Internet based sensory analysis of tennis balls

Abstract

Player perception of sports equipment affects attitudes towards product performance and quality. While assessing product ‘feel’ is a developing area of sports engineering research, the importance of product aesthetics on player psychology has been largely overlooked. Desirable aesthetics can increase product appeal and customer satisfaction, despite limited effects on product performance. Player perception of product quality is normally evaluated using an extensive interview and testing process that is expensive and time consuming. Use of the internet provides the opportunity to generate data more quickly. Two internet-based sensory evaluation investigations examining tennis ball aesthetics are detailed in this paper. The first investigation examines player perception of ball fuzziness: an aesthetic attribute with documented importance in ball aerodynamics. The second investigation looks to determine the relative importance of three different aesthetic attributes in perceived ball playability. Results of these investigations indicate that internet-based sensory evaluation techniques can be successfully used to elicit perception of product quality and preference. Responses showed that internet evaluations of ball fuzziness relate well to tactile ones. Ball fuzziness is nearly twice as important as ball logo in determining ball playability, while colour can be considered only a minor factor. Results from both investigations support the use of internet-based sensory evaluations as a cost-effective, efficient method of gathering data on product aesthetics that could be useful in a range of applications and could aid product development in the sports industry.