Sensing greatness
Queensland athletes are lifting their game without lifting so much as an ounce of performance-monitoring equipment, and it’s all thanks to a Smart State innovation.
Wireless and virtually weightless, miniaturised sensors attached to athletes and their sporting implements – golf clubs, hockey sticks, tennis rackets and the like – are being used to analyse their technique in real time, under the normal conditions of competition.
The remote sensing technology, developed by the Queensland Academy of Sport’s Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research in collaboration with Griffith University’s Centre for Wireless Monitoring and Applications, could soon offer Queensland athletes a competitive edge.
Director of Research and Development at the Centre of Excellence Dr Sue Hooper said the world-leading research was aimed at helping coaches, sport scientists and athletes to zero in on very specific areas for improvement.
“In the game of golf, for example, the sensors can determine whether the movement of the golf club follows the model of a perfect swing,” Dr Hooper said.
“Because the data is in real time, players can apply the information immediately, adjust their technique and attempt the action again and again, without losing the feel of the different swings.
“Uninhibited by wires, bulky testing equipment or the confines of a laboratory, athletes can be monitored in their usual sporting environment, performing at their very best and the sensors can even be used in water.”
Dr Hooper said the futuristic application of the remote sensor technology could one day put an end to the common coaching practice of video assessment.
“This new technology overcomes the limitations of current monitoring systems.
“Optical systems, for example, are primarily laboratory-based, expensive, have limited calibration volume, and require considerable post-processing time. Therefore, delays occur in providing the information to the athlete and the coach,” she said.
“This kind of approach is impractical for regular analysis.
“The new technology, on the other hand, can relay quick and meaningful information without the constraints of existing technology.
“The aim is to give Queensland athletes a world-leading technological advancement through collaboration and investment with Queensland innovators,” she said.
This 21st century mix of sport and science is producing the next generation of researchers in the area of applied sports micro-technology.
Under the direction of Senior Research Fellow Dr Daniel James (above), three microelectronic engineers are working on the technology, gaining training at doctoral level and support through sponsorships.
For their efforts, PhD students Amin Ahmadi, Justin Channells and Neil Davey were awarded the Sport Minister’s Excellence Award for Innovation and Creativity last year.
Website: http://www.qasport.qld.gov.au
Last reviewed 5 September 2007
