Is it possible for a Phone App to improve your ‘real life’ Table Tennis? Well I admit I was very skeptical at first, but this App by ttEDGE has blown me away, and continues to impress me with the modules they add!
This App comes from the makers of ttEDGE, a coaching website for amateurs and professional. It started with a multi-ball module, where you learn to anticipate where a ball is directed, giving you more time to block or counterattack. A amazing recent addition is so-called serving mode, where you see a player serving advanced serves, and you learn to read what spin is on the ball!
Here is their description of the App:
The World’s First Brain Training Table Tennis Experience!
Description
Dominate the table tennis scoreboard by creating positive brain change using Table Tennis games. This app will teach you how to return serve, understand spin and anticipate shot direction at progressively greater speeds. Quickly and accurately read the bodily signals of 3 time Olympian, William Henzell and Australian internationals Brett Clarke and Trevor Brown. Table Tennis Edge improves your reaction time and gets you into the zone before a match. Read your opponent’s signals like a boss!!!Background
Our research shows that just 15 minutes per day over 10 days helps you to increase your visual processing speed by at least 50%. We tested both amateur and pro players, and found that Table Tennis Edge elicited neuroplastic change in the visual-spatial processing network of the brain as measured by electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs).A team of professional table tennis players, along with neuroscientists, have developed ground-breaking research into the neuroscience of table tennis. Our goal is for Table Tennis Edge to be the first of many games that bring neuroscience to the everyday player.
As I’ve experience personally, practice with this App really does help your real game, as it trains your brain to react faster, and teaches you to focus on the right parts to help you anticipate the spin and direction of the ball. You can download the App for FREE,so you can get a taste for what it’s like. I expect that when you see how useful the App is, you’ll want to upgrade to the full version.
Please note that I have ZERO financial interest (or other) in this app, I’m just so enthusiastic about this project that I want to tell everyone about it, and also support it so that they can continue to add new modules! 🙂
Here are direct links to the Apple IOS and the Android version of the App.
I’ve been so impressed with the App, that I wanted to know more about it, so I asked Brett Clarke, one of the main drivers of ttEDGE and the App for an interview, which you can find below.
Interview with Brett Clarke – from ttEDGE – phone App
I believe that William and yourself are the main instigators and drivers of this project, how many other people are involved?
There are 5 people involved in this project. William Henzell, Trevor Brown and I are the players and we also have a Neuroscientist and an App Developer on the team. Trevor is a player/coach and also a Neuroscientist, therefore we have 2 Neuroscientists.
I know you’ve been using OOAK Forum to get feedback and bounce new idea off people, how useful is that?
I use OOAK to help guide the direction of the app. We have our own ideas about how the product should evolve however user feedback is probably more important. It’s useless making a product or adding functionality that no one wants, so you need to listen carefully to the users. We have recently improve the look and feel of the app’s interfaces and that move was based entirely on user feedback. We were told on numerous occasions that the graphic design look amateurish and that mattered to users. I’m now contemplating adding slow motion replays of serves as lots of customers seem to want this functionality.
I feel that App clearly targets the club level and higher level players, as these would get the most benefits. Was this the plan all long, or do you wish to target the basement/home players as well?
Yes, the app is more suited to club players and high level players at this stage. It was always the intention for the app to be a ‘brain training’ utility for reasonably serious players. Perhaps we can add some more fun, beginner-friendly modules to attract a wider range of users.
As a personal user I’ve found the reading of spin (especially off serves) to be particularly useful, and find that I’m starting to use the same focus when I play competition. Are you planning to continue to expand on this?
We are definitely looking to expand on the serve return modules. Reading spin is one of the most difficult aspects in table tennis and returning serves can be frustrating and demoralizing at certain levels. Hopefully we have taken a step towards relieving some of this frustration. More serve return modules are on the way!
For those people that play competition, what do you think would be best use of the App? Is it best to just use it as much as possible, or should be get into a routine to use it on competition nights, to get into a good frame of mind?
I think daily usage is the key. I’d be looking to use the app for 15 minutes per day to invoke long term brain change. It should be like training on the table. The more regularly you practice, the better you get. It’s our plan to add some daily training routines to the app.
I’d also be looking to use the app before matches. Playing the multiball modules at high speed will increase your focus and attention. Level 5 (Boost) is faster than real speed and your brain will adapt to the pace. Then balls will seem slower at real speed.
Where do most of your subscribers come from?
Most ttEDGE and Table Tennis Edge subscribers come from the US. There are a lot of table tennis players in the US and they are very enthusiastic about the sport and technology.
I know you (collectively) have made a large investment into this project, in terms of video equipment, facilities, as well as the people involved and the time invested. Are you starting to see some (monetary) return on this investment, or is it too early for this?
12K people have downloaded the app. We are pretty happy with that result, considering the product is far from complete. Not all of those downloaders are paying customers, however there’s always a chance to convert them as the app developers further. Our initial investment was relatively small as ttEDGE already owned the equipment used to build and develop the app. So to answer your question, we have made more money than the initial outlay.
I payed $10 for the full version of the App, which at the time I though was a little expensive for an App. I’ve since realised this app is so much more than I had expected, and is a great educational tool that can benefit most players. It must be a challenge to explain to people exactly what this app offers?
Table Tennis Edge is a free download, although the best modules are part of a combined in-app purchase. For some reason, people tend to compare the price of an app to the price of unrelated apps. A table tennis coaching lesson in Australia is $60 an hour and certain players will happily pay that once a week. Players freely pay 80 dollars for a sheet of rubber.. Then the same people will compare our product to an unrelated 99 cent app. If it was Mac or PC software, people would be less likely to make such comparisons.
Our business model is to raise the price of the app as we continue adding new modules and functionality. Our work and effort will always equate to a higher price. Early adopters will benefit from their investment as they will get updates for free. If you pay for the in-app purchase today you’ll pay USD$9, however you’ll pay a lot more than that in a few months time. There’s a big incentive to pay immediately.
You’ve mentioned that this project is really only starting off, and that you’ve only scratched the surface of the potential. Can you share some (exclusive J) new ideas that you’re considering?
Short to medium term we are looking at adding more shots and combinations of shots. There will be rallies. There should also be training programs rather than just randomly selecting a module. People want direction and the app currently lacks it.
Our Neuroscientists may help us to develop products to put you into peak performance state. Neurofeedback is fascinating and the technology is still evolving.
Virtual Reality is an exciting long term possibility. Perhaps you’ll get the experience of facing world-class players whilst sitting on your sofa.
Features of the app:
Science behind the app:
