Lithuanian Company Creates New Bowling Sensor That Turns Feel Into Data

Before we dive into the technology, can you walk us through your career journey? How did your experiences in engineering, sports science, or bowling itself lead you to this point?

My professional journey began with physics. I graduated from Vilnius University in 1990 with a five-year university diploma equivalent to an MSc in Physics, and since then I have been fortunate to work on a wide range of scientific and engineering projects where precision measurement was always at the center.

Early in my career, at the Institute of Physics, I worked on the Gardis mercury vapor analyzer, an instrument capable of detecting as little as 0.5 picograms of mercury in the air. It was used in many research projects, including studies of prehistoric atmosphere samples from Antarctica. Later, I worked with the Finnish company Dekati on fine-particle measurement technology, developing instruments able to count individual airborne particles as small as three nanometers.

I also collaborated with the Lithuanian laser company Ekspla on the construction of a petawatt laser system in the Czech Republic — a laser with power measured in thousands of trillions of watts. Today, through my company Glosendas Ltd, I continue working with advanced technology as the developer and manufacturer of wildlife trackers for birds and mammals.

So, my background has always been connected with measuring things that are very difficult to measure — tiny particles, extremely small traces of mercury, very high-power laser systems, or the movement of animals in the wild. That experience naturally shaped the way I look at problems: I tend to ask how something can be measured more accurately, more reliably, and in a way that helps people make better decisions.

Sport has also been an important part of my life. I was involved in paragliding for about 15 years, which taught me a lot about discipline, physics, body control, and respect for small technical details. Three years ago, together with my teenage son Emilijus, I met coach Andrius Gasparavičius, who introduced us to what sporting bowling really is. We started taking lessons, and I quickly realized that bowling is much deeper than it may appear from the outside. It is a sport of technique, timing, physics, and repeatability.

Wanting to understand more, I read Bowling Beyond the Basics by James Freeman and Ron Hatfield. The book answered many questions, but it also raised new ones. Around the same time, I sponsored the installation of the Specto tracking system in our local bowling center. I was impressed by how accurately it measured distance and speed, but I had some doubts about the RPM measurement. That was the spark.

At first, the idea was simply to build a small tool that could measure a bowling ball’s revolutions per minute more accurately. But as development progressed, it became clear that the tool could do much more. Conversations with bowlers both at home and abroad confirmed that this was not just my own curiosity — there was real interest in better, more accessible measurement and feedback.

So, we hired a development team, rolled up our sleeves, and got to work. A year later, we are proud to introduce what we like to call our newborn baby: a tool born from physics, engineering, curiosity, and a growing love for the sport of bowling.

Was there a specific moment or problem you encountered, either as a bowler, coach, or designer, that sparked the idea of creating an in-ball tracking sensor?

Bowling is fundamentally a psychological game. After several years as an active player, I kept encountering performance-related questions that neither coaches nor existing technologies could answer with full accuracy or objectivity.

Many critical aspects of ball motion, release consistency, and decision-making were still interpreted subjectively rather than measured precisely.

Coming from a professional background in tracking and sensor development, I realized that this gap was not due to a lack of expertise - but rather a lack of the right tools. That realization became the turning point. If accurate, real-time data could be captured directly from inside the bowling ball, we could finally answer the most important questions bowlers and coaches face: questions of cause and effect, consistency, and repeatability.

That insight ultimately led to the idea of creating an in-ball tracking sensor — one capable of turning subjective assumptions into measurable, actionable data.

Innovation in sports often comes from frustration. What was the biggest limitation you were seeing in current coaching tools that convinced you something completely new was needed?

The first major limitation was the lack of truly detailed analysis of an individual release. From the bowler’s perspective, every shot can feel identical at the moment of release, yet the results often vary significantly. Existing coaching tools simply couldn’t explain why. Athletes were left relying on perception rather than precise data.

This limitation became even more apparent under competitive pressure. Tournament conditions highlighted how essential it is to “polish” a release to the point where it becomes repeatable, regardless of stress or external factors. However, without objective measurements, achieving that level of consistency becomes largely guesswork.

At the same time, there was a clear gap in the market. No tools could accurately measure true RPM throughout the entire motion — especially from release to impact. For many players, this is a critical parameter, yet it remains inaccessible with existing technologies. These limitations made it clear that a fundamentally new approach to coaching and performance analysis was needed.

Can you describe the early stages of development? What were the biggest technical or conceptual challenges you and your team faced when you first attempted to place a sensor inside a bowling ball?

In the early stages of development, we believed the biggest challenge would be computational - ensuring the sensor could process data accurately and deliver highly precise measurements. However, as development progressed, we realized that the real challenge was not the calculations themselves, but the physical integration.

Designing a sensor that could be easily inserted and removed, remain completely unnoticeable to the player, and - most importantly - not affect the ball’s balance or performance turned out to be far more complex than expected.

Solving this required a deep understanding of both bowling equipment dynamics and hardware design. I am proud that we developed a solution that can be used in virtually any bowling ball without altering its inherent properties. The sensor can be seamlessly installed or removed, allowing players to switch between balls while maintaining a fully authentic playing experience.

At the same time, we did not compromise on data quality. In addition to the ease of installation and removal, our solution delivers exceptionally accurate and reliable measurements, ensuring that the data is not only easy to access, but truly meaningful for performance analysis.

For those hearing about it for the first time, how would you describe what this sensor actually does inside the ball, and what kind of data it tracks during delivery?

At its core, our sensor bridges the gap between intuition and results. In bowling, many critical decisions are still based on feel and experience. Our goal is to transform that intuition into measurable insight.

The device itself is a small, removable sensor that can be inserted into a bowling ball without affecting its performance. Once inside, it tracks key delivery parameters such as RPM, axis tilt, swing height, release speed, and other motion dynamics throughout the shot.

All data is transmitted to a mobile app, where each delivery is visualized in 3D environment. Players and coaches can replay, analyse, and compare shots - making it easier to identify patterns, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement.

In essence, the sensor turns any bowling ball into a smart training device, giving athletes greater control over their performance and helping them build a more consistent, repeatable release.

How do you envision athletes and coaches using this device in real training sessions? What practical improvements can it bring to timing, rotation, consistency, ball motion comprehension, and performance analysis?

First of all, it is important to emphasize that this device is designed to be equally useful for players analysing their own game and for coaches working with athletes. The data is both accurate and clearly presented.

For example, when measuring ball revs, there is no longer a need to record the ball motion with a camera, review the footage in slow motion, manually calculate results - a process that is both time-consuming and prone to error. The sensor does this automatically, delivering precise results almost instantly.

 But it goes far beyond that. Whether you want to understand your swing height, axis rotation, or axis tilt, you receive that information after every shot — consistently and objectively.

What long-term impact do you believe this technology will have on player development, coaching methodology, and even ball design in the bowling industry?

Compared to all the existing solutions on the market, I believe this technology represents a significant step forward in accessing data that is currently either estimated or requires considerable time and effort to measure.

Many modern bowling centres are equipped with the widely popular Specto system. In my view, this device will complement it by providing much-needed data of the shot before and after the foul line - including free swing dynamics, axis tilt, axis rotation, swing height, revolutions, and other key parameters.

By combining these data points, players and coaches can gain a much more complete understanding of the entire shot.

For coaches who may feel overwhelmed by data, how does your system make information readable, accessible, and useful on the lanes?

The system is designed not only to provide numerical values, but also to make those values easy to understand. In addition to raw data, it visualizes the ball’s motion throughout the swing, the axis of rotation, and how it evolves up to the moment of release.

This means that users who prefer a more visual approach - rather than purely numerical analysis - can still fully understand what is happening during each shot.

Our goal is to present complex information in a simple, intuitive way, so that it becomes immediately useful during training, not something that requires additional interpretation later.

As a coach, how would you assess whether this device is best suited only for professional players, or also for beginners?

One of the key advantages of this device is its versatility — it can be used by beginners, advanced players, and coaches alike. Beginners usually focus on developing fundamental skills such as a free swing (for one-handed players), the ability to generate rotation, make it consistent, or adjust it as needed. With this tool, they can immediately see whether they are achieving those goals.

More advanced players, for example those working on changing axis rotation, can track their progress after every throw and objectively evaluate how well they are executing adjustments.

For coaches, the value lies in identifying areas that need improvement and then monitoring how effectively those changes are being implemented over time.

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In every major technical leap there are collaborators who quietly accelerate progress, who would you think was unexpectedly important to getting this product over the line, and why?

We are deeply grateful to a wide group of contributors whose expertise quietly but significantly accelerated the development of this product. Coaches, players, and bowling experts played a crucial role in helping us ask the right questions and validate our assumptions throughout the process. Without their real-world insight, achieving meaningful results would have been far more difficult.

In particular, experienced coaches such as Michael Bai, Andrius Gasparavicius, and Ron Hatfield had an unexpectedly strong impact. Their deep understanding of the game helped us identify which data points truly matter - both for athletes striving to improve and for coaches guiding that process. They were instrumental in transforming raw sensor data into insights that are relevant, practical, and actionable.

Additionally, our collaboration with the USBC played a key role in bringing the product to completion. It allowed us to test and validate the device under real bowling conditions, ensuring that the data is accurate and aligned with industry standards.

This combination of expert insight and formal validation was essential in turning a promising concept into a reliable, performance-ready solution.

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