A Wearable System for Jump Detection in Inline Figure Skating

This article presents the design and experimental evaluation of a non-invasive wearable sensor system that can be used to acquire crucial information about athletes’ performance during inline figure skating training. By combining distance and time-of-flight sensors and gyroscopes, the system is able to detect when jumps are performed and provides a live view of the data (e.g., the number and height of jumps) through a graphical user interface. The main novelty of our approach lies in the way in which the optical sensors are orientated. Typically, the sensors are orientated horizontally and positioned in pairs on the ground, where they measure the time interval between the moment the athlete leaves the ground and the moment they land. In our system, an optical sensor is placed under each foot and is vertically orientated so as to constantly measure the distance from the ground. In addition, a gyroscope sensor is placed on the athlete’s back, which provides information on the direction and angular momentum of the movement. By combining this data, the system provides the accurate detection of various jumps and technical elements without any constraints on the training ground. In this paper, the system is also compared to similar platforms in the literature, although there are no other specific systems that are available for inline figure skating. The results of the experimental evaluation, which was performed by high profile athletes, confirm its effectiveness in correctly detecting jumps, especially considering its compromise between precision and the overall cost of the equipment.