Odd Ball is a company that specializes in creating electronic bouncy balls that offer a unique and entertaining way to generate MIDI sounds through tapping or bouncing. The company is introducing additional gestures to its device, such as spin, twist, move, shake, and air throw, allowing users to create sounds in a unique manner.
The company has introduced a new feature in the latest app update that allows you to take control of the music at a house party using simple gestures. The DJ mode now features background tracks and on-screen instructions for gestures. By combining one or more gestures, the app will seamlessly incorporate sound effects into the track.
The startup has classified gestures into two categories: triggers (tap, shake, twist), which the company compares to playing a note; and modulators (move, spin, air throw), which the company likens to knobs on a console. 
The intensity of the gesture is also a crucial factor to consider. The app generates sound in response to the intensity and speed of a ball spinning or shaking.
Pasquale Totaro, the founder and CEO of the company, informed Eltrys that the ball contains a sensor that the company has not yet utilized. However, thanks to the new update, the startup is now making use of that sensor.
“The hardware initially included an unused motion sensor that served no purpose.” The plan was to release a firmware update in the future to activate its functionality. This is our current situation. The extensive research and development efforts were necessary to fully unlock all the features. Totaro explained to Eltrys via email how the trackpad, which used to only recognize taps, now has additional features like zoom, pinch, drag, and pan.
He emphasized the team’s dedication to distinguishing one gesture from another.
Odd Ball, a company that emerged in 2018 through a successful Kickstarter campaign, introduced its first version for sale in November 2020. Totaro mentioned that the startup’s goal was to create a music-making process that is both effortless and enjoyable. He saw playing ball games, a natural human instinct, as a means to achieve that.
Everyone is already familiar with the art of bouncing, shaking, and throwing a ball, and these movements inherently possess a musical and rhythmic quality. This ball’s exceptional quality helps music lovers overcome initial learning barriers when trying to learn an instrument, a piece of equipment, or software,” he said.
The company has successfully sold over 25,000 devices, with a significant number of purchases coming from kids and music enthusiasts. Although Odd Ball has not secured any institutional funding, it does have a few advisors on its board. Notable individuals in this group are Glass Direct founder and Google executive Jamie Murray Wells, Ali Mostoufi, who had his startup me.com Inc. acquired by Apple in 2008, former EMI and Warner Bros. Records executive Ted Cohen, and Roy Burstin, the former CEO of digital media company Mitu.
Totaro mentioned that the company is currently profitable and has plans to broaden its product range with the development of two new devices. Odd Ball is developing a new version of the ball that incorporates multiple RGB LEDs to enhance the interactive experience.
The gesture technology is highly adaptable and has the potential to expand to various other devices. Totaro mentioned that Odd Ball is developing the potential to utilize everyday objects in the XR/VR industry.
