Nova by Open Launch

[philtrick123]

Quite a bit hotting up with lower price launch monitors. This looks like a new entry https://openlaunch.io/password . ~$1600 price tag. Sits on the floor and is low profile- supports LH and RH players. Based in Dallas. Waiting for further details. ETA for launch Xmas this year.
Its a shame they used Nova as a name. There's already Nova from Optishot, and the Nova launcher (not golf related) for android phone.

[ChadGolf]

It's almost ready, we hope everyone is excited!

Price point is $1500.

[Bubba22]

Give us some details!

[htdumps]

Bubba22 What kind of info you looking for?

[Bubba22]

Bubba22 What kind of info you looking for?

Lots.

1. What's technology? I assume radar and camera? How many cameras? Infrared?
2. Ball and club data?
3. Marked balls?
4. Stickers on club?
5. Floor based but where? Behind you? Righties and lefties?
6. What native software? Range? Courses?
7. Third party software comparable?
8. Battery powered or Ac powered?
9. Connectivity? Wired? Wireless?
10. IOS or Android apps?
11. Reviews?
12. Subscription? Probably not if open API
13. Space requirements?

I am sure there is more but can someone answer these details?

[ChadGolf]

I'll start with the questions you didn't know to ask.

Our Nova by Open Launch is the first true always-ready Internet of Things LM. While a little buzzword heavy, this implies that it does everything it can to make your sim time fun and not frustrating. From the big things like not having a yearly fee that adds no value other than holding every sim session hostage until the toll is paid to lesser things like "Oh, I'm just going to take a few swings before heading out - wow that was a great shot, too bad I can't see my numbers" -> Nova will have those numbers available for you on the dashboard.

Nova is also a simulator control box. Need to adjust aim but don't like a keyboard in your back pocket or to walk back to the computer? Done. We'll be listening to feedback from early adopters and rapidly expanding this feature - everything from hot keys to camera controls could be right there.

We're from the simulator community, actively use our own product, and plan on releasing new functionality and improvements often. We aren't planning on 6 to 18 months between updates or updates only in our own interests.

1. What's technology? I assume radar and camera? How many cameras? Infrared?

Primarily photometric with some functions assisted by radar.

2. Ball and club data?

All ball data.

Eventually we plan on supporting club head speed and smash factor. These are the two stats that are feasible because they are actionable for users without a professional coach to help. We see a lot of datapoints from the club motion but it’s in a very unfiltered way. Different modes where clubhead speed or swing speed are measured are definitely possible but not likely available at launch. The key limitations are that every part of the club head is observed and there is a speed difference between the heel and the toe - as well as different speeds as the user accelerates and decelerates (sometimes decelerating before impact.....). Many devices both on the bottom and top of price scale provide what are obviously estimates as smash factor is by rules of golf limited to 1.49 but smash factors of 1.56 are often reported out in the wild. What’s important to me is that users have a quantified metric to understand when they swing faster versus when they swing harder (and possibly slower). I'm sure we'll get there, but I don't want to report numbers in a misleading way.

3. Marked balls?

On launch, we'll be asking everyone to use some kind of regularly marked white golf ball with some portion of the marking be in dark ink. The specific pattern isn't important. On every single launch monitor out there, marked balls greatly improve the spin reliability. We want everyone to have the best experience and it's likely the case that most users should have always been using marked or radar foil embedded balls. We'll base future improvements on user requests and feedback.

4. Stickers on club?

You can leave them on but there's no data output from them. Sometimes they look cool in the photos.

5. Floor based but where? Behind you? Righties and lefties?

Floor based and in the typical location. The unit is less than the height of a golf ball. Intended to remain stationary with left handed players using it as a bonus alignment stick.

6. What native software? Range? Courses?

Everyone should play simulator software. Everyone should practice in the conditions in which they play. You should be using the range that comes with your sim software so you train your eyes and receive the same feedback as you do when you're under pressure to score well. Haven't seen yet another range be seriously requested except as a superficial checkmark on product comparisons or those set to find discrepancies in ball flight or roll out between simulations.

We have a web based dashboard which displays shot data.

However, if you have an idea for the next best practice tool...... see the next question:

7. Third party software comparable?

We are committed to open access for output data that could be incorporated to any software. Example: we are currently working to support popular open source camera replay systems so that they can finally have a reliable way to know when a shot occurs other than the microphone.

8. Battery powered or Ac powered?

We are all in on simulators. We aren't trying to pretend to be a practice tool that is clunky at best to ad hoc connect at a busy driving range.

You plug it in: it's on. You unplug it, it's off. No battery to go bad or forget to charge. Safe 12V DC barrel jack connector -> won't break like usb, reinforced to the frame, super cheap extensions available.

9. Connectivity? Wired? Wireless?

Wifi with the fastest and easiest setup available - until the matter certification becomes more commonplace.

10. IOS or Android apps?

Apps are available to guide you through setup, but we don't intend for you to use the app during play. The website is available on every device you own and supports mobile.

11. Reviews?

We have had beta units in the field and have users playing their tournament rounds with them.

12. Subscription? Probably not if open API

Connectivity and gameplay to any simulator software will always be free on our end and there's no yearly extortion/hidden fee to own the device. When there's valuable extras like a library of shot images, we're planning on offering them a la carte with monthly billing, and ensuring that you get something of real value and feel happy with the purchase.

13. Space requirements?

Minimal setup is probably 2 feet by 6 feet for a putting setup on the slim putt out mat.

14. Do I have to go to my shop and build a giant metal wifi blocking ricochet accessory?

No, we've extensively tested with new and beginner golfers identifying the types of shots that can even impact the unit - as it's so short at less than the height of a ball - shanks go right over it. We reinforced those areas with metal for you.

15. Am I going to copy paste this as our website FAQ?

Definitely.

[Bubba22]

Fantastic! Thanks for all the answers. So it will be a ground based photometric with radar support. It will essentially be like a long t box marker or alignment post. It also is a control box for aim etc. Markings on balls needed for spin. Wifi connectivity.

Here are a few more questions:

16. What's the size of the hitting area?

17. Outdoor use at a range?

18. So club speed/smash factor is planned? Will any other club data be planned?

19. Is there a video of the club at impact?

20. Cost? Extras?

21. You stated:
" Connectivity and gameplay to any simulator software will always be free on our end and there's no yearly extortion/hidden fee to own the device. When there's valuable extras like a library of shot images, we're planning on offering them a la carte with monthly billing, and ensuring that you get something of real value and feel happy with the purchase."

Can you expand on this? What exactly is this extra cost?

22. I assume putting is available.

23. What comes in the box?

24. Radar interference worries?

25. How many cameras? Infrared?

26. I assume the company name is Open Launch. Why Nova? It may be confused with the Optishot Nova.

This is great information for our forum members. Thanks for coming on.

[ChadGolf]

16. What's the size of the hitting area?

Beginners, kids, chipping, putting is essentially the whole of any 1 foot wide hitting strip and even more beyond that. As your skill improves and you hit more outlier shots (150+ mph driver, 60 degree+ flop shots), the hitting area shrinks and you should place it roughly in line with the guidance marker on the unit. Hitting area isn't something we ever think about, we drop the ball and hit. It's very responsive.

17. Outdoor use at a range?

Not worth drastically increasing the cost and hardware requirements for something I've never seen in the wild. It's way more fun to play simulation with your friends than setup a whole iPad, stand, LM, charged battery, bluetooth, wifi hotspot, bucket of balls kind of situation only to draw the interest of every guy who wants to give free swing tips. Really good to get free swing tips from the one time I tried it.

I'm also very anti battery. Nothing to wear out, overheat, or age poorly. Makes setup easier too: plugged in - it's on. Unplugged - it's off. No fussing with a software power button and holding it, but not too long, oh, but the battery isn't charged.

18. So club speed/smash factor is planned? Will any other club data be planned?

We are focused on an affordable and better experience for simulator gameplay and having fun with friends. Doesn’t seem justifiable to double the hardware and more than double the overall LM cost to add coaching numbers. Your local pro has likely made that investment and can know when a number is an issue and the correct prescription to get you back on track, well, on plane. Sure it can be cool to see forty numbers for every swing, but turning those into actionable, productive practice all on one’s own isn’t recommended for a recreational golfer.

19. Is there a video of the club at impact?

No video planned, but we are going to continually add visualizations and anything that is cool. Some of these features will be free but others require infrastructure so we'll have to cover the expenses but always aiming to actually provide value. Here's a recent visualization as a screenshot from our mobile website.

20. Cost? Extras?

$1500 for the hardware, $0 to use it with your preferred simulation software. Extras pricing TBD, we need to do the business study on what the cost to provide those services will be.

21. You stated:
" Connectivity and gameplay to any simulator software will always be free on our end and there's no yearly extortion/hidden fee to own the device. When there's valuable extras like a library of shot images, we're planning on offering them a la carte with monthly billing, and ensuring that you get something of real value and feel happy with the purchase."

Can you expand on this? What exactly is this extra cost?

It doesn't cost anything significant to provide users a record of all of their shot data ever, but images like the above start to generate costs that can't be ignored. If you want to keep them all for a period of time, as there's no mandatory yearly fee, we leave that up to each user on a month by month basis. We will do our best to make these informative and sometimes just look awesome or capture those ummmmm, special moments.

22. I assume putting is available.

I don't normally make big claims, but we probably have the best putting and short game available. I suspect a lot of users will pick up one of our boxes to use just for a dedicated putting station, even if their primary LM costs more than a car. We don't use a special putting mode, so whether you make a 1.5 foot putt or your fastest drive, it's always ready and has no hassle. No need to pick a club from the interface or wait for it to reinitialize.

23. What comes in the box?

Nova, 12V power supply, and 12V power extension cable.

24. Radar interference worries?

We have a much smarter and more capable radar than you're used to hearing about. The technology is fundamentally different.

25. How many cameras? Infrared?

Two full spectrum cameras

26. I assume the company name is Open Launch. Why Nova? It may be confused with the Optishot Nova.

We filed our trademark in July of 2023.

[Bubba22]

Chadgolf any new updates on the Nova?

[Bubba22]

https://youtu.be/5wpLsax_fKc?si=kr5Pf03_mhamChNR

[ColinY]

A comparable monitor to this one would be seen to be the square launch monitor. With that one there are some included courses that can be played without an additional subscription to a third party software. Are there plans for this device to have something similar?

[Jeff Tilley]

Any recent news on release?

[Golfnotwar]

I emailed them a week or 2 ago asking about release date. They never responded
i want to get one

[Bubba22]

They have lots of competition in this world now. That's a good thing for consumers.

[4 Degrees Flat]

Not good that they didn't respond to Golfnotwar's inquiry. Also not good they missed their planned release date. Could mean they are just tweaking some final things... but the web site hasn't provided any updates either. Hopefully this product is still a thing.

[4 Degrees Flat]

I emailed them as well... and I did receive a response, in two days. The plan is still for a release in Q1 of this year. So next month?