Motorized Tennis Ball Launcher

This tennis ball machine is designed to shoot balls on a tennis court to help you practice your strokes. Although machines like this already exist, during my senior year of high school I set out to develop my own that had all the features I wanted for a reasonable price. The machine features completely computer controlled and motorized pan and tilt (left/right, up/down) positioning, ball speed, ball spin, and feed rate. It has a ball hopper that can fit roughly 100 balls and automatically releases them one at a time into the flexible tube that brings it to the individually speed controlled throw wheels that accelerate the ball. Right now, I'm working on a control panel that lets the user set the parameters and control the machine from a back panel. As for the exhibit, it would most likely have to be outdoors due to the speed and distance that the machine shoots. In fact, if it could be on a tennis court that would be awesome! During the exhibit, I would have my laptop or a pendant hooked up to the machine to demonstrate its capabilities. Visitors would be able to control the positioning themselves with a joystick, and fire the machine with a button. They would also be able to stand in front of it and try to catch (or hit with a racket if possible) a ball that gets shot out of it (the balls don't go fast enough to be dangerous). While the machine is in operation, they would be able to see the internal mechanics through plexiglass panels on the frame of the machine. To learn more about this project, please visit www.benjacobson.me/tbm Thanks for your consideration!

The internal tilt assembly of the machine with a custom 3D printed electronics board

A concept for future exterior panels

The internal tilt assembly's first time on the court

The full CAD assembly as of March 2025

A very early wooden prototype of the machine

An old circuit schematic of the machine