KR20230147233A - Virtual golf device evaluating golf course - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a virtual golf device for evaluating a golf course. The virtual golf device includes a display unit that shows a virtual golf course, and when a user hits a real golf ball, movement of the virtual golf ball corresponding to the real golf ball in the virtual golf course based on the state of the real golf ball that was hit. It includes a calculation unit that calculates , and an evaluation unit that performs an evaluation process to evaluate course difficulty for the virtual golf course based on the user's play record in the virtual golf course.

Description

Virtual golf device for evaluating golf courses {VIRTUAL GOLF DEVICE EVALUATING GOLF COURSE}

The present invention relates to a virtual golf device, and more specifically, to a virtual golf device that evaluates a golf course and provides it to a user.

Recently, as the popularity of golf has increased, the number of people who enjoy golf is increasing. In addition to golf at outdoor golf courses, the popularity of screen golf, which allows you to play golf using virtual golf devices, is also increasing. In screen golf, images of the golf course are displayed on a screen, so you can feel as if you are playing a real golf game outdoors. Additionally, because it saves time and money compared to playing on an outdoor golf course, screen golf is popular with busy modern people who have difficulty playing golf outdoors due to time or economic reasons.

However, as the number of people using screen golf increases, users' expectations for screen golf are rising. When comparing screen golf and real golf, screen golf has the advantage of being able to provide users with technical services that are difficult to provide in real golf in an open outdoor space due to the nature of the service in a closed indoor space. Therefore, in order to take advantage of these advantages, screen golf needs to utilize various technologies to inspire users' interest in playing screen golf.

The present invention was invented in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a virtual golf device that can evaluate a golf course based on various data.

Additionally, other objects of the present invention can be clearly understood from the following description and attached drawings.

A virtual golf device according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a display unit that shows a virtual golf course, and when a user hits a real golf ball, the virtual golf course is displayed based on the state of the real golf ball that was hit. A calculation unit that calculates the movement of the virtual golf ball corresponding to the actual golf ball, and an evaluation unit that performs an evaluation process to evaluate the course difficulty of the virtual golf course based on the user's play record in the virtual golf course. Includes.

In the virtual golf device, the evaluation unit includes artificial intelligence that automatically executes the evaluation process, and when the user play record is changed, the artificial intelligence can re-execute the evaluation process by reflecting the changed user play record. there is.

In the virtual golf device, the evaluation unit executes the evaluation process using additional information in addition to the user play record, and the additional information includes user evaluation of the virtual golf course to be evaluated, course information of the virtual golf course to be evaluated, and When the virtual golf course to be evaluated is a model of an actual golf course, it may include at least one of the golfer's play records on the actual golf course.

In the virtual golf device, there are a plurality of users, each of the plurality of users has a level calculated based on his/her play record, and the proportion of each user's play record reflected in the evaluation process may vary depending on the user level. there is. Additionally, if the user satisfies predetermined conditions related to the course difficulty of the virtual golf course currently being played and the user's level, the user may be rewarded or penalized.

In the virtual golf device, when the user has multiple play records on a golf course subject to evaluation, the proportion of the play records reflected varies depending on the time when each play record was made in the evaluation process, or each play record and the above Depending on the difference between the averages of multiple play records, the proportion of the play records reflected may vary.

According to the virtual golf device of the present invention, there is an effect of encouraging user interest by evaluating golf courses and providing evaluation results to users.

1 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a virtual golf device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a diagram to explain a method of evaluating a golf course using artificial intelligence.
Figures 3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining judgment data that can be used in golf course evaluation.
Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying golf course evaluation results.
Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the process of how to utilize the golf course evaluation results.
Figures 8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining examples of rewarding or penalizing a user.
Figure 10 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a virtual golf device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a system in which a plurality of virtual golf devices are connected through a network.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail through examples. The purpose, features, and advantages of the present invention will be easily understood through the following examples. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. The embodiments introduced herein are provided to ensure that the disclosed content is thorough and complete and to enable the idea of the present invention to be sufficiently conveyed to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the present invention should not be limited by the following examples.

Although terms such as first and second are used in this specification to describe various elements, the elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish the elements from one another. Additionally, when an element is referred to as being on top of another element, it means that it can be formed directly on top of the other element or that a third element can be interposed between them.

In the drawings, the sizes of elements, or the relative sizes between elements, may be somewhat exaggerated for a clearer understanding of the present invention. Additionally, the shapes of elements shown in the drawings may change somewhat due to variations in the manufacturing process. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in this specification should not be limited to the shapes shown in the drawings unless otherwise specified, and should be understood to include some degree of modification.

1 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a virtual golf device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the virtual golf device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hitting plate 10, a control unit 20, a detection unit 30, an input unit 40, a sound unit 50, and a display unit 60. Includes.

The hitting plate 10 is an area where the user is positioned to hit the golf ball. The hitting plate 10 may be a plate-shaped object that is provided separately, or it may not be a separate object but simply a part of the floor where the virtual golf device is installed and where the user is located. Although not shown in the drawing, an auto tee with a structure that can move up and down is installed on the hitting plate 10, so that a golf ball for hitting can be automatically provided to the user through the auto tee.

The control unit 20 controls the overall operation of each component of the virtual golf device. For example, the control unit 20 can control the auto tee installed on the hitting plate 10 so that a golf ball for hitting is provided from the auto tee according to the time when the user hits. Additionally, when the user selects a specific golf course, the control unit 20 can execute related operations so that the user can play at the corresponding golf course. That is, the control unit 20 can form an image of a specific golf course selected by the user through an image processing means and then transmit the image to the display unit 60 to be displayed. Additionally, the control unit 20 includes a calculation unit 21, an evaluation unit 22, and a storage unit 23. The calculation unit 21 performs a calculation process to calculate what trajectory the golf ball hit by the user will have under the assumption that it was hit on an actual golf course. The evaluation unit 22 performs an evaluation process to evaluate the golf course that the user plays. Details of the evaluation process will be described later. The storage unit 23 includes a storage device such as memory or a hard disk, and stores various data necessary for the operation of the control unit 20.

The detection unit 30 is used to detect the movement of the golf club or the movement of the golf ball hit by the user to determine the physical state information about the golf ball hit. Sensing means such as cameras or detection sensors that can capture movement may be used. Various sensing methods such as image sensing, light emission/reception sensing, and laser sensing may be applied to the sensing means, and through these sensing methods, information on the state of a golf club or a golf ball hit by a user can be determined. The cameras, detection sensors, etc. may be used alone or together, and only one or multiple units may be used. The information obtained through the detection unit 30 is transmitted to the control unit 20 and used in the calculation process.

The input unit 40 is used to receive various information from the user, and a keyboard or mouse can be used. A login process that requires the user to log in before providing the service may be applied to screen golf. When the login process is applied, the user must enter his or her ID or password, and the input unit 40 may be used at this time. Additionally, the input unit 40 can be used in screen golf when the user selects play options such as the golf course he or she wants to play or the play difficulty level.

The sound unit 50 may include an audio device such as a speaker, and through this, guides the user to the progress of the game and plays various sound effects according to the progress of the game.

The display unit 60 includes devices such as a projector and screen. The projector projects golf-related images on the screen so that the golf course and golf balls are displayed on the screen, and the screen displays the projected images to show to the user. In this specification, some objects displayed on the screen may be expressed with the term 'virtual'. This is used to mean that they are displayed as images on the screen, and to avoid confusion with objects that exist in the real world. It is used. For example, 'virtual golf ball' refers to a golf ball displayed on a screen, and is expressed by adding the term 'virtual' to avoid confusion with the actual golf ball that a user hits in the real world.

The virtual golf device is a device that is installed on a screen golf course to allow screen golf to be played. When a user plays screen golf, the virtual golf device operates as follows. When a user hits a golf ball, the sensing unit 30 detects the physical state, such as the movement of the golf club or the moving speed or direction of the golf ball hit by the user. The information detected by the sensing unit 30 is transmitted to the control unit 20, and the calculation unit 21 in the control unit 20 performs a calculation process of calculating the trajectory of the golf ball based on the transmitted information. The display unit 60 displays an image of a virtual golf ball moving along the trajectory calculated in the calculation process. At this time, the virtual golf ball flies along the calculated trajectory and lands at a specific point on the virtual golf course on the screen, The user continues the next hit at the point where the virtual golf ball lands, and the above operation process is repeated when the user makes the next hit.

In the screen golf play process described above, the evaluation unit 22 executes an evaluation process for the virtual golf course. The evaluation includes an assessment of course difficulty, such as whether it is easy or difficult to play. Here, the golf course subject to evaluation may mean a 'golf course' and/or each hole in a plurality of holes constituting one golf course. Golf courses are generally called CC (Country Club), and one CC consists of multiple courses (usually 18 holes). In the present invention, evaluating a golf course may mean evaluating a CC composed of a plurality of holes, or may mean evaluating each hole constituting the CC as one golf course.

The evaluation process in the evaluation unit 22 may be performed based on the user's play record on the virtual golf course subject to evaluation, and may also be performed using other additional information. Evaluation results for the virtual golf course may be provided to the user through the sound unit 50 or the display unit 60. Below, the evaluation process will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of evaluating a golf course using artificial intelligence, Figures 3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining judgment data that can be used for golf course evaluation, and Figure 6 is a golf course evaluation result. This is a diagram showing an example of a screen display.

Referring to Figure 2, the golf course evaluation process can be performed using artificial intelligence. When using artificial intelligence, as shown in Figure 2, input data can be input to artificial intelligence and output data can be obtained by artificial intelligence. Here, artificial intelligence is a program that artificially implements human intellectual ability, and machine learning technology can be applied to artificial intelligence. By applying machine learning technology, artificial intelligence can analyze a large number of input data and derive results on its own, unlike traditional programs that derive results determined by rules. Artificial intelligence models such as machine learning include an artificial neural network consisting of a plurality of layers and a plurality of nodes constituting each layer, and the plurality of layers may include an input layer, a hidden layer, and an output layer. The input layer is the layer that receives the data to be analyzed, the output layer is the layer that outputs the results, and the hidden layer is the intermediate layer between the input layer and the output layer.

In applying artificial intelligence, input data is evidence that can be used to evaluate a golf course. The input data may be not one type, but multiple types of data. For example, input data may include a play record recorded by a user on a course to be evaluated, a user evaluation of the course to be evaluated, and course information related to the topographical characteristics of the course to be evaluated. Additionally, when the golf course to be evaluated is modeled after an actual golf course, the golfer's play record on the actual golf course can be used as input data. The output data becomes the evaluation result for the golf course calculated by artificial intelligence.

In the input data, information stored in the storage unit 23 may be used regarding the play record recorded by the user on the course subject to evaluation. There may be a variety of user play records, and among them, the average value of the scores (number of strokes) recorded by the user on the golf course subject to evaluation can be used as input data. Generally, a golf course consists of a total of 18 holes, and the winner of golf is determined by the total number of strokes (the number of times the golf ball is hit) used in each hole until the golf ball is put into the hole cup. In a golf course consisting of a total of 18 holes, the number of strokes required adds up to 72 strokes. Professional golfers record strokes in the late 60s or early 70s, and ordinary people are considered advanced if they score within 80 strokes. If the average value of the total number of strokes recorded by users on the golf course subject to evaluation is high, it means that a large number of strokes were struck until a hole-in was made, which means that the course difficulty is high enough to require a large number of strokes. Conversely, if the average value of the total number of strokes recorded by users on the golf course subject to evaluation is small, it means that a small number of strokes were made until a hole-in, which means that the course difficulty is low enough to not require a large number of strokes. In this way, the average value of the total number of strokes recorded by users can serve as evidence for evaluating the difficulty of playing on a golf course.

In addition to average at-bats, there may be other play records that can be used as input data. For example, fairway landing rate, green accuracy, average number of puttings, etc. can be used as input data. The fairway landing rate (driving accuracy) is a numerical representation of the percentage of tee shots made by a driver that land on the fairway (without falling into the rough or bunker), including 14 out of 18 holes excluding 4 Par 3 holes. It indicates the number of times a tee shot lands on the fairway in a hole as a percentage. For example, out of 14 holes, when the tee shot enters the 9th fairway, the score is 64.28% (9/14=0.6428). Green accuracy is expressed as a percentage of the number of times a golf ball is hit on the green below the standard, and is calculated similarly to the fairway landing rate. For example, green accuracy is when you hit the golf ball on the green at number 1 for a Par 3 hole, number 2 for a Par 4, and number 3 for a Par 5, and it is within the regulation stroke. For example, if you hit the golf ball within the regulation stroke 10 times out of 18 holes, it is within the regulation stroke. If the ball is placed on the green, the green accuracy is 55.56% (10/18=0.555). The average number of putts is calculated by dividing the total number of putts during an 18-hole round by 18. For example, if the total number of putts is 30, it is 1.67 (30/18=1.666). Assuming that there are significant differences in fairway landing rate/green accuracy/average number of putts recorded by the same user at different golf courses, a golf course with good records can be seen as having lower play difficulty than a golf course with bad records. In this way, personal records such as fairway landing rate/green accuracy/average number of putts, etc. can serve as a basis for evaluating course difficulty. Therefore, various personal records (average number of strokes/fairway landing rate/green accuracy/average number of puttings, etc.) recorded by multiple users for the golf course subject to evaluation can be used as input data to evaluate the golf course.

As mentioned above, in the present invention, the golf course to be evaluated may mean a CC consisting of a plurality of holes, or may mean individual holes constituting the CC. If the user's play record is stored separately for each hole, a golf course evaluation for each hole may be performed using the user's play record for each hole. In addition, when it is desired to evaluate a CC consisting of a plurality of holes, the evaluation of the CC can be performed by performing a golf course evaluation for each hole constituting the target CC and then summarizing the evaluation.

Additional information other than the user's play record may be used as input data. As the additional information, there may be a user's evaluation of the virtual golf course to be evaluated. The user's evaluation is a kind of survey. For example, if a user selects a specific golf course and completes play on a screen golf course where a virtual golf device is installed, the user can be asked to evaluate the golf course played today. And, when the user responds to the request, the response result can be used as input data for golf course evaluation. User surveys can be as simple as simply selecting the overall difficulty of the golf course you have played (e.g. very hard/difficult/average/easy/very easy), or in addition to rating the overall difficulty of the golf course. There may be an investigation method that asks for answers about the details of specific hits such as tee shots, approaches, and putting.

Additional information that can be used as input data may include course information related to the topographical characteristics of the golf course being evaluated. Here, the topographical features represent the course characteristics of each hole constituting the CC. For example, referring to Figure 3, course features that can be used as additional information include the distance from the tee shot location (tee box) to the hole cup (C1), the overall outline of the course (C2), and trouble areas ( There may be distribution characteristics (C3) such as the rough, bunker, etc., where it is difficult to hit when a golf ball is placed in the corresponding location (for convenience, the area is called a 'trouble area').

Depending on the distance (C1) from the tee shot position to the hole cup, the number of hits until a hole in the hole cup may vary (the longer the distance, the more the number of hits may increase), and because the number of hits is linked to the golf play score, The distance from the tee shot position to the hole cup (C1) can be the basis for evaluating the difficulty of a golf course. The overall outline of the course (C2) can also determine the difficulty of a golf course. For example, comparing the case where the overall outline is straight (1) and the case where it is curved (〈), in the former course you just have to keep hitting the golf ball in a straight direction, but in the latter course you have to hit the golf ball while changing the hitting direction. The difficulty level of play increases because there is a possibility of OB (Out of Bounds) occurring. The distribution characteristics (C3) of trouble areas that exist on the course indicate what the trouble areas are, how many there are, and where they are located. Because it is more difficult to hit from a bunker, which is a sand area, compared to the rough, which is a grass area, the difficulty of play can vary depending on what the trouble area is. Additionally, as the number of trouble areas increases, the difficulty of play increases, and the location of the trouble areas can also affect the difficulty. For example, when comparing the case where the bunker is located near the green area and the case where the bunker is located far from the green area, the former can be seen as more difficult to play than the latter. In the former case, there is a high possibility that the golf ball will fall into a bunker while the user attempts to land the golf ball on the green area, whereas if the bunker is far away from the green area, there is a possibility of avoiding the bunker while making a shot. am.

Course features that can be used as additional information include the distance from the tee shot to the hole cup (C1), the overall outline of the course (C2), and the distribution characteristics of trouble areas on the course (C3). However, these are examples. Various topographical features not mentioned herein may be used as additional information.

As additional information that can be used as input data, a golfer's play record in actual golf can be used. Virtual golf courses played by virtual golf devices are often modeled after actual golf courses. When modeling an actual golf course, the course for each hole of the actual golf course is almost exactly reproduced, so the difficulty of play of the virtual golf course created in this way can be seen to correspond to some extent to the difficulty of play of the actual golf course on which it is based. Therefore, as evaluation data that can be used to evaluate a virtual golf course, related data on the actual golf course on which the virtual golf course is based can be used. For example, if there was a golf match by famous professional golfers on an actual golf course that was modeled, and there are play records such as scores recorded by the golfers in the match, the play records can be used to create a virtual golf course modeled after the actual golf course. It can be used as data for evaluation.

As described above, the virtual golf course can be evaluated using various input data. When the user's play record is used as input data, the user's play record may be updated each time the user plays, so the evaluation process for the virtual golf course is not run only once, but is re-run accordingly when the input data is updated. It could be.

Above, we have explained the user's play record and various additional information on the virtual golf course subject to evaluation as input data. A golf course can be evaluated using only some of the items mentioned here, or other items not mentioned can be added as input data. You can also use it to evaluate golf courses. When using various types of input data, the weights reflected in the evaluation can be configured to be the same or different depending on the type of input data. For example, there are multiple items A, B, and C as input data, and the final evaluation score PT for the target golf course is the evaluation score PA according to item A, the evaluation score PB according to item B, and the evaluation score PC according to item C. Assuming that it is calculated by combining , the final evaluation score PT can be calculated according to equation (1) below.

PT = αPA + βPB + γPC--------- Equation (1)

Here, if the values of α, β, and γ are set to 1, various types of input data can all be used to evaluate the golf course with equal weight. If the values of α, β, and γ are set differently, various types of input data can be used to evaluate the golf course with different weights. For example, PA is an evaluation score based on the user's play record on a virtual golf course, PB is an evaluation score based on the user's evaluation of the golf course to be evaluated, and PC is an evaluation score based on course characteristics of the golf course to be evaluated. In other words, PA is based on objective data such as the user's play record, and if there are many users, a large amount of reliable data can be accumulated, so α can be set to have a larger value than β or γ. . For example, you can set weights like 'α=10, β=1, γ=2', etc.

Meanwhile, the above equation (1) represents a weighting method when adding up the final evaluation scores, but the weighting method can also be applied when calculating the evaluation score for each item of input data. For example, when calculating the evaluation score (PA) according to the user's play record, equation (2) with weighting as follows can be applied.

PA = F(αPA1, βPA2, γPA3,...)--------- Equation (2)

Here, PA1, PA2, and PA3 represent the play records of user A1, user A2, and user A3, respectively, and α, β, and γ are weights that reflect the play records of users A1, A2, and A3, respectively. , and F represents a function that evaluates the play difficulty of the target golf course from a plurality of user play records. Alternatively, PA1, PA2, and PA3 represent the play record recorded by user A at the first time point, the play record recorded by user A at the second time point, and the play record recorded by user A at the third time point, respectively, and α, β, γ, etc. It may represent weights that reflect the play records at the first, second, and third points of user A, respectively. In this way, when reflecting a user's play record, the proportion of reflecting the record may vary depending on who the user is and/or what record the user recorded and when. This is to improve the objectivity/reliability of evaluation when evaluating golf courses.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is assumed that in order to evaluate the difficulty of a specific virtual golf course, the play records of the first, second, and third users on the corresponding golf course are used. As shown in Figure 4, if the standard reflecting the play records of the first, second, and third users is expressed as the horizontal length of the bar for convenience, the first user, third user, and second user are in that order. The proportion of the user's play records reflected can be increased. There may be several criteria for determining the proportion of play records reflected. For example, depending on each user's golf skills, the play records of advanced users can be reflected at a higher rate than the play records of lower class users. In the case of lower-class players, the play records can be seen as inconsistent and less reliable than those of upper-class players, so in order to increase the reliability of golf course evaluation, the records of advanced players can be reflected at a higher rate than those of lower-class players.

Meanwhile, when the same user has a plurality of play records, the proportion reflected by each of the plurality of records can be changed. For example, in relation to when the record was created, recent records can be given a higher proportion of reflection than past records. Also, depending on how close the record is to the user's own average, if records that are close to the average are called 'normal records' for convenience and records that deviate from the average are called 'non-normal records', then normal records have a higher proportion than non-normal records. (For example, if the average and standard deviation of a specific user's records are calculated and the standard deviation value is called SD (standard deviation), records within the range between -SD and +SD are considered normal records, and outside the above range, records are considered normal records. Records that exist may be determined to be non-normal records). Since non-normal records can be said to be records that occur rarely compared to the user's average record, they can be considered unreliable. Therefore, in order to increase the reliability of golf course evaluation, regular records can be reflected at a higher rate than non-normal records.

Previously, it was said that the proportion of the user's play record reflected can be changed depending on the user's golf skill. To this end, information about the user's golf skill may be stored in the storage unit 23.

Referring to FIG. 5, a different storage area is allocated to each user in the storage unit, and various information can be stored in the area allocated to each user. For example, when there are different users A and B, the storage unit is divided into an area (P1) that stores information about user A and an area (P2) that stores information about user B. The user space may store the user's personal information, the user's play information, the user's level information, etc. The user's personal information is stored in the user's personal information, which can be used in the login process, etc. The user's play information stores the record of the user's play. The user's level information stores the evaluation of the user's golf skills. The user's level is not fixed and may change accordingly as the user's play record is updated.

The user's level can be calculated based on data stored in the user's play information. The user's play information may include the number of plays, play time, play records, etc. The greater the number of plays or play time, it means that you have played more than other users. In general, the more you play, the better your skills will be and the higher your level. In addition, regarding the user's play record, the golf course the user played and the score recorded on the golf course, or personal records calculated from the user's play content (average number of strokes, driver distance, fairway landing rate, green accuracy, average number of putts, etc.) Information such as the like may be stored, and the level of the user's golf skill may be calculated using at least one of such information. Here, the user's personal record can be used as data to evaluate the golf course and can also be used as data to evaluate the user's golf skills. When evaluating a golf course, the user's play record can be used as data to evaluate the golf course being evaluated. There is a difference in that one record is used, and when evaluating a user's golf skills, play records from multiple golf courses on which the user has played may be used. Calculation of the user's level may be performed by the above-described control unit, etc.

Once the golf course is evaluated, the results are delivered to the user. The evaluation results can be provided to the user by voice using the sound unit 50 or visually by using the display unit 60. When providing evaluation results visually, the evaluation results can be displayed on part of the screen. For example, when a user tries to select a golf course to play among a plurality of golf courses (here, golf course means golf course (CC)) before starting play, the golf course shown in FIG. 6(a) As shown, a plurality of selectable golf courses may be displayed on the screen, and the play difficulty level evaluated by the evaluation unit 22 may be displayed for each golf course. Or, as shown in FIG. 6(b), while the user is playing by selecting a specific golf course (CC), the golf course (CC) currently being played and the hole in progress are displayed in one corner of the screen. In addition, the play difficulty level for the golf course and hole may be displayed separately. Since a golf course (CC) consists of multiple holes, the difficulty of each hole and the difficulty of the golf course (CC) that combines the difficulty of all holes may be different. Therefore, the difficulty of the golf course (CC) and the difficulty of the holes must be displayed separately. You can.

We have described the technology for evaluating the difficulty of playing of a golf course and providing it to the user. The results of the golf course evaluation can be provided to the user as play information that can stimulate the user's interest. In addition, beyond the scope of simple information delivery, golf course evaluation results can be used in various ways. An example of using the evaluation results will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing a process for utilizing golf course evaluation results, and Figures 8 and 9 are diagrams to explain examples of rewarding or penalizing users.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the first step (S1) in the process of utilizing the golf course evaluation results, the user selects the golf course (CC) on which he or she will play. In the second step (S2), the user plays screen golf. In the third step (S3), it is checked whether specific conditions related to the evaluation results are met, and in the fourth step (S4), a reward or penalty is given depending on whether the conditions are met. In the third step (S3), certain conditions are met in relation to the evaluation results, for example, if a golf course is evaluated as having high play difficulty and a good score is achieved or a golf course is evaluated as having low play difficulty. There may be cases where you struggle and get surprisingly bad grades. If a good score is achieved on a high-difficulty golf course, a reward may be given in the fourth step (S4) to encourage the user who performed well, and if a poor score is obtained on a low-difficulty golf course, the user is urged to be careful. To do this, a penalty may be given in the fourth step (S4).

Specifically, if a user posted a good score (e.g., under par) at a certain hole on a highly difficult golf course, or if a user evaluated as a beginner performs well on a golf course of intermediate or higher level (e.g., if the user's average score is about The user can be rewarded in cases such as maintaining scores. Additionally, if a user posts a bad score (e.g., over par) at a certain hole on a low-difficulty golf course, or if a user evaluated as an advanced player struggles on a golf course that is intermediate or lower (e.g., the average score is about A penalty may be given to the user in cases such as maintaining a score of .

There may be various rewards or penalties given to the user. For example, there may be differences in play information provided to users. Referring to FIG. 8, various play information may be provided to the user in the putting stage of screen golf. In this case, more information may be provided to give an advantage, or less information may be provided to give a penalty. As shown in FIG. 8, in the putting stage, the screen displays distance information (I1) between the golf ball and the final target point, the hole cup, topography information (I2, I3) of the green area where putting takes place, and the virtual golf ball and final target point. Height difference information (I4) between in-hole cups may be provided. As topographic information (I2, I3) of the green area, a grid (I2) consisting of a plurality of horizontal and vertical lines is displayed, and an indicator (I3) moving along the horizontal and vertical lines is displayed. The indicator (I3) moves at a predetermined speed along the horizontal and vertical lines that make up the grid (I2). The moving direction of the indicator (I3) indicates the slope direction of the green area, and the moving speed indicates the slope. That is, the indicator (I3) moves from a place with a high slope to a place with a low slope, and as the slope increases, the moving speed increases. Therefore, when the grid (I2) and the indicator (I3) are provided, the user can determine the direction and degree of slope in the green area through the moving direction and moving speed of the indicator (I3).

If you want to give a penalty to the user, you need to check the distance between the golf ball and the hole cup, which is the final target point (I1), the topographical information of the green area where putting takes place (I2, I3), and the height between the virtual golf ball and the hole cup, which is the final target point. At least one of the difference information (I4) may be prevented from being provided. Conversely, when it is desired to give an advantage to the user, additional information may be provided in addition to the above information. The additional information may include putting lie information (I5) in the green area, caddy's recommended distance information (I6), etc. Putting lie information (I5) in the green area represents information on how far horizontally from the hole cup the target should be when putting, considering the curvature of the green area from the current golf ball position to the hole cup. The caddy's recommended distance information (I6) indicates the distance the golf ball must roll to successfully make a hole-in. In Figure 8, the distance between the golf ball and the hole cup is 8.87m, and the hole cup is located 0.26m higher than the golf ball, indicating an uphill slope. In this case, when putting with a target distance of 8.87m, there is a possibility that the golf ball will lose power as it climbs the uphill slope and may not reach the hole cup. In this case, it is necessary to target and putt at a location farther than the hole cup location. With additional information, the distance to be targeted can be provided as a specific figure of 11.6m, and as a result, the user can determine an accurate putting strategy. You can increase your chances of success in putting.

In addition to providing differences in the amount of information as above, advantages or penalties can be given to users in other ways. For example, in putting, the agree range can be varied. Concede means that if the putted golf ball is within a certain distance from the hole cup, it is recognized as a hole in. For example, if the concession is set to 1m, a golf ball located within a 1m radius from the hole cup is considered a hole-in. If the allowable range is widened, a hole-in can be recognized even if the golf ball is rolled to a point further away from the hole cup, which is advantageous to the user. Conversely, if the allowable range is reduced, the range recognized as a hole-in is reduced, which is advantageous to the user. It's disadvantageous. Therefore, you can give the user an advantage by increasing the range of the concession, or give a penalty by reducing the range of the concession.

Above we have described examples of rewards or penalties that can affect the user's play results, but rewards or penalties can also be given so as not to directly affect the user's play results. For example, an advantage or penalty can be given to the user by reducing or increasing the service cost required to use the screen golf service. Alternatively, an advantage can be given to the user by giving special graphic effects to the image displayed on the screen. When the user achieves eagle (putting the golf ball into the hole cup by hitting 2 strokes less than the standard number of strokes), as shown in Figure 9, a strong impression is made on the new image represented by 'eagle', which is the dictionary meaning of eagle. By displaying the image of the firebird with a flame image that can give the user a strong impact on achieving the 'Eagle' and boosting morale.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a virtual golf device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the virtual golf device according to this embodiment includes a plurality of booths 101, 102, and 103. Each booth (101, 102, 103) is configured identically. For example, the first booth 101 has a hitting plate 101a, a simulator device 101b with a kiosk screen, a screen 101c, etc., and the other booths 102 and 103 also have the same components. Although not shown in the drawing, each booth (101, 102, 103) is further equipped with other devices such as cameras to determine the movement of the golf club/golf ball when hitting. In each booth (101, 102, 103), multiple users can take turns playing golf. Alternatively, in each booth (101, 102, 103), the user can play solo while being separated from users of other booths. The simulator device 101b of the virtual golf device according to this embodiment may be equipped with an evaluation unit with the function of evaluating golf courses as described above, and through this, the difficulty of playing for a plurality of golf courses is evaluated and the evaluation result is obtained. can be provided to the user.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a system in which a plurality of virtual golf devices are connected through a network.

Referring to FIG. 11, a system in which virtual golf devices are connected through a network includes a plurality of screen golf courses 1 and server units 2. The screen golf course 1 is equipped with a virtual golf device as shown in FIGS. 1 to 10 so that screen golf play can be enjoyed. The virtual golf device provided in the screen golf course 1 is connected to the server unit 2 through a wired or wireless communication network. Each screen golf course 1 serves as a service provider that provides screen golf services to users when they log in. The server unit 2 may be a central server used by a service provider operating a plurality of screen golf courses 1 to manage virtual golf devices provided in the plurality of screen golf courses 1. A user who wants to use the screen golf service first logs in to receive the service, and the server unit 2 can confirm the user's identity when logging in and determine whether or not to approve the login. For this purpose, the server unit 2 is equipped with a storage unit 3 that stores information necessary to verify the user's identity. In the storage unit 3, information about a plurality of users is stored separately for each user. Personal information, play information, level information, etc. may be stored in the storage area for each user. The personal information is used to verify the identity of the user and can be used in the login process, etc. The play information may include the user's past play records or the user's personal records (average distance for each club, average number of strokes, etc.) that can be obtained from past play records. The level information represents an evaluation result of the user's golf skills determined in consideration of the user's play record, etc. Although not shown in the drawing, setting information regarding items set by the user may be stored in the storage unit 3. The setting information includes the golf course the user has played in the past, play difficulty, play method, preferred operating conditions, etc. The user may find it inconvenient to enter various options each time he plays. If is not entered, the selection can be automatically set based on the above setting information. As various user information is stored in the storage unit 3 in this way, the virtual golf devices of the screen golf course 1 connected to the server unit 2 by wire and/or wirelessly are stored in the storage unit 3. The information is available, and there is no need to separately store the user's information at each screen golf course (1).

Additionally, the server unit 2 is provided with an evaluation unit 4 that has the function of evaluating a virtual golf course. The evaluation unit 4 may perform the same/similar functions as the evaluation unit provided in the above-described virtual golf device. When the evaluation unit 4 is provided in the server unit 2, there is no need for a separate evaluation unit to be provided in the virtual golf device of the screen golf course 1. However, instead of being provided in the server unit 2, the evaluation unit 4 may be individually provided in each virtual golf device of the screen golf course 1. Through the evaluation unit 4, the difficulty of playing can be evaluated for the virtual golf course played by the user and the evaluation result can be provided to the user.

Although we have looked at specific embodiments of the present invention as described above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from an illustrative rather than a restrictive perspective. The scope of the present invention is indicated in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the present invention.

1: Screen golf course
2: Server unit
10: Hitting plate
20: control unit
30: detection unit
40: input unit
50: Sound department
60: display unit

Claims (6)

A display unit showing a virtual golf course;
When a user hits a real golf ball, a calculation unit that calculates the movement of the virtual golf ball corresponding to the real golf ball in the virtual golf course based on the state of the real golf ball hit; and
an evaluation unit that performs an evaluation process to evaluate course difficulty for the virtual golf course based on the user's play record in the virtual golf course;
containing
Virtual golf device. According to paragraph 1,
The evaluation unit includes artificial intelligence that automatically executes the evaluation process,
The artificial intelligence is a virtual golf device that, when the user's play record is changed, re-executes the evaluation process by reflecting the changed user's play record. According to paragraph 1,
The evaluation unit executes the evaluation process using additional information in addition to the user play record,
The additional information includes at least one of the user evaluation of the virtual golf course to be evaluated, course information of the virtual golf course to be evaluated, and the golfer's play record on the actual golf course when the virtual golf course to be evaluated is a model of an actual golf course. A virtual golf device that includes one. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
There are a plurality of users, and each of the plurality of users has a level calculated based on their play records,
A virtual golf device in which the proportion of each user's play record reflected in the evaluation process varies depending on the user level. According to paragraph 4,
A virtual golf device that can reward or impose a penalty on a user when the user satisfies predetermined conditions related to the course difficulty of the virtual golf course currently being played and the user's level. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
If the user has multiple play records on the golf course subject to evaluation,
In the above evaluation process
Depending on when each play record was made, the proportion of the play record reflected may vary.
Or, the proportion reflected by the play record varies depending on the difference between each play record and the average of the plurality of play records.
Virtual golf device.

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