Throwing faster, longer, and more accurately

Disc golf is similar to golf but played with discs (more colloquially, frisbees). The objective is to throw the disc and have it land in a basket with hanging chains, similar to those used in street basketball but with a larger diameter. The game's ultimate goal is to complete each of the 18 holes in as few throws as possible.

The popularity of disc golf has grown worldwide over the past few decades. The United States is home to most disc golf courses and players, followed by Finland, Canada, and Sweden, countries where the sport has gained considerable traction.

In many sports, technology has enhanced human potential. Advances in materials, clothing, computer models, and, more recently, high-tech equipment have augmented our capabilities. Disc golf is no exception.

Our story unfolds in Finland, where a group of ingenious disc golf enthusiasts came up with a brilliant idea: mount a tag to the disc that could measure its position, as well as throwing distance, speed, spin, and many other variables about the disc’s flight.

Knowing the disc's position was necessary for the idea to materialize. With that information, it was possible to assign proper numbers to these variables. Knowing the initial position, the final position, and the flight time allowed for calculating the distance the disc traveled on each flight.

And what technology can best determine the position of a flying object? The usual suspect, a GNSS positioning receiver.   

Soon, the disc golf enthusiasts became entrepreneurs and founded Gameproofer, a Finnish digital sports company. Since 2022, Gameproofer has been working diligently to bring the first disc tags with a GNSS receiver to the market.

From personal experience, we can attest that it only takes a few minutes to get the app up and running and access all the data. We downloaded the app, enabled Bluetooth on our phone, and paired it with the disc. In no time, we were ready to start recording data from our throws.

 

Of course, there are always challenges between a great idea and its realization.

Challenge #1: the tag’s weight and dimensions

Although some manufacturers make lighter or heavier discs to accommodate different playing styles and preferences, most golf discs weigh between 150 and 180 grams.  

Adding a tag to this weight inevitably makes the disc heavier, which could potentially interfere with the players' throwing abilities. For this reason, the dimensions and weight of the tag must be minimized and perfectly balanced to avoid interference with the trajectory and potential of each throw.   

Challenge #2: power efficiency to the maximum

Regular disc golf games can vary depending on the number of players, the difficulty of the course, and each player's pace. A typical round of disc golf for a single player on an 18-hole course can take between 1.5 and 2 hours.  

If the tag only needed to be “on” for such a period, it wouldn't be a challenge in terms of battery consumption. But what throwers want most is for the tag to remain active throughout their training sessions, which can last several hours. During that time, the last thing a thrower wants is to interrupt their training to charge the disc so they can keep track of their performance.

Gameproofer’s aim was then for their tag to remain "on" for several hours before needing a recharge. To achieve this in such a limited space, the battery consumption of each electronic component had to be minimal, especially the GNSS receiver, which consumes significant power.

A weightless, small, and reliable positioning solution

Since the beginning, the Gameproofer design team realized that u-blox was the best option for their tag when it comes to position, weight, and size.  The u-blox MAX-M10 was the first module they used.

Outcome #1

The entire tag consists of a GNSS receiver (the soul of the tag), other smart sensors to measure variables such as the disc’s spin and angles, and electronic components.

The MAX-M10 module (9.7 x 10.1 x 2.5 mm) helped Gameproofer make their tag as small as possible. With it, Gameproofer balanced all the elements and fit them into the smallest, lightest space.

After several tests and various designs, Gameproofer created a small, light tag that doesn’t affect the disc's performance. This tag is housed in a circular case slightly larger in diameter than a five Swiss franc coin (31.5 mm) and includes all the extremely light and compact components.  

Weighing around 8 g, the tag is placed at the center of the disc to not interfere with its trajectory during the throw. The first generation of disc golf tags was then compact-wise ready for a market hungry for this data.

Gameproofer aimed for smaller components in subsequent tag generations, although battery consumption was also one of the main reasons for choosing the M10 platform.        

Outcome #2

“When the specs for the M10 came out, we were amazed at the promised power consumption. We tested and found nothing else could come close to those power consumption levels.”– Toni Hakala, electronics designer and co-founder at Gameproofer.

In 2022, the MAX-M10 module provided Gameproofer with the lowest possible power consumption for GNSS, at just 25 mW in continuous tracking mode.

With the power mentioned above, the tag’s battery can last more than six hours, making it ideal for long training sessions and competitions. This battery life allows players to collect all necessary data without needing to recharge, exactly what Gameproofer aimed to offer its customers.

As things stand now

With new GNSS receivers in the market, Gameproofer migrated from the MAX-M10 module to the MIA-M10Q. The main reasons followed the same path: lower weight, smaller dimensions (4.5 x 4.5 x 1.0 mm), and the same battery consumption.

An advantage of the MIA-M10Q module is that it offers the option to easily migrate to the pin-compatible MIA-F10Q, a dual-band (L1/L5) module ideal for improved positioning accuracy in multipath scenarios. In the woods, a common location for a disc golf course, this feature can be crucial for tracking positions with the utmost accuracy.

What’s on the horizon?

In the sports world, positioning applications are not limited to disc golf. In fact, the company is expanding its horizons and looking to adapt the technology to other sports. But that is another story.

u-blox's latest GNSS receivers provide higher positioning accuracy in multipath environments, such as forests and parks, enabling applications such as Gameproofer’s.

Don’t forget to visit Gameproofer's website to learn more about their subsequent developments. As always, contact us if you are curious about this application.