GSA Cameras

GSA High speed 3D camera club & ball tracking systems

World's first and only camera 3D golf ball track system available in modular form!

Go here for Camera Setup and Installation instructions.

The GSA ball and club tracking camera system features up to 4 high speed cameras.

Cameras are professional digital machine vision cameras

using GSA proprietary camera image processing software.

The GSA 3D quad camera ball tracking systems capture

ball path, speed, vertical launch angle, spin & spin axis tilt

club face angle, club path, club speed.

A GSA golf simulator can consist of 1 to 4 cameras.

Cameras can be combined with GSA optical sensor pads/mats and ball tracks

or used alone in a pure camera setup.

CX2 dual camera package

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path and launch angle

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera with camera mount, cables and lens

2. Ball path camera with camera mount, cables and lens

Note: Our cameras are professional high speed machine vision cameras and not just cheap simple web cams.

3. Optical sensor camera trigger in solid acrylic casing!

4. GSA full version software with 85 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

Price $ 3,999.00 Product No. #100712

Euro Price € 2,699.00

CX2-LS 3 camera system

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path and launch angle

No floor optical sensor required

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera with camera mount, cables and lens

2. Ball path camera with camera mount, cables and lens

3. Line scan camera trigger (3000 fps)

4. GSA full version software with 85 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

Price $ 5,999.00 Product No. #100812

Euro Price € 3,999.00

CX3 professional 3 camera system with camera club tracking and 3D dual camera ball tracking

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path, ball launch angle, club speed, club path and club face angle at impact to ball

Price $ 5,999.00 Product No. #100914

Euro Price € 3,999.00

CX4 our top of the line professional 4 camera system with camera club tracking and 3D dual camera ball tracking

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path, ball launch angle, club speed, club path and club face angle at impact to ball

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera

2. Ball path camera

3. Line scan camera trigger (3000 fps)

4. Ccam club tracking camera system

5. GSA full version software with 85 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

6. 3 lamp halogen track lighting system

Price $ 7,399.00 Product No. #100915

Euro Price € 4,999.00

CX5 our top of the line professional 5 camera system with camera club tracking, 3D dual camera ball tracking and ball spin camera

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path, ball launch angle, ball spin and axis tilt, club speed, club path and club face angle at impact to ball

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera

2. Ball path camera

3. Line scan camera trigger (3000 fps)

4. Ccam club tracking camera system with grass fiber hitting mat

5. Bcam ball spin and spin axis tilt camera

6. GSA full version software with 85 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

7. 3 lamp halogen track lighting system

Price $ 7,999.00 Product No. #102915

Euro Price € 5,399.00

CX1 add on vertical launch angle camera package for PX2 club tracking sensor mats

Data captured: Ball speed and vertical launch angle

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera with camera mount, cables and lens

2. Optical sensor camera trigger in solid acrylic casing!

Price $ 2,499.00 Product No. #100716

Euro Price € 1,699.00

PX5 professional system with full club tracking and 3D dual camera ball tracking

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path, ball launch angle, club speed, club path and club face angle at impact to ball

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera

2. Ball path camera

Note: Our cameras are professional high speed machine vision cameras and not just cheap simple web cams.

3. Optical sensor camera trigger in solid acrylic casing!

4. PX2 club tracking sensor mat

5. GSA full version software with 85 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

6. 3 lamp halogen track lighting system

Price $ 4,999.00 Product No. #100614

Euro Price € 3,399.00

The GSA PX5 is the world's first true 3D camera system at anywhere near this price.

Important advantages with this system compared to others on the market in this price segment:

System does not confine you to hit the ball from the same spot so you can play from other simulated surfaces such as rough, sand and greens.

Especially putting and chipping is a pleasure.

Our camera ball tracking systems are true 3D and capture all three X,Y and Z parameters while others are just 2D and miss the Z component.

X is left/right direction = ball path, Y the vertical up/down or ball height = vertical launch angle and Z is the depth distance = ball speed.

PX5-LS professional 3 camera system with full club tracking and 3D dual camera ball tracking

Data captured: Ball speed, ball path, ball launch angle, club speed, club path and club face angle at impact to ball

System includes:

1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed camera

2. Ball path camera

3. Line scan camera trigger (3000 fps)

4. PX2 club tracking sensor mat

5. GSA full version software with 75 golf courses plus 20 ProX courses

6. 3 lamp halogen track lighting system

Price $ 7,999.00 Product No. #100814

Euro Price € 5,399.00

Camera individual components

Hcam Camera - ball path

Vcam Camera - Verical Launch angle and speed

The Vcam camera

TX Camera Trigger

If not using our Line Scan trigger camera, the cameras are tiggered by an optical sensor strip which is placed /installed some 6ft in front of the player.

The advantage of using this method of triggering the cameras is that you can play shots from anywhere behind the strip.

This allows you to play from other simulated surfaces such as high rough, sand and greens.

In particular, putting from the green surface is a pure pleasure compared to putting from fairway sufraces.

Camera Trigger optical sensor array in solid acryl casing

Price $ 999.00 Product No. #100914

Euro Price € 699.00

Line Scan Camera Trigger

An alternative to the above TX optical sensor camera trigger is to use a special third camera known as a line scan camera.

The GSA line scan camera operates at over 3000 scans per second and generates a trigger signal to the ball tracking cameras as soon as a golf ball enters it's field of view.

Price $ 2,999.00 Product No. #100999

Euro Price € 1,999.00

Q. What are the advantages of using a line scan camera to trigger cameras compared to using an optical sensor array camera trigger?

A. There are two main advantages in using a line scan camera.

The first is that you don't have to embed sensors into the flooring.

As a normal golf simulator would have raised stance mats and hitting grass surfaces anyway that wouldn't be such a big deal in our opinion.

However, as there have been a number of requests from customers for us to introduce a pure camera system without any floor mounted optical sensors we have developed this system to address the requests.

The other advantage is that the trigger area is greater. This means that shots can be played even further left or right.

The disadvantage is the price of course. High speed line scan cameras are still quite expensive.

Ccam Club track Camera - captures Club head path, speed & club face angle at impact to ball

The club track camera overcomes the inherent problems of optical sensor pad club track systems and is very accurate.

The problem with all optical sensor pad club track systems from all manufactures is twofold:

1. The ball path accuracy is dependent on the number of sensors used in the system, the sensor spacing and the distance the two rows are apart.

Seldom does a sensor club track pad achieve better than 1.5 degree resolution and most not even 2 degrees.

Cameras, on the other hand, feature millions of sensors (pixels) and can thus attain a club path accuracy to within one hundredths of a degree.

Golf simulator sensor pads detect club path with two rows of sensors.

The usual minimum sensor spacing is 3.84 mm (this being a standard circuit board component hole pitch) which is difficult to improve on due to the physical size of the sensors (usually >3mm).

The club path resolution is then dependent on the row spacing. The further the rows are apart, the better the resolution but if set too far apart the swing arc will distort the measurement.

With a sensor pad that has poor club path resolution (as most do) even 1.5 degree club path won't be detected.

2. Club face angle detection at impact to the ball. The inherent problem is that the club face is often curved and not straight and optical sensors just can't see that.

The above images show what typically occurs. If the player does not strike the ball dead on the sweet spot then the optical sensors will read a false club face angle.

Even though the club face is square, optical sensors can - and often do - read open or closed.

This can cause you to work on an apparent swing fault that is probably not even there.

The image on the right shows that increasing the sensor spacing doesn't help either.

If a sensor pad features multiple club face sensors then this will help but then the true club path would have to be known in order to determine the club face angle.

And as measuring club path with optical sensor pads is prone to large errors this method will also not be accurate.

As ball side spin (spin axis tilt) is a product of club face angle and club path - ie relative face angle - any errors in either of these measurements will lead to false ball trajectory calculations.

Because it's the relative club face angle that determines how the ball will curve, accurate club path measurement is just as important as face angle measurement accuracy.

One without the other can cause the ball flight to fade instead of draw, slice instead of fade, hook instead of draw etc. etc...

Inherent problem with Reflex optical sensor pads.

In addition to the problems inherent in shadow based club tracking pads (ie those requiring an overhead lamp)

reflex optical sensor pads (ie those that feature built-in IR LEDs that measure the reflection off the underside of the club) are subject to further inaccuracies

due to the fact that the underside of a club is also curved and thus the reflection strength is not uniform throughout the width of the club-head.

Optical sensors and their associated latch logic switch at certain and constant light level thresholds so if the reflection strength is not uniform then the switching times of the sensors will vary.

While this is not important for detecting ball path, it is imperative for measuring club face angle and club speed as the associated timers would be set at incorrect times.

The reflective tape nightmare

A part solution to these problems is to stick a straight length of reflective tape to the underside of the club.

It's only a part solution because many moden woods and drivers have highly reflective chrome areas under the club which will reflect the light back to the sensors

before the intended strip so you'd have to actually mask off these chrome areas with even more tape!

And then, after you've carefully and precisely taped up most of the underside of all your clubs it all starts to move and come off when the club makes contact with the grass fibers of the pad.

(assuming the pad actually has a grass fiber top of course).

And to top that you'd have to remove the tape again when playing golf in the real world with the clubs and stick them all on again to play the simulator.

Note: The GSA Ccam club tracking system does not required you stick any reflective stickers to the underside of the club.

If you want true and very accurate club path and club face angle detection - as in the above image - then the only way is to use cameras.

Photographic evidence

Other manufacturers of optical sensor club and ball tracking systems make all sorts of wonderful claims about the accuracy of their systems

but at the end of the day you - the potential buyer - just has to take their word for it.

The purchaser of these systems has no way of actually confirming their claims so you are basically left blind.

Camera systems - on the other hand - show actual photographic evidence of the manufacturer's claims.

A camera doesn't lie.

Club track cameras are supplied with a FiberBuilt camera trigger hitting mat.

The Ccam camera and trigger mat can also be used as a stand alone system.

Ball speed, ball path and spin is then calculated from the captured club data.

Comes complete with GSA single course software and ProX software with 20 courses

Installation just consists of mounting the camera and halogen housing directly above the trigger mat and adjusting the camera to view the mat square.

The dual cameras are connected to the PC via 2 USB cables. The trigger mat has a USB power cable and a trigger cable that is connected to the camera.

Price $ 2,199.00 Product No. #100998

Euro Price € 1,499.00

Ccam plus Club track Camera (as above but) with full version 85 course GSA Golf software

Price $ 2,999.00 Product No. #100998

Euro Price € 1,999.00

Pros and Cons of this system compared to other GSA systems

Pros : The most accurate club tracking available on the market. No slots in the hitting surface with optical sensors.

Real photographic evidence of the club path, speed and face angle at impact to ball.

Cons :Two self adhesive reflective tracking dots must be placed to the top of each club.

As the dots are placed on the top of the club this is no where near as bad as you think.

As opposed to other manufacturers who require that reflective tape be stuck to the underside of the club - which menas you cannot use the clubs outdoors -

our reflective dots can remain on the club for the entire outdoor season.

Bcam Ball Spin track Camera - captures ball spin and spin axis tilt

Ball Spin track cameras use special 50 mm lenses

Price $ 1,699.00 Product No. #107998

Euro Price € 1,399.00

See a YouTube video of golf ball spin detection here

For the ball spin camera to detect ball spin and spin axis tilt the ball must have a clear line mark.

You must therefore either mark the balls with a line yourself or use range balls with a line mark.

The disadvantage with marking the balls yourself with a permanent ink marker is that the ink will eventually wear off and leave marks on the projection screen.

We therefore recommend using only professionally marked balls such as the Srixon balls shown above.

Coming soon!

New!

LX Launch monitor for indoor and outdoor use

The LX launch monitor is modular and uses the same cameras as in the GSA golf simulator.

The cameras are actually interchangeable so you can use the cameras from your golf simulator in the monitor and vice-versa.

The basic unit is available with camera trigger, LED lamp and power supply but without cameras for those that already have GSA cameras.

The LX series launch monitors are all you need to play. Super easy setup. Can be used as a golf simulator or as launch monitor on the driving range.

System is completely self contained, requires no in-floor installation or additional lighting when used as a golf simulator.

Features 1 to 4 cameras, single USB connection to PC, IR ball sensor trigger for indoor use, microphone trigger for outdoor use, high power strobe LED.

Complete with ProX and GSA Golf software.

For outdoor use, the optional extra built in processing unit (mini PC with Windows 7) , monitor and power pak can be attached.

Advantages compared to other manufacturer's launch monitors:

1. The GSA LX launch monitor is modular! This means that the entry price is low and you can add cameras and features as the need and budget allows.

2. The processing unit is a real Windows 7 PC in mini form.

3. The display is a full color touch screen monitor in mini form

LX Cameras:

Camera 1. Vertical launch angle and ball speed

Camera 2. Ball path in degrees (optional)

Camera 3. Ball Spin rate in rpm (optional)

Camera 4. Ball Spin Axis tilt in degrees (optional)

Estimated production date: May 2012

The GSA camera ball tracking software also allows you to place the X,Y cameras in a dual stereo camera setup if prefered.

go here for Camera Setup and Installation instructions.

go here to see What's in the Box.