Mobile launch monitor

[n1ltd]

Hello. We have released our app - Golf Sims. It is a mobile launch monitor app that works with iPhone X or later models. It is free now because there’s still a long way to go (I can spot so many bugs and those side functions are hidden in this release). I am hoping someone could test it and give us some feedback, especially on the accuracy and user experience. We have been testing it in our office and a few other places. I am not sure how well it could function in different environment (with more complicated background and dim light).

https://apps.apple.com/app/golf-sims/id1547232432?l=en

Please refer to below instruction of use:

1.Place a ball on a hitting mat;
2.Angle the device perpendicular to the ground in landscape mode. (Preferably mounted on a mini tripod)

Tips: Align the floating arrow with the arrow in the center til they overlap;




3.Adjust the position of the device so that the golf ball is inside the detected area;




4.Wait for the ready signal to start swinging.
5.Keep a clear background and preferably use golf balls that are a different color as the background. Make sure there is only one ball in the camera view at a time;
6.Avoid pointing the camera to any light source or reflective objects such as mirrors;
7.Optimal position of the phone is 60cm away from the ball, aligned with your target line;
8.The phone should be at the same level of the golf ball. For example, you should lift the phone to the same level of the ball on tee;
9.Sufficient light exposure is required to track high speed shots with superior accuracy;

The positioning of the phone does not need to be perfect as our AI model is capable of compensating a small margin of error.

[PG50]

I'd be happy to test it, but have an older iPhone. So probably wouldn't be much help.

ETA: Went ahead and downloaded it just to see if it'd work. Wouldn't recognize the ball. So really can't speak to anything as far as accuracy. Still have some feedback. Take it for what it's worth.

1. I like that you have options for different settings (Low Light, Indoor, Normal, Outdoor). However, the slider is not intuitive. Or at least not the best option for those type of selections. I think using the same thing you do for club selection would make more sense.

2. The conditions required to make it work are pretty restrictive. In particular, the background, light source, and one ball requirement. Indoors, some may have the ability to adjust their background. Others may not. Outside, it's even more difficult. As you're pretty much at the mercy of the environment any given day. Light source is another, particularly when outdoors. Indoors, again, might be slightly more controllable. But it's not really clear from the manual/instruction in regards to what is ideal in terms of lighting. The ball requirement may really be a challenge for indoor guys. But may also be challenging outdoors. For indoor net/sim guys, It'd be pretty annoying to have to constantly monitor and clear the area of any other balls.

3. The instructions on setup could be improved. When you say aligned with the target line, one could be confused about wether it should be parallel or perpendicular to the target line. The image above helps. But other launch monitor apps actually require instead that the phone be parallel to the target line.

It is a great idea. And I wish you guys the best. There aren't a lot of players in the app space as far as launch monitors go. So if you can improve upon and exceed the couple others out there, you'll be doing well.

Setting a proper end user expectation would help with satisfaction as well. I doubt we're going to see phone apps that are anywhere near as accurate as a dedicated monitor. Simply because the phone camera tech isn't purpose built for this type of application. So, I'd suggest focusing on a small set of metrics that you can get as accurate as possible. As opposed to trying to deliver similar data to a dedicated monitor. As even many of those don't do incredibly well with things like spin rate and whatnot. I'd think if you could get just the distance numbers accurate, that'd be a huge win. No one would be using it for fitting sessions. But it'd be a great option for your average golfer to dial in their yardages.

[n1ltd]

I'd be happy to test it, but have an older iPhone. So probably wouldn't be much help.

ETA: Went ahead and downloaded it just to see if it'd work. Wouldn't recognize the ball. So really can't speak to anything as far as accuracy. Still have some feedback. Take it for what it's worth.

1. I like that you have options for different settings (Low Light, Indoor, Normal, Outdoor). However, the slider is not intuitive. Or at least not the best option for those type of selections. I think using the same thing you do for club selection would make more sense.

2. The conditions required to make it work are pretty restrictive. In particular, the background, light source, and one ball requirement. Indoors, some may have the ability to adjust their background. Others may not. Outside, it's even more difficult. As you're pretty much at the mercy of the environment any given day. Light source is another, particularly when outdoors. Indoors, again, might be slightly more controllable. But it's not really clear from the manual/instruction in regards to what is ideal in terms of lighting. The ball requirement may really be a challenge for indoor guys. But may also be challenging outdoors. For indoor net/sim guys, It'd be pretty annoying to have to constantly monitor and clear the area of any other balls.

3. The instructions on setup could be improved. When you say aligned with the target line, one could be confused about wether it should be parallel or perpendicular to the target line. The image above helps. But other launch monitor apps actually require instead that the phone be parallel to the target line.

It is a great idea. And I wish you guys the best. There aren't a lot of players in the app space as far as launch monitors go. So if you can improve upon and exceed the couple others out there, you'll be doing well.

Setting a proper end user expectation would help with satisfaction as well. I doubt we're going to see phone apps that are anywhere near as accurate as a dedicated monitor. Simply because the phone camera tech isn't purpose built for this type of application. So, I'd suggest focusing on a small set of metrics that you can get as accurate as possible. As opposed to trying to deliver similar data to a dedicated monitor. As even many of those don't do incredibly well with things like spin rate and whatnot. I'd think if you could get just the distance numbers accurate, that'd be a huge win. No one would be using it for fitting sessions. But it'd be a great option for your average golfer to dial in their yardages.

Thank you for the comments.

1.Yes the four modes are unpleasant, we will replace it in latter updates.

2. I realized everything is pretty much about the instruction, maybe I need to take a very short vid to show the setup instruction. For the light source and one ball requirement, we can make it more automatic, the phone should be able to accommodate to the environments.

3.Thank you for pointing out the difference between align and parallel, I will change it.

Overall, our core tech isn't very stable yet, it can be very accurate (when compare with SkyTrak, no difference on launch angle and ball speed, 3 yard difference on carry distance) but this subject to many limitations (clear background, sufficient light, straight shots). The most frequently seen comments these few days are: not able to pick up any shots. I think maybe I need to readjust things to make people being able to use it first.

[jerrileeh]

that will be so cool