2026 update. The GRAN EYE has now been upgraded. To see all the differences between the old and the version click here
Introducing the GRAN EYE, the latest offering from GRAN DARTS. What’s new? What’s all the hype? Does it live up to expectations? The boys from No Bull Darts review the GRAN EYE and its implications for the future of home darts.
After our visit to GRAN DARTS in Japan in 2024, we returned home very excited at some of the concepts we had seen while visiting the GRAN offices and meeting with its creators. Check out our article here. While this meeting showcased their Tournaments feature, we did get a sneak peek of other upcoming projects; one being the newly released GRAN EYE.
What is the GRAN EYE?
The GRAN EYE is an AI-powered automatic scoring camera system for steel-tip dartboards that uses deep-learning technology to recognize darts, calculate scores, and allow players to compete online via the GranDarts App. It offers intelligent autoscoring, adapts to various lighting conditions, and learns to recognize different setups.
At the time of writing, the GRAN EYE system only works with steel-tip boards but we have been told that eventually it will work with soft-tip setups like the GRAN BOARD 3s. Whether this means it will be a whole new product for soft-tip setups or whether updates will occur for the current GRAN EYE to make it compatible with soft-tip boards is anyone’s guess. The aim is to replace the average GRAN CAM that was offered several years ago as a replacement for users’ 2nd camera option on their soft-tip boards.
Unboxing and setup
The GRAN EYE comes in a relatively small box, but includes everything you can see below.
Contents of the GRAN EYE box
I’m not going to lie. Pulling all this stuff out was a little overwhelming – especially when there is only one, tiny sheet of paper of installation instructions with a QR Code. Fortunately, the QR code leads you to an installation YouTube video showing in detail what you need to do to install the unit on your current steel-tip board at home.
There’s a lot of screws and double-sided tape which can again be a little confusing, but once you work out how you are going to mount the GRAN EYE you will only need to use one of these two options. There are three main parts to the GRAN EYE – the twin cameras, the echo locaters, and the processing unit.
If you plan to mount on a wall, set up in one spot and forget, then you’ve probably got everything you need to get started. If, like me, you want to remove the board or make the GRAN EYE portable, then I highly recommend you get the Mag Mount add-on.
Mag Mount bracket
This means that you can add the cameras to your board without screwing them into any walls. The magnetic mounts attach, quite strongly, to your existing board’s outer metal ring at the ’14’ and ’13’ positions. The Mag Mount has a built in slide-lock bracket on it that the GRAN EYE cameras slide onto. This also eliminates the need for manual measuring and saves a stack of time when installing the cameras. The width of the Mag Mount is perfect for a soft surround which also hides the Mag Mount from view creating a smooth finish to the final product.
The next component is the echo locator sensors. As GRAN DARTS themselves have said, if the GRAN EYE cameras are the eyes of the device, the echo locaters are the ears. These are three flat (5mm) but round-shaped objects that can either be stuck to the back of the board with double-sided tape, screwed into the back of the board with the supplied screws, or screwed/stuck onto the wall (best option if not planning on moving the board). These must go in specific spots behind your board and there is a paper template to show you where they go.
The last component is the processing unit. This sits approximately 7cm below the bottom of the board and has the other components plug into it. For aesthetics, it also comes with a mounting plate that can be stuck/screwed into the wall and can then slide-lock into the plate. Although fixing it to the wall is not necessary, it does look a lot neater and tidier when it has been fixed.
Completed set up
As usual for GRAN products, there is no USB adapter included (I’m guessing this is due to the different countries it gets sold in) so you need to ensure you have a suitable USB adapter ready to go at home. You’ll also need to ensure you download the free app GranDarts for your device. This has a red logo with white writing, as opposed to the GRAN Board app which has a rainbow logo. You can log in with your GRAN ID (if you can remember the details!) to allow continuity of your online presence.
Initial Setup and Gameplay
When you first open the app on your device it will prompt you through a fiddly process that, thankfully, you should only have to do one time. As similar to the GRAN BOARD 3s, make sure that you are connected to a 2.4 Ghz WIFI, to allow seamless connection to your device and the GRAN EYE. The app will determine what level of AI it can use based on the processing power of your device.
You’ll then be prompted to start the board setup. First you’ll need to initialise the cameras. If you fail to do this correctly the first time, there is a small button on the arm of each camera that you need to hold down for 3 seconds to reset the process. The app tells you how, and when to scan the QR codes to connect your cameras (don’t forget to remove the lens caps on each camera).
After your cameras are connected the app will automatically callibrate the points/intersections on your dartboard spider. These are crucial to the system’s scoring so make sure these are millimeter perfect. They can be manually adjusted if necessary but I’ve not had to do that yet. In several updates to the software since release, the development team has now implemented auto re-callibration after every player change.
Once setup is complete, you can choose local or online mode. As the product is quite new, don’t expect too many people online just yet. The GRAN BOARD 3s has hundreds of people online at any given time; so far I’ve been lucky to bump into a couple people in the lobby and was able to have a few online games. This will improve over time as more people purchase the product.
The local option has all your favourite modes and games – 01, Cricket, Medley, Practice (CountUp, Half It, Rotation, etc), and Party (Kick Down, Beyond Top, and Shang Hai) with full customisable options.
All games can played solo or up to 4 vs 4 players, and the 01, Cricket and Medley games can all be played vs a computer opponent of varying levels. Expect future updates to include remote doubles like the GRAN BOARD app and singles vs doubles play.
You have the option of having an AI-voice announcer, and you can choose whether each dart number is called as you are throwing, or total of 3 darts is called. You can also choose whether check-out options are shown on the screen. This is a great feature as steel-tip players generally like to work out their own check-out options rather than being told what they need.
As a regular soft-tip dart user, the GRAN EYE has made me want to throw more and get better on the steel-tip boards. This can only (hopefully!) improve my soft-tip game as the segments are larger on the soft-tip boards.
Overall, the GRAN EYE is an excellent addition to the growing number of GRAN products offered today. While the scoring system is not always perfect (it would be high 95%+ accuracy) it is easily adjusted manually if needed. No Bull Darts is proud to be the first stockist in Australia selling the GRAN EYE. Purchase your GRAN EYE here in our shop today!
Comment below with any questions or thoughts on the GRAN EYE system.
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