Basketball-tossing robot tracks player

Balls blasting across the court weren't a sign of basketball practice; they signified the next step in designing a "throwing" machine for athletes. "Our company," said one of the owners, Jim Langland of Ottumwa, "makes sewing machines for quilting. About three years ago, we did some R and D in a completely different direction; we're now throwing basketballs." He was on the Ottumwa campus helping a crew take photos and video of the basketball-throwing machine, which shoots balls out during practice. The quilt-sewing machine company, APQS, now has the first in its line of smart robot pitchers, the Hot Shot.