OTTO: Bridgestone's Autonomous Ball-Fitting Machine

OTTO occupies about two square feet of space and stands about 36 inches high. He works solo; a lone wolf if you will. You’ll find him sitting by himself on a driving range, at a golf show or at a demo day, minding his own business and waiting for the curious golfer. There’s no attendant or operator. He’s completely self-serve.

To use OTTO, you punch in your name and email or cell number via the touch screen. He’ll then ask you what brand and model ball you use and then you go in front of it and hit your driver. The onboard MEVO+ launch monitor reads your swing speed, ball speed, launch angle and spin rate. OTTO will then tell you—literally—your carry and total distance.

“After each swing, it yells out your driver distance,” says Mellow. “After your first drive, it might say something like. ‘Great drive, you hit that one 246. Now hit another one.’”

Once you’ve hit your three shots, OTTO crunches the numbers. Once he’s done, he’ll either text or email you a custom-fitting report and ball recommendation.