Researchers build golfing robot that lines up its own putts

Researchers at Paderborn University in Germany have built a robot that uses a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera combined with a neural network to line up putts, IEEE Research reports.

The robot has been named Golfi, and while machines that can hit golf balls are not new, Golfi’s ability to line up shots on its own makes it far more complex.

Annika Junker — a doctoral researcher at Paderborn University — told IEEE Research that it takes only five minutes to train Golfi on simulated shots.

For reference, it took the team 30 to 40 hours to load data from real-life shots into the system.

Golfi uses its Microsoft Kinect 3D camera to take a snapshot of the green. It then simulates thousands of shots taken from random positions while considering factors like rolling resistance, ball weight, and starting velocity.

After deciding which shot has the highest chance of success, Golfi automatically moves over to the ball and makes the putt using a putter attached to a belt-driven gear shaft.

However, Golfi only makes the shot approximately 60 to 70% of the time, and the team has only tested the robot in lab conditions.

Therefore, real-world scenarios like greens with dents and steep inclines could pose a problem for Golfi’s system, which requires a bird’s-eye view to simulate its shots.

The research team shared a video of Golfi in action in their lab.

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Researchers build golfing robot that lines up its own putts