OB Cues has a new product

Clarification

shanesinnott said:
The DIGICUE does not have a gyroscope. Nothing inside the DIGICUE will make the cue go straight. It just lets you know when it doesn't. It is still up to the player to keep their body movement still and follow through, our device just alerts you when you make a fundamental mistake and conditions you to have better mechanics in all cue sport games. As of right now there is not any rule that I am aware of that prevents you from using this in competition. If that changes that's ok. You will still use it when you practice/train.
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Of course your product does not contain a "gyroscope". I used "gyroscope" as an analogy. My point is that, in theory, there should be nothing touching a cue during a stroke other than the person involved in the stroke. It has been pointed out by other posters that their is no governing body in pool and therefore no rule exists. So I guess we should not be surprised when someone shows up at Derby City with cue outfitted with lasers and a telescopic sight. Might as well include some curb feelers as well...lol. I think this could be a great practice device. I just don't think it should be allowed in competition situations. Just saying.:smile:
Tommy
 
iusedtoberich said:
Nice looking product. I own the QMD, linked earlier in this thread, (which OB should seriously look at, especially if they are claiming they are the first in this space). From the product description, this seems very similar.

How about some technical information as to how the product works? What does it measure? How does it measure it?

Thank you.
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This seems like a huge step up from QMD. First of all, the QMD is huge and in the way. It's visually distracting. Secondly, I bought a QMD when it first came out and never got to use it as it didn't work with my iPhone and I didn't see that on their site. Why it wouldn't work with the most popular phone is beyond me.

This OB product is very interesting.
 
cleary said:
This seems like a huge step up from QMD. First of all, the QMD is huge and in the way. It's visually distracting. Secondly, I bought a QMD when it first came out and never got to use it as it didn't work with my iPhone and I didn't see that on their site. Why it wouldn't work with the most popular phone is beyond me.

This OB product is very interesting.
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I have the QMD and I think it was a great idea, but too hard to use. Its been sitting on my shelf since a week after I bought it, and I have never touched it since.

I think the key to this type of product, is ease of use. If its not dirt simple to use, it just becomes a paperweight. We will have to wait and see, once these are available:)
 

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nataddrho said:
Yes, this is exactly correct.
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nataddrho, is there any mechanism for software updates for this? I know it's not connected, so it may not be possible, but I'm thinking once it gets out and lots of people start using it, there could be things you learn that could lead to tweaks to the software.
 
BRussell said:
nataddrho, is there any mechanism for software updates for this? I know it's not connected, so it may not be possible, but I'm thinking once it gets out and lots of people start using it, there could be things you learn that could lead to tweaks to the software.
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Based on my experience with other products similar too this, the only possibly adjust is in the hardware itself. I believe the tech used is an electronic gyroscope(which can be as small as a grain of rice) and an accelerometer. Combine both into a chip that'll toggle the vibration when the gyro notices off line movement coupled with the accelerometer's to initiate it. Because the hardware is set to the same directional plane as the cue movement there doesn't need to be any software at all. Sideways or decceleration would be able to be detected seperately from linear movement of the cue.
 
BRussell said:
When you pre-order, you don't pay yet, do you? You'll pay when it ships, I assume.
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Well, interesting that you should ask. I used my paypal, perhaps that is why, but the money was taken from my account when I placed the pre order.

Which I'm fine with in this case, but you asked.

Lets hope it doesn't turn out to be vaporware!
 
BRussell said:
nataddrho, is there any mechanism for software updates for this? I know it's not connected, so it may not be possible, but I'm thinking once it gets out and lots of people start using it, there could be things you learn that could lead to tweaks to the software.
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Yes, there is a bed-of-nails style programming port, so updates are possible. The chips come pre-loaded with the most recent version of software. The firmware is code-protected and proprietary however, so I would imagine that if we were to do firmware updates in the future, you'd ship it in to OB. This was a good question to ask.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
Based on my experience with other products similar too this, the only possibly adjust is in the hardware itself. I believe the tech used is an electronic gyroscope(which can be as small as a grain of rice) and an accelerometer. Combine both into a chip that'll toggle the vibration when the gyro notices off line movement coupled with the accelerometer's to initiate it. Because the hardware is set to the same directional plane as the cue movement there doesn't need to be any software at all. Sideways or decceleration would be able to be detected seperately from linear movement of the cue.
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There is no gyroscope or magnetometer in the DigiCue, only an accelerometer. The reason being:
1) For small angles the sin function is approximately linear. You get less noisy and wider bandwidth signals out of small dynamic changes in angle using an accelerometer mounted far away from the pivot point (bridge hand) than you do by using a gyro directly. If the DigiCue were mounted close to the bridge hand, you can't use that distance as a multiplier.
2) Gyro's are power hungry, requiring several milliamps to run. Accelerometers are on the order of nanoamps.
3) Magnetometers (digital compasses) could give you direct angular position in relation to space, but buildings are notorious for distorting the geomagnetic field and modulating the magnitude, requiring a calibration map for every point over the pool table, for every table you play on. They are also slow and power hungry.

The data from the accelerometer is digitally filtered and input into an algorithm with set parameters.
 
nataddrho said:
There is no gyroscope or magnetometer in the DigiCue, only an accelerometer. The reason being:
1) For small angles the sin function is approximately linear. You get less noisy and wider bandwidth signals out of small dynamic changes in angle using an accelerometer mounted far away from the pivot point (bridge hand) than you do by using a gyro directly. If the DigiCue were mounted close to the bridge hand, you can't use that distance as a multiplier.
2) Gyro's are power hungry, requiring several milliamps to run. Accelerometers are on the order of nanoamps.
3) Magnetometers (digital compasses) could give you direct angular position in relation to space, but buildings are notorious for distorting the geomagnetic field and modulating the magnitude, requiring a calibration map for every point over the pool table, for every table you play on. They are also slow and power hungry.

The data from the accelerometer is digitally filtered and input into an algorithm with set parameters.
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Meant to ask this the other day, but how many accelerometer's are used? I'm curious as to how a single accelerometer can track and interpret enough changes in cue motion to work.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
So basically the DigiCue is going to provide instant feedback at the moment your stroke gains a variance? Man SVB would go crazy using this thing.
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I'm thinking SVB is really going to like it. I'd like to have him try it.
 
Last edited:
Don't quite understand the Shane relation but here we go.

(1) This device goes on the but of the cue so will i have to remove my bumper?

(2) Since there is no other device that attaches to this one and i'm not able to "set" anything on it then how do i know what the vibrations you mentioned are for?

(3) Am I expected to recall the shots and times where the device was activated when i hit some balls? As far as practice goes fine cause i'll be hitting the same shot for a while but what about when i decide to now play a rack to see how i'm doing?

(4) At those times when say an unorthodox movement is required do i then ignore the vibration?

(5) I know you said the battery last a "long time" but that's not an actual time, if the device is off then sure the battery will last a while so i'm guessing that you are saying feel free to forget it in your case for a few weeks with no worry, but what about while it's on can i get a full weekend of tournament play out of this (since it was mentioned that it's use may be possible)

(6) At that time that i stop feeling the vibration do i assume that i have now mastered that stroke or will i know when the battery is dead?
 
7forlife said:
Don't quite understand the Shane relation but here we go.

(1) This device goes on the but of the cue so will i have to remove my bumper?
No. The rubber housing fits over the entire butt of the cue with an insertion length of 1.65".

(2) Since there is no other device that attaches to this one and i'm not able to "set" anything on it then how do i know what the vibrations you mentioned are for?
The DigiCue will vibrate if you do not maintain a perfectly still and straight follow through within 3/4 second after striking the cue ball. It will vibrate as soon as motion is detected, so it will give a clue to when you are unintentionally moving. Also, you can set the DigiCue to three sensitivity modes.

(3) Am I expected to recall the shots and times where the device was activated when i hit some balls? As far as practice goes fine cause i'll be hitting the same shot for a while but what about when i decide to now play a rack to see how i'm doing?
DigiCue does not record any previous shots... it only reacts to the current shot. You will either feel a vibration, alerting you of a stroke flaw, or you won't. It is a simple binary conditioning loop. You will be able to use the DigiCue during regular play, as well as matches.

(4) At those times when say an unorthodox movement is required do i then ignore the vibration?
Yes. If you need to move the cue out of the way due to a draw stroke, for example, then the DigiCue will see that as a stroke flaw and vibrate. This is OK however, because you are aware of what you are doing and can simply ignore that instance.

(5) I know you said the battery last a "long time" but that's not an actual time, if the device is off then sure the battery will last a while so i'm guessing that you are saying feel free to forget it in your case for a few weeks with no worry, but what about while it's on can i get a full weekend of tournament play out of this (since it was mentioned that it's use may be possible)
The battery will last for 40,000 shots while turned on. The device will turn off automatically five minutes after your last shot. After 5 minutes, simply press the button once to turn it back on.
When off, the DigiCue draws less than 800nA. It will take 31 years to fully deplete a 220mAh lithium ion coin cell battery (CR2032) while in off mode, three times longer than the advertised shelf life of the battery itself.

(6) At that time that i stop feeling the vibration do i assume that i have now mastered that stroke or will i know when the battery is dead?
You will most likely have mastered that stroke by the time you reach 40,000 shots. Either way, at any time you can press the power button to reset the device and verify that it is on. It will vibrate a number of times, the number corresponding to the mode that it is currently in.
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Please see the new FAQ for answers to more questions: https://www.obcues.com/pages/DIGICUE-Billiard-Training-Aid-Frequently-Asked-Questions.html
 
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