The future of driving is 100% autonomous/self-driving cars. We’re talking like decades into the future, once this technology has jumped from Tesla and other high-end luxury vehicles to every other car on the road.
Pretty much every major automaker on the planet is developing some sort of self-driving technology right now in an effort to keep pace with the industry and one of those companies, Nissan, has showcased their all-new ProPilot 2.0 driver-assist system in a way that shows a very practical and immediate use: a golf ball that always tracks to the hole on a green using an accompanying camera system.
To illustrate how the ProPilot 2.0 driver-assist system works in their ProPilot Golf Ball they’ve enlisted the help of a 4-year-old golfing ‘prodigy’ who sinks some of the most outrageous puts imaginable using this ball that always tracks to the hole.
Could you ever use this ball on an actual golf course? Not within the rules of the game, no. And it would require quite the setup to utilize on the practice green.
Here’s how it works, according to Autoblog:
How does it work? First, you need an overhead camera. This camera detects the position of the ball and cup in real-time. We’re thinking we could play this one off as wanting to vlog our golf game with our buddies. Pay no mind to the floating camera above, we say. Once the ball starts moving, a monitoring system calculates the correct route needed based on the ball’s movement. It then adjusts the trajectory accordingly. We're sure all the computer hardware will fit in your golf cart. Maybe you’re worried you didn’t hit the ball hard enough? It doesn’t matter. There’s an internal electric motor in the golf ball that can provide enough force to move the ball on its own. Sure, that’s creepy, but it’ll also save you the embarrassment of coming up inches short on that next 20-foot birdie putt. (via)
Here’s this 4-year-old displaying the magic of the ProPilot 2.0 driver-assist system in Nissan’s ProPILOT Golf Ball, draining putts that the pros could never pull off repeatedly:
Putting is arguably the least fun aspect of golf. When I head out to my golf club to practice the last thing I ever want to do is spend time on the putting green when I can hit balls on the range and chip on our chipping greens.
For me, half of the struggle with putting is just getting comfortable over the ball. If I feel like I’m going to make the putt then I am A LOT more likely to put the ball in the cub. But if I’m hovering over the ball and still feeling indifferent about my speed, stroke, or line then I’m almost never going drain that putt. Sadly, the latter is usually the case for me.
So while this ProPILOT Golf Ball couldn’t be used on the course it could be valuable in gaining confidence on the putting green for someone who just needs to get comfortable over the ball and see a few hundred putts roll into the back of the hole. Would this do some damage to your lines and stroke? Possibly, but that can be easily worked out once you’ve got the confidence to hit putts.