Missile Trajectory Identification using Trackman Radar Technology

Masters research project 1
MASTERS RESEARCH PROJECT
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Masters research project 2
Missile trajectory identification
Trackman
Trackman A/s refers to a Danish technology company that designs, manufactures and sells
3D ball flight measurement equipment for sport. Trackman A/S company started creating a
system for tracking the golf ball in 2003 which they called a Trackman or a Trackman radar.
The unit is used by the sport professionals to analyse the golf swings and at the same time
find out the efficiencies of the club impact (Coates, 2015, p. 312).
How it works?
The trackman radar tracks the trajectory of the golf ball from the moment the ball is launched
until it lands .The ability of the Trackman radar to track the track the ball full flight is very
significance in obtaining the highest quality of data. The trackman radar can easily pic very
important information regarding to the club head, giving the correct picture of the club during
the impact. The technology which the trackman uses is referred to as Doppler radar which is
widely applied in military fields to track and detect projectiles and missiles (Company, 2013,
p. 173).
The golf unit is much potable and can easily and quickly be set up which allows for sufficient
collection of data within a short duration. The golf unit is usually set up on the ground behind
the T-box and points towards the player. The moment the player starts to swing the unit starts
to track the club head. The moment the ball is impacted the golf unit starts to track the ball till
the signal is completely lost all until the ball hits the ground. The unit then displays sufficient
data about the ball contact, swing and the ball trajectory. The data which is displayed by the
trackman can be used by the golf players to help them improve on their swing and at the same
time it can be used by the gold developers in measuring the product performance and
information (Corporation, 2012, p. 296).

Masters research project 3
The setup of the trackman requires that the radar to be placed vertically in the air maintaining
a ratio of 3:1 between the distance from the home plate and the height of the trackman
unit.3:1 is considered to be the optimal ratio which was determined by Trackman A/S in
order to optimize the field of view at the same time minimising the noise which is caused by
multipath reflection. Having the radar positioned at high in the air helps the player on the
filed from blocking the line of sight of the ball (Rudman, 2017, p. 365).
Because the multipath reflection is a result of the low angle of tracking, the position of the
trackman radar requires to be in a position such that the signal which is returning is of the
greatest magnitude possible. This shows that positioning the ball that is at a least horizontal
and vertical angle of the antennas in the trackman radar, which in turn increases the chances
that the position of the ball during the pitch and ensures that it will hit be directly in line with
the signal is emitted. The 3:1 ratio position also increases the angle made by the multipath
reflection with the ground as shown in figure 1 below.
Fig 1: A schematic diagram on how the radar height affects the multipath signal angle.