Golf Ball Tracking System

Abstract

Provided is a smart golf ball comprising: an inner electronics core, the inner electronics core comprising: a microcontroller with memory and at least one processor; a power supply in communication with the microcontroller; and an RF transmitter/receiver in communication with the microcontroller; an outer core surrounding the inner electronics core; and a skin layer covering the outer core. Also provided is a data processing system configured for golf ball tracking, comprising: a host computing system; a display in communication with the host computing system; one or more smart golf balls, each comprising a Real Time Location System (RTLS) Ultra-wideband (UWB) transmitter/receiver and a corresponding ID, in communication with the host computing system; three or more beacons, each comprising an RF transmitter/receiver, in communication with the host computing system; and a golf ball tracking module.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A smart golf ball comprising:
 an inner electronics core, the inner electronics core comprising:
 a microcontroller with memory and at least one processor; 
 a power supply in communication with the microcontroller; and 
 an RF transmitter/receiver in communication with the microcontroller; 
   an outer core surrounding the inner electronics core; and,   a skin layer covering the outer core.   
     
     
         2 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the RF transmitter/receiver is configured for Ultra-wideband (UWB) in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz range 
     
     
         3 . The smart golf ball of  claim 2 , wherein the RF transmitter/receiver is a Real Time Location System (RTLS) UWB Antenna. 
     
     
         4 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the power supply is a lifetime battery. 
     
     
         5 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the power supply is a rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         6 . The smart golf ball of  claim 5 , wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to be recharged through magnetic induction. 
     
     
         7 . The smart golf ball of  claim 5 , wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to be recharged through mechanical agitation. 
     
     
         8 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the inner electronics core further comprises a 6-axis gyroscope and accelerometer in communication with the microcontroller. 
     
     
         9 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the inner electronics core further comprises a wake up interface in communication with the microcontroller. 
     
     
         10 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the inner electronics core further comprises a layer of protective encasement surrounding the microcontroller, power supply, and RF transmitter/receiver. 
     
     
         11 . The smart golf ball of  claim 10 , wherein the inner electronics core further comprises an inner compliant layer surrounding the layer of protective encasement, wherein material of the inner compliant layer is an elastomer. 
     
     
         12 . The smart golf ball of  claim 11 , further comprising an armor shell layer surrounding the inner compliant layer. 
     
     
         13 . The smart golf ball of  claim 12 , wherein material of the armor shell is RF transparent material. 
     
     
         14 . The smart golf ball of  claim 12 , wherein the inner electronics core further comprises an outer compliant layer surrounding the armor shell layer, wherein material of the outer compliant layer is an elastomer. 
     
     
         15 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein material of the outer core layer is an elastomer. 
     
     
         16 . The smart golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein material of the skin layer is a polymer resin. 
     
     
         17 . A smart golf ball comprising:
 an inner electronics core, the inner electronics core comprising:
 a microcontroller with memory and at least one processor; 
 a power supply in communication with the microcontroller, wherein the power supply is a lifetime battery; 
 an RF transmitter/receiver in communication with the microcontroller, wherein 
 the RF transmitter is a RTLS UWB Antenna configured for the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz range; 
 a 6-axis gyroscope in communication with the microcontroller; 
 an accelerometer in communication with the microcontroller; and 
 a wake up interface in communication with the microcontroller; and, 
   wherein the inner electronics core further comprises a layer of protective encasement surrounding the microcontroller, power supply, RF transmitter/receiver, 6-axis gyroscope, accelerometer and wake up interface;   an outer core surrounding the inner electronics core; and,   a skin layer covering the outer core.   
     
     
         18 . A data processing system configured for golf ball tracking, the golf ball tracking system comprising:
 a host computing system comprising memory and at least one processor;   fixed storage coupled to the host computing system;   a display in communication with the host computing system;   one or more smart golf balls, each comprising a Real Time Location System (RTLS) Ultra-wideband (UWB) transmitter/receiver and a corresponding ID, in communication with the host computing system;   three or more beacons, each comprising an RF transmitter/receiver, in communication with the host computing system; and   a golf ball tracking module in communication with the host computing system wherein the golf ball tracking module comprising computer program instructions executing in the memory of the host computing system that upon execution are adapted to perform:
 receiving pings of the corresponding ID of a one of the smart golf balls by at least three of the three or more beacons, each ping received by each beacon at different times; 
 determining the 3D position of the one of the smart golf balls using a Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) algorithm based on each of the different times each ping is received by each of the beacons and a position of each of the beacons; and, 
 displaying the 3D position of the one of the smart golf balls on the display. 
   
     
     
         19 . The golf ball tracking system of  claim 18 , wherein the golf ball tracking module further comprises computer program instructions executing in the memory of the host computing system that upon execution are adapted to perform:
 receiving pings of the corresponding ID of a different one of the smart golf balls by at least three of the three or more beacons, each ping received by each beacon at different times;   determining the 3D position of the one of the smart golf balls and the different one of the smart golf balls using a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) algorithm and the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) algorithm; and,   displaying the 3D position of the one of the smart golf balls and the different one of the smart golf balls.   
     
     
         20 . The golf ball tracking system of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more smart golf balls each further comprise a 3 axis gyroscope and an accelerometer and wherein the golf ball tracking module further comprises computer program instructions executing in the memory of the host computing system that upon execution are adapted to perform:
 receiving measurements from the 3 axis gyroscope and accelerometer of the one of the smart golf balls by at least one of the beacons;   determining spin data of the one of the smart golf balls based on the received measurements from the 3 axis gyroscope and accelerometer of the one of the smart golf balls; and,   displaying the spin data of the one of the smart golf balls on the display.