul how the world’s first smart basketball hoop was designed by huupe’s to track shots, analyze fundamentals and enable players to compete with other huppesters worldwide, including NBA legend, investor and the new huupe, Chief Invention Officer, Tracy McGrady. Parents will love knowing their ballers are not buried in phones and tablets because they can now enjoy playing basketball outside, on a playground or in a gym, because of amazing key features present in both the ARENA Portable and ARENA Upgrade Kit. The unique sports tech products’ AI observes a shooters form and then coaches up in real time to be like Steph Curry, probably the best shooter in basketball history. Included with AI shot analysis are LED lights designed to flash green on each made bucket, compelling shot charts, swish ratios, and ultra cool, global leaderboards hoopers can compete on against friends or the world’s best. It gets even better, the technology connects with the huupe mobile app for immediate performance tracking, training sessions and fun competition. Bringing back the entertainment of sport through immersive technology to create interactive basketball experiences created to assist all levels of players of any age, to improve their game while having fun is the huupe way. They offer a cost effective, NBA level training facility that connects hoops around the world. It’s truly like having NBA 2K in real life.

Ones Basketball League (OBL) and huupe Investor Tracy McGrady (L) with THE Sports Techie’s son on the autism spectrum, Kellan Roble (R)

“Smart basketball technology has traditionally required a major investment in an entirely new system,” said Anton, CEO and Co-Founder of huupe. “With ARENA Portable, families can purchase a complete smart hoop for under $1,000. With the Upgrade Kit, they can add huupe technology to the hoop they already own. Together, these products represent an important step toward making smart basketball mainstream.”

Arena Portable and Arena Upgrade Kit

The premium ARENA in-ground hoop launched in June at a price competitive aiming to be in the price range of traditional, high-end, full functioning baskets sold by known brands such as Gorilla and ProShot. huupe now delivers its patented technologies to a broader audience:

ARENA Portable ($995): A full-size, height-adjustable smart hoop anchored by a water-filled base and equipped with wheels.
ARENA Upgrade Kit ($699): A sensor hub that turns most existing backboards into smart hoops in minutes – so consumers can upgrade the hoop they already own.
Both units come with free shipping.

ARENA Portable combines a full-size, height-adjustable outdoor hoop with huupe’s proprietary smart tracking technology. It automatically tracks makes, misses, shooting percentage, shot distance, shot location and long-term performance trends without requiring players to wear sensors or manually record results.

The weather-resistant system features a 44-inch backboard, water-fillable base, built-in wheels and rebound plate. Through the huupe+ mobile app, players can review shot charts, complete skill challenges, access training from NBA trainers and compete through multiplayer games and global leaderboards.

ARENA Upgrade Kit brings connected basketball technology to the hoop a player already owns. Its fully weatherproof Sensor Hub attaches to an existing backboard and provides always-on tracking, including shot charts, rim charts, shot trajectory and other performance data.

The kit also includes an arena-grade LED backboard perimeter lighting system and is compatible with most 44-inch to 72-inch glass, acrylic and polycarbonate backboards.

The warranty is one year; however, they now offer extended 1-2-3-year warranties via Extend. Shelf life of the products ranges from 5 years to 20 years.

The two new products were strategically launched after the June launch of the premium huupe ARENA in-ground hoop. It expands huupe’s lineup of connected basketball experiences for homes, training facilities and other locations.

Start Up Power

Anton has a law degree focused on intellectual property. Before huupe, he designed augmented reality glasses that Saeed felt could be upgraded with the addition of a screen.

Founded in 2019, the novel concept truly began 15 years ago when two lifelong friends from Milwaukee started playing “PIG” over a long distance using the Snapchat social platform. The trick was discovering how to stay connected, and they eventually progressed towards bolting an iPad to a basketball hoop leading to the invention of the original prototype that has since morphed into huupe. T

he company has grown from 2 to now, 19-20 employees. Products are manufacturing mostly in south Asia with some of it made in America.

huupe now redefines basketball through smart hoops, connected training and interactive gaming experiences. The company’s products combine sports, technology and entertainment to create immersive basketball experiences that help players of all ages improve their game while having fun.

For more information, visit www.huupe.com

Ones Basketball League (OBL) and huupe Investor Tracy McGrady (L) with THE Sports Techie, Robert (Bob) Roble (R)

Sports Techie, Paul believes traditional sports equipment is becoming connected technology, bringing data, competition and personalization into the physical game.

I really enjoyed our conversation. Paul was kind, easy-going and highly intelligent. After researching huupe, I kept coming across the fact that they had a treasure trove of collected data over the years. I asked what all that data that mean for huupe? Paul feels like first, it sets the company apart from all competitors. Secondly, the data has immense potential to be monetized.

I asked him whether China had reversed engineered their products yet? He didn’t think so and said all the backbreaking data collected over 7-years to improve the algorithms so it works on any hoop, out-of-the-box and without calibration, would be difficult for anyone to copy, adding, they had applied for patents in China to protect their intellectual property. He said the algorithms needed to not confuse objects in the background like cars or trees, with the player and basketball being shot, which huupe ARENA sensors do amazingly well.

I noted to Paul that just three years ago after a $10 million investment raise, the cost for their products were $4,500-$6,000 and they sold 45,000 units. Yet, with this launch, the price range was way down to $995-$699. I wanted to know how the drastic price reduction happened and what volume they are expecting to sell. To save costs, they needed to downsize the hardware, software, computers and cameras, while eliminating the need to partner with expensive third-party hoops. All that dropped the scalable products to the newest price points. The ARENA Portable and Upgrade Kit forecast for sales this year is in the 10,000 range.

What was very interesting to me as a lifelong hooper, was the biomechanics the technology captures and analyzes. Paul explained about how the proprietary technology watches the elbows and shoulders, and by using these data points, can show why a player is missing short or pushing to the left. As a sports technologist that’s been at it for 30-years, this on-demand training as cool as it gets for me.

For the new generations of basketball players, worldwide gamification has caught fire with dozens of games offered. Avatars are used, stats are tracked, and OVR ratings increase and decrease after sessions. Real world movements are also available. Users can create their own games, and Anton says third party developers are developing games like they do for Roblox.

Finally, the media streaming availability on the premium, portable and upgrade kits are fantastic. On the backboard, users can watch a training session or listen to their favorite play list. Engaging in your driveway with streamed interactive training sessions by an NBA trainer is simply amazing.

What’s next for huppe is soccer, lacrosse and hockey, with the possibility for sales in the future by the likes of Dick’s Sporting Goods and other major retailers.

Next time you’re in the mood to track a workout, play pea shooters, have a 3-point and free throw contest with friends located in different places around the city, U.S. or world, or want instant AI-driven analysis, do so with ARENA Portable or ARENA Upgrade Kit.

Did I mentioned you can also play Baseketball!

See you later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!

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