The ORCA sensor

One sensor.Every axis of every lift.

Untethered, pocket-sized, and honest to every axis of the bar. Snap it on, lift, and read what the bar actually did, not what a straight-line approximation says it should have done.

Configure your ORCA See it in the app →

At a glance

The numbers that matter. Click any tile.

Sensing

Dual 6-axisIMUs

“Research-grade precision.”

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Sample rate

200samples/s

“Smoother than a slow-motion camera.”

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Weight

38g

“You will forget it is on the bar.”

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Mounting

Magnetic+ strap

“Every surface welcomes ORCA.”

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ORCA sensor on a barbell, capturing true multi-axis path

Multi-axis · true path

Six axes. One honest rep.

Bars don't move in a straight line. Tethered tools pretend they do, and quietly filter out everything else. ORCA reconstructs the true 3D path of every rep, so your velocity stays honest when the bar drifts forward, tilts or rotates.Read why a cable tether lies to you.

True 3D bar path

Full trajectory in space, not a projected vertical line.

Bar tilt & drift detection

Catch uneven pulls and asymmetric catches before they become habits.

Phase detection inside the rep

Acceleration, peak velocity and deceleration identified rep by rep.

Untethered & pocket-sized

Travels with the athlete, not the facility. Zero setup overhead.

Explore the analytics in the app →For teams & facilities →

The whole point

VBT only works if you can trust it, everywhere, on every lift.

A number you cannot trust is worse than no number at all. If the tool only works on one bar, in one rack, on a handful of exercises, it is not a training system, it is a demo. ORCA is built to give you data you can act on for squats, pulls, presses, olympic lifts, cable work and jumps, without changing the setup between movements.

Just as important, VBT should never become a brake on your training. Snap the sensor on, open the app, lift. No calibration rituals, no laptops on the platform, no certification required to read the screen. The numbers are presented so an athlete can act on them mid-session and a coach can trust them at a glance.

Trust the number

Dual 6-axis fusion means the reading matches what the bar actually did.Read more.

Use it anywhere

Barbells, dumbbells, cables, sleds, jumps. Same sensor, same workflow.

No formation required

The app turns raw physics into decisions you can make in under a second.

See how the app makes it usable →

ORCA vs. the alternatives

Why athletes and coaches switch.

Accuracy is what makes VBT worth doing at all. If your velocity number drifts from rep to rep or from set to set, every prescription downstream is guesswork. This is the row that separates real training data from a rough estimate.

Setup time decides whether VBT actually happens on the gym floor or stays a nice idea in a spreadsheet. If mounting takes five minutes between sets, athletes will quietly stop using it, and the data stops being useful.

Real programs are not just back squat and bench. Cable work, jumps, sled pushes and dumbbell variations all deserve the same quality of data. A device that only measures a straight vertical bar path locks you out of most of your programming.

Longitudinal data is only useful if every session was measured the same way. Environmental drift, camera angle changes, or a cable that was clipped an inch off will silently poison months of tracking without ever throwing an error.

The best sensor is the one that follows the athlete. Travel, satellite gyms, home setups, competition warm-ups. If measuring velocity requires a full case and a dedicated rack, most of an athlete's real training goes unmeasured.

High-performance athletes dedicate their lives to perfecting every detail and metric of their training. The measuring equipment they trust should reflect that same standard. If your data is unusable, why buy it in the first place?

Spec

RecommendedORCA

AlternativeTethered VBT

AlternativePhone apps

Recommended

ORCA

Best

Dual 6-axis, true 3D path

Tethered VBTGood

Strict pull, free path, broken

Phone appsBad

Measuring pixels

Why it matters

Accuracy is what makes VBT worth doing at all. If your velocity number drifts from rep to rep or from set to set, every prescription downstream is guesswork. This is the row that separates real training data from a rough estimate.

ORCA

Dual 6-axis, true 3D path

Two 6-axis IMUs cross-reference every rep at 200 samples per second to reconstruct the full 3D path of the bar. From that path, we extract precise velocity along the exact trajectory of every movement: strict, curved, free, or rotated.

Tethered VBT

Strict pull, free path, broken

Precise on a strict vertical pull. The moment the bar moves freely, the single-axis cable destroys every bit of that accuracy by projecting a real curve onto a straight line.

Phone apps

Measuring pixels

A camera has no way of generating precise velocity values. Even with flawless phone placement, which a gym environment makes nearly impossible, you are measuring pixels, not motion.

Best

Snap, lift, go

Tethered VBTPoor

Made for static setups

Phone appsBad

A tripod between sets

Why it matters

Setup time decides whether VBT actually happens on the gym floor or stays a nice idea in a spreadsheet. If mounting takes five minutes between sets, athletes will quietly stop using it, and the data stops being useful.

ORCA

Snap, lift, go

Magnets snap onto any bar in one second, or mount on any surface with our rapid quick-release accessories. No cables, no tripod, no calibration. Small enough to live in your pocket, it moves rack to rack without touching a thing.

Tethered VBT

Made for static setups

Base unit on the floor, cable clipped to the bar, and a heavy, bulky kit to lug between every rack. Built for controlled setups, painful on a live gym floor.

Phone apps

A tripod between sets

Either you carry a full tripod and look out of place between sets, or you prop the phone against a plate and pray for the right angle.

Best

Every lift, any path

Tethered VBTOkay

Smith machines, mostly

Phone appsPoor

Clean side profile only

Why it matters

Real programs are not just back squat and bench. Cable work, jumps, sled pushes and dumbbell variations all deserve the same quality of data. A device that only measures a straight vertical bar path locks you out of most of your programming.

ORCA

Every lift, any path

Every exercise is possible: barbell, dumbbell, cable, sled, jumps, machines. Free 3D motion means the sensor doesn't care what direction the load travels.

Tethered VBT

Smith machines, mostly

Smith machines are the only setup where the single-axis cable truly works. Beyond that, you're stuck with strict vertical lifts, and even those deliver middling results. Anything that drifts, rotates or moves horizontally is either blocked by the cable or measured incorrectly.

Phone apps

Clean side profile only

Needs a clean side profile of the barbell. Crowded racks, mirrors and moving people all break the tracking.

Best

Same reading, anywhere

Tethered VBTGood

Drifts the second it slips

Phone appsBad

One nudge, lost data

Why it matters

Longitudinal data is only useful if every session was measured the same way. Environmental drift, camera angle changes, or a cable that was clipped an inch off will silently poison months of tracking without ever throwing an error.

ORCA

Same reading, anywhere

Same reading in a home gym, a warehouse, a hotel gym, or a stadium. No lighting, no wires, no drift.

Tethered VBT

Drifts the second it slips

Extremely repeatable when it's set up. The data is easily corrupted the moment the cable shifts, the mount slips, or the bar drifts off the calibrated axis. A one-inch clip error silently poisons every session after that.

Phone apps

One nudge, lost data

To use your phone between sets, you have to reposition it exactly the same way every time. Miss that and you lose the only accuracy the app ever had.

Best

Pocket-sized, 38 grams

Tethered VBTBad

A case to carry

Phone appsOkay

Phone yes, tripod no

Why it matters

The best sensor is the one that follows the athlete. Travel, satellite gyms, home setups, competition warm-ups. If measuring velocity requires a full case and a dedicated rack, most of an athlete's real training goes unmeasured.

ORCA

Pocket-sized, 38 grams

38 grams, small enough to slip into a pocket alongside the mounting kit. Travels with the athlete, not the facility.

Tethered VBT

A case to carry

Case, base, cable, mount and a place to put it all. Not something you're carrying between two racks, let alone between two gyms.

Phone apps

Phone yes, tripod no

The phone travels fine. The tripod, the angle and the reframing between sets are the actual nightmare.

Best

Pro data, fair price

Tethered VBTPoor

Priced for perfection

Phone appsOkay

Cheap now, costly later

Why it matters

High-performance athletes dedicate their lives to perfecting every detail and metric of their training. The measuring equipment they trust should reflect that same standard. If your data is unusable, why buy it in the first place?

ORCA

Pro data, fair price

Professional-grade insight at a price built for real athletes and real teams. Not a research toy. Not a gym gimmick.

Tethered VBT

Priced for perfection

Priced for theoretical perfection rather than real gym use. You pay a premium for precise data that isn't truly adapted to the way athletes actually train.

Phone apps

Cheap now, costly later

Low upfront cost. The real price comes later, paid in altered programming and training decisions built on information you can't trust.

Tap any row to reveal the full breakdown

What's included

Every sensor ships ready to lift.

Every ORCA comes with its full mounting kit. The magnetic hold takes care of standard barbells. For non-magnetic bars, and for the most violent lifts, the strap mount takes over.

ORCA sensor

Dual 6-axis IMU device, engineering-grade polymer housing, with integrated N52 rare-earth magnets delivering 150 N of pulling force. Stays locked through the most brutal strength impacts.

Flat-mount adapter

Magnetic flat mount for cable machines, sleds, and flat contact surfaces where a round bar isn't in play.

Compact strap mount

Compact strap adapter for non-ferromagnetic bars and for the most violent lifts, where a mechanical lock beats magnets.

USB-C charging port + quick start

Charge through any standard USB-C cable. Pair over Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 (2M PHY, Enhanced Data Rate) and record your first rep in under a minute.

Configure your ORCA

Packaging options

Protect your investment.

From a single-athlete carry case to a full multi-sensor rugged deployment case, every ORCA has a home.

Single sensor

Soft carry case

Semi-rigid EVA carry case that holds the sensor and adapters. Light, quiet, gym-bag friendly.

Semi-rigid EVA shell, zipped closure.

Fits the ORCA sensor and full adapter kit.
Lightweight EVA foam shell resists crushing in a packed gym bag.
Laser-cut foam insert secures every piece in its slot.

Dual bundle · single upgrade

Dual rigid case

Foam-lined rigid case built for two sensors and every accessory. Ships standard with the dual bundle, and available as a rigid upgrade on single units.

Custom foam cut for two sensors and adapters.

Precision foam cutouts for two ORCA sensors and every adapter.
Magnetic securing keeps each sensor locked against the foam during travel.
Dedicated foam insert cradles every cable, strap and adapter accessory.
Rigid shell protects the electronics from drops and travel.
Ships standard with the dual bundle. Optional upgrade on single units.

Teams · facilities · pros

Multi-sensor rugged case

Heavy-duty case for team deployments. Built to travel and live on the gym floor. Optional in-case charging keeps the entire roster ready between sessions.

Rugged exterior, checked-baggage friendly.

Configurable for 4 to 12 sensors with dedicated foam cutouts.
Optional in-case charging keeps the entire roster session-ready.
Logo customization and roster labeling available in the team configurator.

Scroll the thumbnails to browse each case

Configure your ORCA Contact us for team kits →For teams & facilities →

Full specifications

Every detail, on the record.

The engineering decisions behind these numbers are documented in the Science and data section.

Sensing

Sensor technology: MEMS IMU (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System Inertial Measurement Unit)
IMU configuration: Dual research-grade 6-axis (accelerometer + gyroscope)
Output sample rate: 200 samples / second
Internal oversampling: 32 kHz per IMU, decimated with anti-aliasing
Sensor fusion: On-device Kalman filter, hardware-synced
Timestamp precision: Sub-millisecond, dual-IMU locked
Motion tracking: True 3D bar path, quaternion-based orientation
Dynamic range: ±16 g accelerometer, ±2000 dps gyroscope
Metrics: Peak & mean velocity, ROM, power, acceleration, bar path

Physical

Weight: 38 g
Mount: 4× N52 rare-earth magnets · 150 N pulling force · 16 N52 total in the kit
Housing: Engineering-grade polymer
Water & dust: IP54, sweat & chalk resistant

Connectivity & power