Markerless Golf Club Position Detection via Geometric Feature Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensing devices for golf simulations struggle to accurately detect the position of a golf club without attaching a specific marker, due to variations in club size, shape, color, and material, which complicates image analysis and trajectory simulation in virtual golf systems.
Innovation Solution
A sensing method that utilizes image processing to detect a feature point corresponding to the golf club's position by analyzing changes in shape and edge intensities, such as finding the hosel portion or the point where the shaft and head connect, without requiring a marker, using a camera device and sensing processor to calculate the club's position based on line detection and contour analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a specific marker is attached to the golf club to enable detection, then the golf club position can be detected, but the user must use a specific golf club with a marker and the marker may not be apparent or may be hidden during swing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the detection target from the entire golf club to specific geometric features (straight line portions, corners, endpoints) that can be universally identified through image processing. By focusing on extracting these invariant geometric characteristics rather than relying on attached markers, the system achieves both accurate detection and universal applicability across different golf clubs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a geometric model (straight line approximation) that copies the essential detection-worthy features of the golf club. Instead of detecting the complex real-world golf club directly, the system creates simplified geometric representations (lines, corners, endpoints) that preserve the position information while being easily detectable through image processing, enabling markerless detection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If image processing is used to detect the golf club without a marker, then any golf club can be used, but it is difficult to perfectly extract and recognize the golf club due to variations in size, shape, color, and material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by focusing image processing attention on specific local features of the golf club (straight line portions, corner regions, endpoint areas) rather than attempting to analyze the entire club. By concentrating computational resources on these locally distinctive geometric features, the system achieves accurate detection despite variations in overall club appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the detection problem by changing parameters from color, material, and shape-based recognition to geometric parameter-based recognition (straightness, corner angles, endpoint positions). This parameter transformation makes the detection invariant to variations in club color, material, and overall shape while maintaining sensitivity to position.
3Loss of information
If the entire golf club is analyzed in the image, then complete information is obtained, but the analysis becomes complex and computationally intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential geometric features (straight line portions, corners, endpoints) from the complete golf club image, discarding redundant information about color, material texture, and non-essential shape details. This extraction maintains the critical position information while dramatically reducing computational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the golf club detection task into distinct geometric feature identification steps: detecting straight line portions, identifying corner points, and locating endpoints. This segmentation breaks down the complex overall detection problem into simpler, more manageable sub-tasks that can be processed efficiently.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a sensing device for calculating information about a golf shot when the user hits a ball using a golf club in order to take a golf practice or play a virtual golf game using a screen golf system and a sensing method thereof, and in particular a sensing device for calculating information about a golf shot taken by a user, wherein, when acquiring and analyzing an image of a user hitting a ball using a golf club, the sensing device is configured to effectively detect the position of a feature point corresponding to the position of the golf club through analysis of the acquired image without attaching a certain characteristic marker to the golf club and to calculate various kinds of physical information about the motion of the golf club according to a golf shot using the feature point, and a sensing method using the same.