Golf Ball Embedded Sensor System for Stroke Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current golfing technologies lack an efficient and integrated system for tracking and analyzing golf ball strokes to provide real-time feedback and improve player performance, particularly in terms of accuracy and score optimization.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball caddie system comprising a golf ball with embedded sensors and a portable electronic device that tracks and analyzes various attributes of a golf ball's stroke, including acceleration, spin, and position, to offer guidance, scoring, and recommendations for improvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors and electronics are embedded in the golf ball to enable real-time tracking, then measurement precision and information quality improve, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds sensors, accelerometers, and electronic components within the hollow interior cavity of the golf ball, nesting the tracking system inside the ball structure. This allows real-time stroke data collection without external attachments, resolving the contradiction by integrating measurement precision into the ball's core structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The golf ball is designed to serve multiple functions: traditional golf performance, real-time stroke tracking, wireless data transmission, and integration with mobile applications. This multi-functionality approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate devices, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high measurement precision.
2Productivity
If real-time feedback and detailed analysis are provided to golfers, then player performance improvement improves, but information processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a mobile device as an intermediary between the golf ball's sensors and the golfer. The ball collects raw stroke data, the mobile device processes and analyzes the information, and presents user-friendly feedback. This intermediary approach distributes processing complexity across multiple components rather than concentrating it in one system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements real-time feedback loops where stroke data is immediately processed and returned to the golfer through the mobile application. This continuous feedback mechanism enables rapid performance adjustment and improvement while automating the analysis process to manage information processing requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sensors and electronic components are integrated into the golf ball, then functionality and information quality improve, but manufacturing precision and assembly difficulty worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the golf ball into functional segments: the outer cover layer for golf performance, the hollow interior cavity for housing electronics, and the base structure for overall integrity. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured and tested separately before final assembly, reducing the precision requirements for integrating multiple components.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus including a golf ball comprising an internal sensor, and an internal wireless communicator. The internal wireless communicator adapted to communicate parameters sensed by the sensor to external electronics, wherein the external electronics are configured to determine if the golf ball went into a cup based upon the parameters.