Image Processing for Golf Simulator

Tato práce popisuje návrh a praktickou realizaci golfového simulátoru. Zahrnuje specifikaci hardwaru, který je pro takový simulátor nezbytností a implementaci detekce odpalu a letu míče. Simulátor musí splňovat několik podmínek, které byly stanoveny na počátku návrhu.Mezi nejdůležitější podmínky patří nízká pořizovací cena, a proto je simulátor postaven na běžně dostupných USB kamerách Playstation Eye 3. Hlavním cílem bylo vytvořit uživatelsky přívětivý simulátor, který bude vhodný jak pro venkovní, tak pro vnitřní prostředí. Výsledné řešení bylo porovnáno se simulátorem Full Swing. Díky snímání míčku již od počátku jeho letu byla přesnost našeho simulátoru při patování a krátké hře mnohem vyšší. Přesnosti při patování se pohybovaly: u rychlosti míče +/- 0,2 m/s, vzletového úhlu +/- 1 stupeň a letového úhlu +/- 0,8 stupňů.This thesis describes design and practical realization of a golf simulator. It includes specifications of the hardware, that is a necessity for such simulator, and implementation of the detection of a golf swing and ball flight. The simulator has to fulfill several conditions that were stated at the beginning of the draft. One of the most important conditions was low purchase price, and therefore the simulator is based on common USB cameras Playstation Eye 3. The main goal was to create a user friendly simulator, that will be appropriate both for indoor and outdoor conditions. The final solution was compared with Full Swing simulator. The accuracy of our simulator was far better than the compared one at short game and putting through the use of scanning the ball right after the start of its flight. Accuracy at putting ranged: speed of the ball +/- 0.2 m/s, launch angle +/- 1 degree and flight angle +/- 0.8 degrees.

Investigating the Transfer of Learning, Psychological, and Neural Effects in Immersive Virtual Reality

Achieving mastery or expertise requires a substantial amount of quality practice. Recent technological developments have introduced a novel approach to practice, virtual reality. Specifically, virtual reality offers a low-cost, customizable opportunity to practice while minimizing the risk of the individual. Given that some types of practice may not lead to the acquisition of a motor skill, or worse, lead to detriments of that skill, understanding the developing science of motor behavior in relation to virtual reality is imperative. The following literature review will begin with a brief historical account of the evolution of virtual reality. Next, some terms of virtual reality will be defined, and the technological characteristics will be introduced. Then, fundamental theories of transfer of learning and important variables which likely contribute to transfer of learning will be discussed. In the following section, the current understanding of virtual reality and motor learning will be explained. Research that has examined transfer of learning within immersive virtual reality will then be examined and discussions of the findings and limitations will be presented. Finally, to address the aforementioned shortcomings, the following project was a two-experimental study to investigate the transfer of learning effects of virtual reality motor skill practice

The efficacy of virtual reality in professional soccer

Professional soccer clubs have taken an interest to virtual reality, however, only a paucity of evidence exists to support its use in the soccer training ground environment. Further, several soccer virtual reality companies have begun providing solutions to teams, claiming to test specific characteristics of players, yet supportive evidence for certain measurement properties remain absent from the literature. The aims of this thesis were to explore the efficacy of virtual reality being used in the professional football training ground environment. To do so, this thesis looked to explore the fundamental measurement properties of soccer specific virtual reality tests, along with the perceptions of professional coaches, backroom staff, and players that could use virtual reality. The first research study (Chapter 3) aimed to quantify the learning effect during familiarisation trials of a soccer-specific virtual reality task. Thirty-four professional soccer players age, stature, and body mass: mean (SD) 20 (3.4) years; 180 (7) cm; 79 (8) kg, participated in six trials of a virtual reality soccer passing task. The task required participants to receive and pass 30 virtual soccer balls into highlighted mini-goals that surrounded the participant. The number of successful passes were recorded in each trial. The one-sided Bayesian paired samples t-test indicated very strong evidence in favour of the alternative hypothesis (H1)(BF10 = 46.5, d = 0.56 [95% CI = 0.2 to 0.92]) for improvements in total goals scored between trial 1: 13.6 (3.3) and trial 2: 16 (3.3). Further, the Bayesian paired-samples equivalence t-tests indicated strong evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 10.2, d = 0.24 [95% CI = -0.09 to 0.57]) for equivalence between trial 4: 16.7 (3.7) and trial 5: 18.2 (4.7); extreme evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 132, d = -0.02 [95% CI = -0.34 to 0.30]) for equivalence between trials 5 and 6: 18.1 (3.5); and moderate evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 8.4, d = 0.26 [95% CI = -0.08 to 0.59]) for equivalence between trials 4 and 6. Sufficient evidence indicated that a learning effect took place between the first two trials, and that up to five trials might be necessary for performance to plateau in a specific virtual reality soccer passing task.The second research study (Chapter 4) aimed to assess the validity of a soccer passing task by comparing passing ability between virtual reality and real-world conditions. A previously validated soccer passing test was replicated into a virtual reality environment. Twenty-nine soccer players participated in the study which required them to complete as many passes as possible between two rebound boards within 45 s. Counterbalancing determined the condition order, and then for each condition, participants completed four familiarisation trials and two recorded trials, with the best score being used for analysis. Sense of presence and fidelity were also assessed via questionnaires to understand how representative the virtual environments were compared to the real-world. Results showed that between conditions a difference was observed (EMM = -3.9, 95% HDI = -5.1 to -2.7) with the number of passes being greater in the real-world (EMM = 19.7, 95% HDI = 18.6 to 20.7) than in virtual reality (EMM = 15.7, 95% HDI = 14.7 to 16.8). Further, several subjective differences for fidelity between the two conditions were reported, notably the ability to control the ball in virtual reality which was suggested to have been more difficult than in the real-world. The last research study (Chapter 5) aimed to compare and quantify the perceptions of virtual reality use in soccer, and to model behavioural intentions to use this technology. This study surveyed the perceptions of coaches, support staff, and players in relation to their knowledge, expectations, influences, and barriers of using virtual reality via an internet-based questionnaire. To model behavioural intention, modified questions and constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology were used, and the model was analysed through partial least squares structural equation modelling. Respondents represented coaches and support staff (n = 134) and players (n = 64). All respondents generally agreed that virtual reality should be used to improve tactical awareness and cognition, with its use primarily in performance analysis and rehabilitation settings. Generally, coaches and support staff agreed that monetary cost, coach buy-in and limited evidence base were barriers towards its use. In a sub-sample of coaches and support staff without access to virtual reality (n = 123), performance expectancy was the strongest construct in explaining behavioural intention to use virtual reality, followed by facilitating conditions (i.e., barriers) construct which had a negative association with behavioural intention. This thesis aimed to explore the measurement properties of soccer specific virtual reality tests, and the perceptions of staff and players who might use the technology. The key findings from exploring the measurement properties were (1) evidence of a learning curve, suggesting the need for multiple familiarisation trials before collecting data, and (2) a lack of evidence to support the validity of a virtual reality soccer passing test as evident by a lack of agreement to a real-world equivalent. This finding raises questions on the suitability for virtual reality being used to measure passing skill related performance. The key findings from investigating the perceptions of users included, using the technology to improve cognition and tactical awareness, and using it in rehabilitation and performance analysis settings. Future intention to use was generally positive, and driven by performance related factors, yet several barriers exist that may prevent its widespread use. In Chapter 7 of the thesis, a reflective account is presented for the reader, detailing some of the interactions made with coaches, support staff and players in relation to the personal, moral, and ethical challenges faced as a practitioner-researcher, working and studying, respectively, in a professional soccer club

Impact of internet of everything technologies in sports - football

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceInternet of Things has been one of the hottest technology concepts of recent years. It started with the wearable devices and any digital device connected online and evolved to a web connected network linking everything from devices, sensors, machines, people, processes, companies, and so on, creating the Internet of Everything concept. There are many application areas, but one stands out due to its popularization and importance to industry, Sports and specifically Football. Football has been reinventing itself with the implementation of technology, recreating the formula used in the United States Major Sports, where technology helps to enhance the spectacle experience, expand game analysis by coaches, players, and media, provide live refereeing, and improve health recoveries and detection of injuries. This research is a state-of-situation regarding technology in football, recognizing the presently used technologies and what could be implemented, and ultimately measuring the impact of these devices in Football

Fluid Flow Modeling in Fractures

In this paper we study fluid flow in fractures using numerical simulation and address the challenging issue of hydraulic property characterization in fractures. The methodology is based on Computational Fluid Dynamics, using a finite-volume based discretization scheme. Steady-state, viscous, laminar flow simulations for a Newtonian fluid are carried out in both 2D and 3D fracture models. In 2D, flow is analyzed in single fractures, series and parallel combination of fractures, inclined fractures, intersecting fractures, mixed networks, and in real (rough-surface) fractures. In 3D, flow is simulated in both uniform and variable aperture fracture models. To characterize each fracture model with an equivalent hydraulic aperture, equations are derived for all possible scenarios followed by comparison and validation with results derived from flow simulation. Based on the fracture models analyzed, the following are some of the important findings: 1) For fractures connected in series, the equivalent hydraulic aperture is a weighted harmonic mean of cubed apertures of all fractures. 2) For fractures connected in parallel, the equivalent flow is simply the sum of all flows through individual fractures. 3) If a fracture is inclined with respect to the axis of pressure gradient, then the amount of flow will be reduced by a factor of cosine of the inclination angle. 4) Any network of randomly intersecting fractures can be replaced by a single fracture to give flow equivalence; the aperture of that equivalent fracture will roughly be close to the aperture of the fracture in the network that cuts across the boundaries (inlet and outlet) in the most continuous fashion and have the smallest inclination (with respect to the pressure gradient axis). 5) For hydraulic characterization purposes, fluid flow in fractures can be sufficiently modeled using both Stokes and Navier-Stokes equations for flow Reynolds number upto approximately 100

Understanding sketch-and-speech descriptions of machines

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-86).In this thesis, we present PhysInk, a sketching application that provides a natural way to describe physical structure and behavior to a computer. The user describes structure by sketching physical objects and constraints on a canvas backed by a 2D physics engine. The user can then move the objects to explicitly demonstrate physical behavior and can utter simple speech commands to label objects and events. These interactions are captured in PhysInk's timeline - a causal graph of physical events - which is used to build a deeper understanding of behavior. The events capture the geometry of movement and contact between objects, while the timeline captures the causal relationships between events. Capturing behavior in this framework enables a more intelligent conversation with the user about function. First, it enables assisted editing, where PhysInk propagates the user's edits of behavior through the timeline in order to maintain a logical sequence of events at all times. Second, it allows users to produce a physically-realistic simulation of the behavior that they have described. These features demonstrate the usefulness and depth that the timeline offers as a knowledge representation for behavior, making PhysInk the first in a new class of design tools that focuses on function, as well as form.by Jeremy Scott.S.M

MODELING HYPERBARIC CHAMBER ENVIRONMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM

Deep water activities are essential for many industrial fields, for instance in repairing and installation of underwater cables, pipes and constructions, marine salvage and rescue opera- tions. In some cases, these activities must be performed in deep water and hence require special equipment and prepared and experienced personnel. In some critical situations, re- motely controlled vehicles (ROVs) can't be used and a human diver intervention is required. In the last case, divers are required to perform work at high depths, which could be as low as 300m below the water surface. Usually, this is the limit depth for commercial diving and when operations must be carried out even deeper, ROVs remain only possibility to perform them. In the past, the safety regulations were less strict and numerous operations on depth of 300-350 meters of seawater were conducted. However, in the beginning of the 90s gov- ernments and companies started to impose limits on depths of operation; for instance, in Norway maximum operational depth for saturation divers is limited to 180 meters of sea- water (Imbert et al., 2019). Obviously, harsh environmental conditions impose various limitations on performed activi- ties; indeed, low temperature, poor visibility and high pressure make it difficult not only to operate at depth, but even to achieve the point of intervention. One of the main problems is related to elevated pressure, which rises for about 1 bar for each 10 meters of water depth and could achieve up to 20-25 bars at required depth, while pressure inside divers\u2019 atmospheric diving suites must be nearly the same. Considering this, there are several evident limitations. First is related to the fact that at high atmospheric pressure oxy- gen becomes poisonous for human body and special breath gas mixtures are required to avoid health issues. The second one is maximum pressure variation rate which would not cause damage for the human body; indeed, fast compression or decompression could easily cause severe damages and even death of divers. Furthermore, surveys found that circa 1/3 of divers experience headache during decompression which usually last for at least several hours and up to several days (Imbert et al., 2019). The same study indicates that majority of the divers experience fatigue after saturation and it lasts on average more than 4 days before return to normal. Obviously, risk of accidents increases with high number of compression- decompression cycles. To address these issues, in commercial deep water diving the common practice is to perform pressurization only one time before the start of the work activity which typically lasts 20-30 days and consequent depressurization after its end. Hence, divers are living for several weeks in isolated pressurized environments, typically placed on board of a Dive Support Vessel (DSV), usually barge or a ship, and go up and down to the workplace using submersible decompression chamber also known as the bell. While long-term work shifts provide numerous advantages, there is still necessity to perform life support supervision of the plant, the bell and the diving suits, which require presence of well qualified personnel. Currently, most of training activities are performed on empty plant during idle time, but obviously this approach is low efficient and costly, as well as accom- panied by the risk to broke equipment. To address such issues, this research project proposes utilization of simulator of plant and its life support system, devoted to train future Life-Support Supervisors (LSS), taking into account gas dynamics, human behaviour and physiology as well as various aspect of opera- tion of saturation diving plants