I have worked in the golf business since I was a junior in high school and after Dr. Drake's last class, I wanted to show how robotics has benefited the world of golf. This picture shows a robot called TOP SWING. This machine is used to teach people the "perfect golf swing." The robotic arms adjust to people's height in order to give them ideal posture, then the arms gently guide the human body through the golf swing. In just a few short minutes, people have the "feel" for the "perfect swing."In class on Tuesday February 2, 2010 Dr. Drake showed us several videos of robots performing a variety of tasks, my blog will discuss what robots are doing to improve golf instruction and the industry as a whole. As I stated earlier, I have worked in the golf industry for several years. Today, I am a sales representative for the TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company. My company uses a robotic arm, similar to TOP SWING to test clubs before putting them on the market. This arm can also be programmed to swing just like the pros on television so when they want a new club, the robot can test it for them before we ship it to them. This technology saves golfers the trouble of traveling to TaylorMade's California headquarters to test clubs.
Robots have been going through constant development for many years. Today, robots are being used in the auto industry, medical field, military, and entertainment industry. Now, the sports industry has it's eye on robotics too. The advantage for the golf industry is the repetitive nature of robots. When TaylorMade builds a new club and wants to test it, the robotic arm can make the same swing 100 times in a row, allowing analyzers to collect the most accurate data. Robots in the golf industry are now able to swing like the pros too! For example, the robotic arm has programs that break down each golfers swing in order to perform just like them.
In the end, I beleive we as humans have not even tipped the iceberg in terms of the potential for robots. It is interesting to see what companies will think of next for the field of robots. Maybe one day everyone will have a robotic house maid like Rosie from the Jetsons.
website for TOP SWING is http://www.gizmag.com/go/3803/
