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Wire Robot Yanks Your Golf Game Into Shape
Credit:Folio Images/Plainpicture
University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a haptics-based robotic wire system designed to help golfers with putting.
The researchers, led by professor Katherine Kuchenbecker, designed a 1.5-meter-long by 70-centimeter-wide metal training frame with a green baize base and a practice hole. The player stands at the center using a practice putter with attached four steel wires, which go to the four corners of the frame, where they are connected to an electric motor that can alter the wires' tension. As the player swings the putter, software controls the tension in the wires and corrects any deviation to the swing, keeping it straight. "The golfer feels forces pulling them back to the correct position when they go wrong, making it feel natural to swing correctly," says Pennsylvania researcher Jacquelyn Kunkel.
The Pennsylvania team plans to improve the system by reducing the friction in the wires so the altered swing feels more natural.
From New Scientist
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