A Performance Analysis System for the Sport of Bowling
A Performance Analysis System for the Sport of Bowling A Performance Analysis System for the Sport of Bowling
Prior to the start of this project (May 1992), there were no references in the literature or the various patent databases to any previous attempts to develop this kind of internal system. Brunswick Corporation has since developed a robot that can throw a bowling ball with repeatable and precise amounts of speed, spin, and axis turn and tilt, but the subsequent response of the ball is still measured with external sensors [9]. It is certainly possible that one or more of the various bowling ball manufacturers may have developed proprietary means for internally assessing the performance of their products. If that is the case, they have chosen to retain that information in the form of trade secrets. With no prior research to fall back on, it was necessary to design and build an initial sensor module simply to establish that it was physically possible to construct such a device within the extremely limited confines of its intended environment. A reliable and inexpensive means for transferring data in a wireless (non-contact) fashion from the module to a PC also had to be developed. Those two tasks were completed as an initial part of the feasibility study. The paper presents relevant background and details of the hardware that are essential to understanding the design and development of the embedded software, and/or the analysis of the raw data collected. However, an exhaustive presentation on the hardware is not within the scope of this paper. Since the waveform that SMARTDOT was attempting to capture had apparently never before been seen, the first prototype module was also designed as a flexible data collection device. That first module was intended to serve as both the bowling ball's eye and its memory as it looked out through the finger hole and recorded what it saw while the ball rolled down the lane. The basic assumptions and design for the embedded software for the SMARTDOT module have been developed based on the analysis of that captured data. With the feasibility of the hardware established, the real problem at hand has been largely one of software engineering. Although the module works as intended, this version has been developed solely through the author's personal use and input. The development phase of the project will involve a refinement of the sensor module, as described later in the paper, followed by a limited beta test among a collection of bowlers with different styles and capabilities. A subsequent refinement of the module's embedded software will most likely follow to accommodate variations discovered during the beta test. As for the PC-hosted MASTER software, the paper reports the results of, and the conclusions drawn from, the various types of data analysis performed on the raw data collected during this phase of development. The MASTER program was developed as a custom data analysis and presentation application to facilitate review of sensor data under a real-world scenario (i.e., during real practice sessions at a local bowling center), and to apply the information extraction techniques presented in Section III of the paper. Based on this preliminary analysis package, high-level design suggestions for the development of the end-user application are included at the end of Section III. 6
SECTION II: COLLECTING THE DATA - THE SMARTDOT MODULE This section presents, in detail, the initial development, current implementation, and future considerations of the in-situ SMARTDOT sensor module. Discussions of the design constraints, the hardware implementation, and the embedded software implementation (including flowcharts, timing diagrams, and a memory map) are included, along with an assessment of the prototype's performance. Suggestions for future refinements to the module's hardware and software are also given. 2.1 DESIGN BASIS The in-situ sensor module, at a minimum, must be a capable of detecting release of the ball, rotation of the ball, and the ball's impact with the pins. It must also have an accurate "clock" with which to time-stamp those occurrences. For the system to be economically viable, a major premise behind the in-situ sensor module rests on the assumption that the ball's rotation can be accurately inferred by observing the amount of ambient light impinging on a particular point on the surface of the ball as the ball rolls down the lane, and that an inexpensive device can be developed that fits unobtrusively into the ball for the purpose of recording this data. Since all modern bowling centers have overhead lighting of some type, a source of ambient light is always present (except for the novelty of "moonlight" or "glow" bowling). Figure 2-1 provides a cut-away view of the SMARTDOT sensor module installed in a bowling ball. For the following reasons, the ideal place to install the module is under a finger insert in an existing finger hole: • To optimize the dynamic range of the ambient light incident on the sensor module, the module should be placed so that it alternately rotates through the shadow the ball casts on the lane, and then up towards the lighted ceiling. The finger holes generally follow this line of rotation. • If the module is installed in an existing finger hole, it is not necessary to drill an additional hole, or modify the ball in any way. • Finger insert holes have a standard diameter, allowing for a standard size (diameter) module. The sensor module has been made small enough that minimal additional material must be removed from the ball in order to install it, simplifying the installation procedure. This location also allows for easy replacement of the module's battery. • Locating the module in close proximity to a finger hole facilitates detecting the removal of the bowler's finger from that hole, which is necessary for accurately detecting release of the ball during the bowler's delivery. • Locating the module below the surface of the ball affords a good deal of protection from the extreme forces that the surface of the ball experiences when impacting the lane, the pins, the pit cushion, the gutter, and when being handled by an automatic ball return. 7
- Page 1 and 2: The Pennsylvania State University T
- Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I: Introd
- Page 5 and 6: LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1 SMARTDOT
- Page 7 and 8: SECTION I: INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND
- Page 9 and 10: eceiver that stores, processes, and
- Page 11: 1.3.2 Product Development Phase The
- Page 15 and 16: 2.2 Design Constraints The feasibil
- Page 17 and 18: 2.3 SENSING REQUIREMENTS The module
- Page 19 and 20: Pin Deck Light Foul Line Figure 2-2
- Page 21 and 22: 2.4.1 Ambient Light Sensor The ambi
- Page 23 and 24: 9 28 8 RST V CC V CC 5 6 hyst 7 3 +
- Page 25 and 26: 2.6 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE INTERACTION D
- Page 27 and 28: 2.6.3 Baud Rate The module communic
- Page 29 and 30: Configuration settings and the samp
- Page 31 and 32: 2.7.5 The Ball is Rolling If the wa
- Page 33 and 34: covered by the wand). When the modu
- Page 35 and 36: 2.8.1 Detecting Release Detecting t
- Page 37 and 38: Light Level 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 3
- Page 39 and 40: By filtering the data, and then cou
- Page 41 and 42: The 'F300x can write to any portion
- Page 43 and 44: One possibility is to use a transfo
- Page 45 and 46: 2.10 SUMMARY This portion of the re
- Page 47 and 48: The ball's angular velocity increas
- Page 49 and 50: Light Level 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 3
- Page 51 and 52: the fundamental frequency has been
- Page 53 and 54: Since the fundamental frequency and
- Page 55 and 56: Figure 3-7: MASTER "Analysis" Scree
- Page 57 and 58: known, the linear momentum (and thu
- Page 59 and 60: In order to find the value for v 1
- Page 61 and 62: 3.5 ASSUMPTIONS AND ERROR ANALYSIS
SECTION II: COLLECTING THE DATA - THE SMARTDOT MODULE<br />
This section presents, in detail, <strong>the</strong> initial development, current implementation, and<br />
future considerations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> in-situ SMARTDOT sensor module. Discussions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
design constraints, <strong>the</strong> hardware implementation, and <strong>the</strong> embedded s<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
implementation (including flowcharts, timing diagrams, and a memory map) are<br />
included, along with an assessment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> prototype's per<strong>for</strong>mance. Suggestions <strong>for</strong><br />
future refinements to <strong>the</strong> module's hardware and s<strong>of</strong>tware are also given.<br />
2.1 DESIGN BASIS<br />
The in-situ sensor module, at a minimum, must be a capable <strong>of</strong> detecting release <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
ball, rotation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ball, and <strong>the</strong> ball's impact with <strong>the</strong> pins. It must also have an accurate<br />
"clock" with which to time-stamp those occurrences. For <strong>the</strong> system to be economically<br />
viable, a major premise behind <strong>the</strong> in-situ sensor module rests on <strong>the</strong> assumption that <strong>the</strong><br />
ball's rotation can be accurately inferred by observing <strong>the</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> ambient light<br />
impinging on a particular point on <strong>the</strong> surface <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ball as <strong>the</strong> ball rolls down <strong>the</strong> lane,<br />
and that an inexpensive device can be developed that fits unobtrusively into <strong>the</strong> ball <strong>for</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> recording this data. Since all modern bowling centers have overhead<br />
lighting <strong>of</strong> some type, a source <strong>of</strong> ambient light is always present (except <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> novelty<br />
<strong>of</strong> "moonlight" or "glow" bowling).<br />
Figure 2-1 provides a cut-away view <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> SMARTDOT sensor module installed in a<br />
bowling ball. For <strong>the</strong> following reasons, <strong>the</strong> ideal place to install <strong>the</strong> module is under a<br />
finger insert in an existing finger hole:<br />
• To optimize <strong>the</strong> dynamic range <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ambient light incident on <strong>the</strong> sensor<br />
module, <strong>the</strong> module should be placed so that it alternately rotates through <strong>the</strong><br />
shadow <strong>the</strong> ball casts on <strong>the</strong> lane, and <strong>the</strong>n up towards <strong>the</strong> lighted ceiling. The<br />
finger holes generally follow this line <strong>of</strong> rotation.<br />
• If <strong>the</strong> module is installed in an existing finger hole, it is not necessary to drill an<br />
additional hole, or modify <strong>the</strong> ball in any way.<br />
• Finger insert holes have a standard diameter, allowing <strong>for</strong> a standard size<br />
(diameter) module. The sensor module has been made small enough that minimal<br />
additional material must be removed from <strong>the</strong> ball in order to install it,<br />
simplifying <strong>the</strong> installation procedure. This location also allows <strong>for</strong> easy<br />
replacement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> module's battery.<br />
• Locating <strong>the</strong> module in close proximity to a finger hole facilitates detecting <strong>the</strong><br />
removal <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bowler's finger from that hole, which is necessary <strong>for</strong> accurately<br />
detecting release <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ball during <strong>the</strong> bowler's delivery.<br />
• Locating <strong>the</strong> module below <strong>the</strong> surface <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ball af<strong>for</strong>ds a good deal <strong>of</strong><br />
protection from <strong>the</strong> extreme <strong>for</strong>ces that <strong>the</strong> surface <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ball experiences when<br />
impacting <strong>the</strong> lane, <strong>the</strong> pins, <strong>the</strong> pit cushion, <strong>the</strong> gutter, and when being handled<br />
by an automatic ball return.<br />
7
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