Author: Shweta Saha
Saha, Shweta, 2022 A System to Analyse Para-athlete Movement Outside the Laboratory, Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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Sometimes winning or losing an athletic event comes down to the last second, so analysing the time taken to complete an entire phase cycle can help enhance an athlete's performance. Similarly, in Paralympic rowing, phase cycle analysis is essential to improve a para rowers performance. Several studies have been conducted to analyse the kinematics of a para-rower, but all studies have been done on an ergometer. Currently, the most standardised motion capture system is the VICON system, but it requires an indoor set-up, making it a static system. Thus, the environmental factors like the resistance provided by the water and wind, which can influence the performance of a para-rower, have been neglected. Therefore, this study aims to develop a device that can be used outdoors, like water. The rowing data in a Legs, Trunk, and Arms (LTA) set-up, was collected using the VICON motion camera system and the markerless ZED2i motion camera system. The data was collected for the joint angles, i.e., elbow, shoulder and hip. The data was processed using the VICON NEXUS 2.12.1 for the VICON motion camera system. The data for the markerless ZED2i motion camera system was processed using the OpenPose system, developed by A./Prof Dominic Thewlis. The data obtained from the ZED2i OpenPose system was analysed against the VICON NEXUS 2.12.1 data set for a phase of an entire rowing cycle. From analysing data from the devices, it can be concluded that the ZED2i OpenPose markerless motion capture system can be used as a standalone markerless motion capture system.
Keywords: Para-rowing, outdoor, ZED2i markerless motion capture system, OpenPose, VICON motion capture system, VICON NEXUS, rowing cycle, rowing phase, stroke rate, joint angles.
Subject: Biological Sciences thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2022
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Mark Taylor