The TrackMan is a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

system that uses

Doppler The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...

technology to track and record 3D characteristics of a sports ball in motion.

History

Trackman was created in 2003 by golfers and brothers Klaus (

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

) and Morten Eldrup-Jørgensen and radar engineer Fredrik Tuxen ( CTO). Tuxen worked with the tracking of bullets and missiles using Doppler radar. The Jorgensens contacted Tuxen to see if the technology could be used to track golf balls. The team developed the TrackMan system and demonstrated it in the United States to five golf equipment manufacturers. Mizuno,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, Ping, Callaway, and TaylorMade became TrackMan's first customers. TrackMan products are sold worldwide to professionals, amateurs, and businesses. The company's headquarters is in

Vedbæk Vedbæk is a wealthy suburban neighbourhood on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It belongs to Rudersdal Municipality and has merged with the town of Hørsholm to the north. The area has been inhabited for at least 7,000 years, as evidenced ...

, Denmark.

Usage

Golf

The TrackMan is a device that uses

Doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the fre ...

to monitor the launch of a golf ball. It is set up behind the golfer and is roughly the size of a laptop. With each swing, it measures every aspect of the club movement, the trajectory of the ball, and its landing. It is equipped with a video camera so golfers can watch themselves while looking at information about their swing. Rather than calculating its projectile motion from initial launch parameters, it can track the entire flight of the ball from the moment of impact to the point where the ball comes to rest. After it finishes tracking, the TrackMan displays data and graphics on the screen of a connected computer or smartphone. Users can compare their data to professional golfers or others with similar skills. The main advantage of using the device compared to traditional video analysis is that golfers get pure data instead of guessing everything from the video. Golfers and instructors use feedback from TrackMan to practice and improve their performance on the golf course. It was first used on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

in 2006. Television broadcasters also utilize it to display on-screen graphics such as the ball's

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...

as a golfer hits his or her tee shot.

Baseball

TrackMan has recently been rolled out to all 30 MLB stadiums and more than 80

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

ballparks.

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

uses Statcast, a system that uses cameras and radar to track and measure player and ball movements at all times. PITCHf/x, the previous pitch tracking system used by Statcast, was replaced by TrackMan in 2017. PITCHf/x used high-speed cameras to measure the velocity of a baseball at 55 feet from home plate, where the ball may have already lost some speed. The TrackMan uses

to measure maximum velocity, which is defined at the release point of the pitch. The new technology led to reports of pitchers throwing slightly faster than they did in 2016.

Football

In 2019, the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

became the first

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

team to use the TrackMan system in evaluating

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

kickers to find a new kicker after a critical missed field goal ended their previous season in a wild card playoff game.

References

{{Reflist Radar