Throbot®

Throbot, Brunswick’s state-of-the-art ball-throwing robot, was designed and fabricated in the late 1990s with the sole intent of bowling ball development. A computer-controlled hybrid machine, it combines hydraulics, air pressure and electronics to power a mechanical arm that delivers bowling balls predictably down the lane. Throbot can simulate nearly any bowler’s throw including speed, rev rate, and axis tilt and rotation.

Throbot provides Brunswick with a unique opportunity to objectively test core and coverstock combinations. The on-lane data from Throbot is collected using a 24-sensor C.A.T.S. system and analyzed to identify the best core/coverstock performance combinations.

In the early 2000s, Brunswick engineers began exploring different ways to impartially measure lane conditioner performance. Through these studies, Throbot data was used to develop a set of equations which correlate ball position to lane oil pattern transition, providing an objective measure of conditioner performance.

After multiple Throbot tests, engineers were able to measure how different conditioners perform relative to the same pattern, ball and lane surface. With this data, Brunswick chemists can create new additive packages with specific characteristics. This early work eventually led to the introduction of Command lane conditioner followed shortly by Control lane conditioner. By the late 2000s, Brunswick re-evaluated the equations to separate performance within and outside the oil pattern, leading to additional new products such as Connect lane conditioner.

Brunswick continues to use Throbot to analyze and develop performance bowling balls and state-of-the-art lane conditioners. The recently updated 24-sensor C.A.T.S. system measures Throbot’s ball path consistency within the pattern as well as entry angle uniformity. These measurements provide important information on how the ball path is affected by carry down. Using this information, as well as data gathered on the effects of lubricity and speed loss within the pattern, Brunswick recently developed its two new highly successful conditioners, Connect and Logic.

Throbot is an example of Brunswick’s commitment to use scientific research to measure and enhance performance bowling products. This continuing investment in the latest technologies ensures Brunswick’s newest products will exceed bowling centers’ and bowlers’ expectations.