Electromagnetic System Components

In addition to the necessary computer software, electromagnetic systems have two primary hardware components: a transmitter and electromagnetic sensors. 

Transmitter:

The transmitter box actually contains three separate transmitters, each of which creates a magnetic field. The transmitters create three magnetic fields that are oriented at 90 degrees to each other. You can think of them as being oriented up and down, front to back, and left to right.

Each magnetic field is created and turned off, or pulsed, very, very rapidly over 20,000 times every second! The size of the field varies from a few to 12 or more feet across, depending on the transmitter being used and the level of accuracy desired. The transmitter units typically used for golf create a field that is about 5-6 feet across.

Electromagnetic Sensors:

Each sensor that will be placed on the golfer also has three coils of wire and once again, they are positioned at 90 degrees to each other. As the magnetic fields pulse, it sends a current through the coils in the sensors. The amount of current created in each of the coils will be different depending on how far the coil is from the transmitter box, and also how it is oriented (tilted). By measuring the current in the coils, the system can then determine where in the magnetic field the sensor is located in all three directions (height from the floor, side to side, and forward/backward). It can also determine the orientation of the sensor - meaning how much it is rotated or tilted in all three directions.