Identification and Selection of Sensors Suitable for Integration into Sport Equipment: Smart Golf Club

Smart sport equipment is being increasingly used in highly competitive (professional) sport. By definition, smart equipment employs various sensors for detecting its state and actions. The correct choice of the most appropriate sensor(s) is of paramount importance. When integrated into the equipment, ideal sensors are unobstructive, and do not change the functionality of the equipment. The article focuses on identification and selection of sensors suitable for the integration into a golf club. We used two orthogonally affixed strain gage sensors, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis gyroscope. The responses of strain gage sensors are used for measuring golf club flex. They are calibrated and validated in the laboratory environment by the highly accurate optical tracking system Qualisys Track Manager (QTM). Accelerometer and gyroscope are used to measure golf club acceleration and angular speed. Field tests are performed without QTM, only with the sensors affixed to the golf club. The first set of results show that the strain gage sensors complement the inertial sensors. For some golf swing tracking and error detection applications strain gage sensors could be the only type of sensors needed. Our final goal is to be able to acquire and analyze as many parameters of a golf club in real time during the entire swing. Such information would make the identification and selection of the most appropriate sensors to be applicable for a defined task easier.