A Novel wearable micro-system for swimming performance assessment
Giuseppe ANDREONI (Politecnico di Milano)
This paper describes a MEMS based wearable system for the assessment of swim performance focusing on the description of the system and the algorithm used for extracting some parameters for the qualitative assessment of the performance. We placed a 3-axes Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) on the athlete’s back in a specific swimsuit, which also allows for recording 1-lead ECG signal through a miniaturized integrated circuit.
Technique and coordination are strategic and even minimal changes could result in significant performance modification. This novel system support the evaluation of this coordination of movements that is paramount for the coach in order to select and differentiate the best training based on the athlete characteristics.
The system and the algorithm have been tested on 13 trials with 10 subjects comparing the results with data extracted from video recording. The system demonstrated capable and reliable to measure time and kinematic parameters of swimming.
