Multivariate-data-visualization-based investigation of projectiles in sports

Abstract

The kinematics and dynamics of projectiles in sports is a complex topic involving several physical quantities and variables such as time, distance, velocity, acceleration, momentum, force, energy, viscosity, pressure, torque, bounce, sliding, rolling, etc. The analysis of these complex sets of multidimensional information, including the correlation between different variables, is an important requirement for the clear understanding of projectile trajectories in sports. However, those who do not have a strong mechanics or physics background find it difficult to interpret the data and comprehend the results in terms of the interacting forces and mutual interaction, which perpetuate the motion of the ball (or projectile). To address this issue, we propose a novel multivariate-data-visualization-based understanding of projectiles in sports inspired by the basic Gestalt principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The data representation approach involves the use of a single two-dimensional plane for the representation of multidimensional dynamic variables, and thereby completely removes the requirement of using several 2D plots for analysing and comprehending the meaning behind all of the data and how it correlates. For this study, we have considered the dynamics of two ball sports, namely volleyball and table tennis, as well as the sport of badminton, which involves high-drag projectile motion. We have presented a basic computational model incorporating the important forces to study projectile motion in sports. The data generated by the simulation is investigated using the proposed visualization methodology, and we show how this helps it to be interpreted easily, improving the clarity of our understanding of projectile trajectories in sports using both force and energy language.