PERVASIVE COMPUTING TO ENHANCE SPORT PERFORMANCE

The integration of modem sensor-, information-and communication technologies provides new means for developing systems to acquire data in -training and competition. Various sensors and devices are incorporated into the sport equipment or attached to the athlete. Mobile computers acquire and present the data recorded, other systems use telemetric methods to transmit the data acquired to receiving stations, which then process and adequately present them. Portable devices, which are not bound to laboratory conditions are particularly useful. Systems of that kind have been developed for table tennis and rowing. In the example of table tennis a microcontroller based solution for analysing service techniques is presented. In the case of rowing the system was developed for giving feedback both during on water and ergometer rowing

06381 Abstracts Collection -- Computer Science in Sports

From 17.09.06 to 20.09.06, the Dagstuhl Seminar 06381 ``Computer Science in Sport\u27\u27 was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

COMPARISON OF FOOT-STRETCHER FORCE PROFILES BETWEEN ON-WATER AND ERGOMETER ROWING

The purpose of this study was to compare the reaction forces at the foot stretcher of a Concept2 ergometer with and without slides to those of the boat in single scull rowing. Four male elite rowers were tested at rates of 20 and 30 strokes per minute on the ergometer with and without slides as well as in a single scull. The coefficient of multiple determination showed a high consistency about five time-normalised successive strokes in all conditions (about 0.99). Cross-correlation calculations between on-water force curves and force curves obtained under both ergometer conditions showed higher similarities for the ergometer on slides

A COMPARISON OF PLANTAR PRESSURES BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT PLAYING SURFACES IN TENNIS

The purpose of this study was to compare two different playing surfaces in tennis – clay vs hard-court (OptiCourt) – in order get more insight on the influence of the effect of surface on load. Eight male tennis players performed two types of tennis specific motions. Inside plantar pressure was measured for the right foot during these movements. Higher maximum forces could be observed for the OptiCourt for the baseline play. In more detail, maximum force, peak and mean pressure were higher for the heel region on the hard-court. Higher values were found on clay for the hallux and lesser toe region. These results are in agreement with those of previous studies as they give evidence that playing surface affects loading in tennis

ANALYSIS OF METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE AIMING PROCESS IN BIATHLON SHOOTING

In rifle shooting disciplines coaches and athletes are interested in the motion of the rifle just before and immediately after shooting. Normally, commercial laser systems (e.g. Noptel, Finland) are used to measure and store the hit point of the shot and the on-target trajectory of the alignment of the weapon. A major drawback of this method lies in the necessity of attaching the laser device to the rifle. The purpose of this study was to analyse the usefulness of a video-based system developed by Baca & Kornfeind (2006), which is able to track the 2D-movement of the muzzle of the weapon automatically. The results show considerable correspondence of the on-target-trajectory and the 2D-movement of the muzzle, in particular in vertical direction. However, translation movements of the shoulder during aiming, which are rather difficult to diagnose, may cause differences in the horizontal plane

08372 Abstracts Collection -- Computer Science in Sport - Mission and Methods

From 07.09. to 10.09., the Dagstuhl Seminar 08372 ``Computer Science in Sport - Mission and Methods\u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

A Server-Based Mobile Coaching System

A prototype system for monitoring, transmitting and processing performance data in sports for the purpose of providing feedback has been developed. During training, athletes are equipped with a mobile device and wireless sensors using the ANT protocol in order to acquire biomechanical, physiological and other sports specific parameters. The measured data is buffered locally and forwarded via the Internet to a server. The server provides experts (coaches, biomechanists, sports medicine specialists etc.) with remote data access, analysis and (partly automated) feedback routines. In this way, experts are able to analyze the athlete’s performance and return individual feedback messages from remote locations

A single step analysis of plantar pressure distribution in tennis specific movements

Studies indicate that injury risks in tennis depend on the playing surface type. In order to assess loading during tennis specific movements, plantar pressure parameters are determined and analyzed. So far, only comparisons between whole stride sequences on different surfaces have been performed showing some inconsistent results. We assumed that on the more slippery clay higher vertical forces are required to accelerate, and that on hard-court higher loadings occur during deceleration. Hence, we analyzed the influence of the playing surface on respective types of steps. Eight experienced male tennis players performed two different tennis specific movements on clay and hard-court. We used a Pedar-X insole measurement system for determining selected plantar pressure parameters for the whole foot as well as for the forefoot and rear foot area. Steps were categorized as accelerating or decelerating regarding the path of the center of pressure during impact of the foot on the ground. For accelerating steps, a multivariate analysis revealed significant differences (Pillai-Spur; p < .05) for both repeated factors as well as their interaction for both playing conditions. All loading parameters were significantly higher in the forefoot area on clay for one of the two playing conditions investigated. For decelerating steps, the multivariate analysis revealed significant differences for both repeated factors for one playing condition. Higher values were observed for all loading parameters in the rear foot area in both playing conditions on clay. Running styles during tennis specific movements depend on the court surface. Separate analyses of acceleration and deceleration steps may help revealing high-risk parts and periods