Markerless Golf Club Measurement With Radar–Vision Deep Learning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf launch monitoring systems face challenges in accurately measuring club parameters without requiring additional markers, which can alter the appearance of the club and introduce hardware complexity, and often require expensive high-speed cameras for limited viewing angles.
Innovation Solution
A combined radar and vision-based system measures club head movement and orientation from behind the player, using 3D scanning and stereo vision techniques to reconstruct the launching scene in high fidelity, allowing for interactive viewing from any angle and resolution without markers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional markers are placed on the club face to improve vision-based measurement robustness, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces radar technology as an intermediary measurement system that works in conjunction with vision-based systems. The radar detects club head position, speed, and trajectory without requiring markers on the club face, thereby maintaining measurement accuracy while reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines radar and vision-based measurement capabilities into a unified platform that can measure club parameters without requiring additional markers. This multi-functional approach allows the system to achieve both positioning and measurement functions using existing hardware, eliminating the need for extra markers while maintaining robustness.
2Measurement precision
If high speed cameras are used to capture club and ball movement for detailed analysis, then measurement precision is improved, but hardware cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The radar system serves as an intermediary that provides accurate measurement of club head motion without requiring expensive high-speed cameras. The radar technology can capture the necessary motion parameters at lower cost, thereby reducing hardware requirements while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using expensive high-speed cameras to directly capture the golf swing, the system creates a virtual representation or copy of the motion data through radar signal processing. This allows detailed analysis of club and ball movement without the need for costly high-speed imaging hardware.
3Adaptability or versatility
If radar-based measurement is used for club parameters, then adaptability to different player types is improved, but measurement precision for certain parameters deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges radar-based and vision-based measurement systems into a complementary hybrid approach. The radar provides adaptability for measuring club head motion and trajectory, while the vision-based system supplements measurement of club orientation and face angle, thereby achieving both adaptability and precision across different parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The combined system provides universal measurement capability that can handle both right-handed and left-handed players through radar, while the vision-based component adds specialized measurement abilities for club orientation parameters. This multi-functional integration ensures both adaptability to different player types and precision for various measurement requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate 3D reconstruction of club and ball movements, providing sub-millimeter precision and interactive replay capabilities, simplifying hardware requirements and reducing costs by eliminating the need for additional markers.
Implementation Method 1
radar based or vision (camera) based
Implementation Method 2
vision (camera) based
Data Source
AI summary
A launch-monitoring system that models a portion of a golf club, golf swing, and golf ball may include a camera and a radar positioned orthogonally to a swing direction of the golf club. A series of images of the golf ball are collected during and after the golf club contacts the golf ball by the camera. The golf swing is captured by the radar. The images are converted into parameterized motion representations, and the radar signal is converted into time-frequency images, which are sent to a convolutional neural network. The convolutional neural network outputs golf club parameters, golf swing parameters, and golf ball parameters, which generate a visual model of the golf club, golf swing, and golf ball in a virtual space. The parameterized motion representations of the golf ball and the time frequency images of the golf swing are not correlated and operate independently from each other.