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Home -> Show 3 -> Motion Analysis
Danann with motion capture markers
Danann with motion capture markers
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Motion analysis works for sports science
No matter how good - or how bad - you are at a particular sport, there's always room for improvement. Two things that can really help are plenty of practice and technology. Biomechanics is the study of how the body moves and the forces at work in the body. Scientists are using it to study movement in sports. Using this technology can make performance better, and also to understand and prevent injuries in athletes.
Intelligent trainers

Sports and technology are getting closer all the time and trainer company Adidas is known for pioneering new technology in trainers.

In 1985, the Adidas Micropacer shoe featured a sensor in the toe which calculated running speed, distance travelled and amount of calories burned.

The new Adidas 1 shoe is one of the most technologically advanced training shoes ever. It has a microprocessor that is more powerful than the first ever Apple Mac fitted in the arch of the sole.

The trainer can automatically adjust its cushioning to suit the surface that you're running on, the weather and even your weight. The calculations take just 25 milliseconds to perform and the shoe can even change setting in mid air.

This fancy footwear does not come cheap, but anything to help training become more comfortable might be worth the price.


Infrared cameras

Dr Ross Anderson, lecturer at the sports science department at the University of Limerick, shows SCOPE how the study is done, using 3D motion analysis:
  • The person being studied has markers placed at various points on their body
  • When the person moves, cameras placed around the lab pick up the movement of the markers
  • This is done using infrared light, so all that the camera actually "sees" is the markers
  • The cameras send the data to a computer
  • The computer shows a line-drawing of the movements (this drawing looks like a stick man)
  • Scientists can then analyse the movement
Reducing injury

Dr Anderson says that this means we can measure movement scientifically. "If an athlete is getting injured in some way, doing a certain movement, we can look and see exactly what's going on and try and tweak that slightly to reduce the chance of injury," he says.

As a result of the analysis, an athlete can be given a new training programme. Suggestions like telling the player to shoot with the elbow extended more, or with the knee flexed, might be enough to increase success. The scientists can then monitor the athlete after a few months to see how the training has worked or how the technique has improved.

Another advantage of the system is that different athletes can be compared and contrasted to one another. "It makes things an awful lot easier," says Dr Anderson. "We were spending days, if not weeks, getting this type of data before and with a system like this, it's instantaneous."

Lord Of The Rings

Hundreds of laboratories around the world work on motion analysis. It is important for researching medical disorders, as well as for sport, and in many other areas.

This amazing technology has found other uses, in other spheres altogether. A similar system to the one SCOPE shows has been used in films and was used to create Lord Of The Rings character Gollum by analysing the movements of actor Andy Serkis.

Learn more:

Visit the Motion Analysis Research and Rehabilitation Centre on the web

Find out how motion analysis is used in films

Find out more about how Gollum in Lord of The Rings was created