Understanding the Technology
K Zone technology is based on 20 years of research and development by Dr. Michael Gorman and Dr. Steve Ziola. The K Zone is an impact detection device. When the ball impacts the board, sensors detect the impact, custom electronics process the sound waves from the sensors, and our software reads the signals and triangulates the exact location of the impact.
Dr. Gorman is a pioneer in the development of sound related testing and has developed extensive equipment to view and measure sound waves as they pass through materials. In 1992, Dr. Gorman started Digital Wave Corporation www.digitalwavecorp.com to bring his development of sound technology to industry. Digital Wave works in many industries and has ongoing projects with many of the aerospace companies, as well as NASA and the U.S. Navy.
In the mid 1990’s, while working on an impact detection project for the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Ziola thought up the K Zone board for baseball. Many years later, as electronics became affordable, Dr. Ziola developed the first K Zone. We have made many modifications since then, but the principle idea behind K Zone remains the same. In 2004, BlackSound Sports was started to bring the technology of sound to baseball and softball.
Projection K Zone was developed in 2005 when General Manager Dave Bradshaw stayed late on a Friday night to weld up a big frame. The resulting Big Board and the possibilities of projecting images got everyone excited. While the original frame has since been retired, the visual impact of anyone seeing Projection K Zone for the first time remains. The Projection K Zone continues to evolve into a more realistic training tool and makes pitching fun for all ages.