Impact and sound analysis for golf equipment
View Patent ↗Golf performance and equipment characteristics may be determined by analyzing the impact between a golf ball and an impacting surface. In some examples, the impacting surface may be a golf club face. The impact between the golf ball and the surface may be measured based on sound and/or motion sensors (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, etc.). Based on motion and/or sound data, various equipment-related information including golf ball compression, club head speed and impact location may be derived. Such information and/or other types of data may be conveyed to a user to help improve performance, aid in selecting golf equipment and/or to insure quality of golfing products.
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for determining an amount of compression of a golf ball that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:
record sound generated from an impact of a golf ball against a surface;
generate data corresponding to the sound, wherein the data includes an audio signal corresponding to the sound of the impact between the golf ball and the surface;
extract component frequency information from the audio signal;
determine an amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact with the surface based on the component frequency information;
automatically direct the golf ball to a first area after determining the amount of compression is within a predefined compression range, else
automatically direct the golf ball to a second area after determining the amount of compression is not within the predefined compression range; and
generate an output specifying the amount of compression of the golf ball.
2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein determining the amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact is performed by:
identifying a frequency of the audio signal having a greatest amplitude from the component frequency information, and
looking up an amount of compression corresponding to the identified frequency having the greatest amplitude using a pre-defined frequency-to-compression table.
3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
select the pre-defined frequency-to-compression table from a plurality of pre-defined frequency-to-compression tables based on at least one of: a composition of the golf ball and a distance from the surface which the golf ball is launched.
4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
determine whether the determined amount of compression of the golf ball is within the predefined compression range; and
in response to determining the amount of compression is within the predefined compression range, the output generated includes a validation of a quality of the golf ball.
5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
determine an amount of ambient noise; and
select a height from which to drop the golf ball to the surface based on the amount of ambient noise.
6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5 , wherein selecting the height from which to drop the golf ball includes:
determining a height at which the impact between the golf ball and the surface is expected to have a sound intensity exceeding an intensity of the ambient noise.
7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5 , wherein selecting the height from which to drop the golf ball includes:
determining a height at which the impact between the golf ball and the surface is expected to have a sound intensity exceeding an intensity of the ambient noise by a specified amount.
8. A system for determining an amount of compression of a golf ball, comprising:
a microphone for receiving sound generated from impact of a golf ball against a surface;
a computing apparatus including a processor;
memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing apparatus to:
generate data from the sound received via the microphone, wherein the data includes an audio signal corresponding to the sound of the impact between the golf ball and the surface;
extract component frequency information from the audio signal;
determine an amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact with the surface based on the component frequency information;
automatically direct the golf ball to a first area after determining the amount of compression is within a predefined compression range, else
automatically direct the golf ball to a second area after determining the amount of compression is not within the predefined compression range; and
generate an output specifying the amount of compression of the golf ball; and
an output device providing at least one of visual, audio, or textual output relating to the amount of compression of the golf ball.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein determining the amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact is performed by:
identifying a frequency of the audio signal having a greatest amplitude from the component frequency information, and
looking up an amount of compression corresponding to the identified frequency having the greatest amplitude using a pre-defined frequency-to-compression table.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing apparatus to:
select the pre-defined frequency-to-compression table from a plurality of pre-defined frequency-to-compression tables based on at least one of: a composition of the golf ball and a distance from the surface which the golf ball is launched.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing apparatus to:
determine whether the determined amount of compression of the golf ball is within a predefined compression range; and
in response to determining the amount of compression is within the predefined compression range, the output generated includes a validation of a quality of the golf ball.
12. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a movable arm configured to direct the golf ball to the first area or the second area.
13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing apparatus to:
determine an amount of ambient noise; and
select a height from which to drop the golf ball to the surface based on the amount of ambient noise.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein selecting the height from which to drop the golf ball includes:
determining a height at which the impact between the golf ball and the surface is expected to have a sound intensity exceeding an intensity of the ambient noise.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein selecting the height from which to drop the golf ball includes:
determining a height at which the impact between the golf ball and the surface is expected to have a sound intensity exceeding an intensity of the ambient noise by a specified amount.
16. A method for determining an amount of compression of a golf ball, comprising:
recording sound generated from an impact of a golf ball against a surface;
generating, by a computing device, data corresponding to the sound, wherein the data includes an audio signal corresponding to the sound of the impact between the golf ball and the surface;
extracting, by the computing device, component frequency information from the audio signal;
determining, by the computing device, an amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact with the surface based on the component frequency information;
automatically directing the golf ball by a movable arm to a first area after determining the amount of compression is within a predefined compression range, else
automatically directing the golf ball by the movable arm to a second area after determining the amount of compression is not within the predefined compression range; and
generating an output specifying the amount of compression of the golf ball.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein determining the amount of compression of the golf ball upon impact is performed by:
identifying, by the computing device, a frequency of the audio signal having a greatest amplitude from the component frequency information, and
looking up, by the computing device, an amount of compression corresponding to the identified frequency having the greatest amplitude using a pre-defined frequency-to-compression table.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
selecting, by the computing device, the pre-defined frequency-to-compression table from a plurality of pre-defined frequency-to-compression tables based on at least one of: a composition of the golf ball and a distance from the surface which the golf ball is launched.
19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
determining, by the computing device, whether the determined amount of compression of the golf ball is within a predefined compression range; and
in response to determining the amount of compression is within the predefined compression range, generating the output to include a validation of a quality of the golf ball.