Use of Machine Learning and Wearable Sensors to Predict Energetics and Kinematics of Cutting Maneuvers

Changes of directions and cutting maneuvers, including 180-degree turns, are common locomotor actions in team sports, implying high mechanical load. While the mechanics and neurophysiology of turns have been extensively studied in laboratory conditions, modern inertial measurement units allow us to monitor athletes directly on the field. In this study, we applied four supervised machine learning techniques (linear regression, support vector regression/machine, boosted decision trees and artificial neural networks) to predict turn direction, speed (before/after turn) and the related positive/negative mechanical work. Reference values were computed using an optical motion capture system. We collected data from 13 elite female soccer players performing a shuttle run test, wearing a six-axes inertial sensor at the pelvis level. A set of 18 features (predictors) were obtained from accelerometers, gyroscopes and barometer readings. Turn direction classification returned good results (accuracy > 98.4%) with all methods. Support vector regression and neural networks obtained the best performance in the estimation of positive/negative mechanical work (coefficient of determination R(2) = 0.42–0.43, mean absolute error = 1.14–1.41 J) and running speed before/after the turns (R(2) = 0.66–0.69, mean absolute error = 0.15–018 m/s). Although models can be extended to different angles, we showed that meaningful information on turn kinematics and energetics can be obtained from inertial units with a data-driven approach.