Sports Applications Research Articles

Estimation of tribological properties of orthotic calipers fabricated using bamboo reinforced epoxy composite

Composite materials are best material which mankind can get as they are available in abundant and are natural. The word ‘Composite’ is shortened form of Composition and is defined as a solid matter composed of more than one component having different physical and chemical composition. The final product obtained is found out to have a better property meeting the specific requirement. It has wide range of application in agriculture, automobile industry, medicine, sports and aerospace. In the present scenario, the need for more different polymer-based composites has extended in enhancing inclination towards polymer-based composites strengthened with natural fillers, i.e., fillers derived from nature. The main aim of this work is to design an orthotic calipers/braces with epoxy-based composites using bamboo dust as natural filler. Orthotic calipers/braces are an aid/appliance used by the patients whose joints are feeble and need support to carry out their day to day work or have locomotor disability. Mostly patients who are suffering from polio/or are handicapped use braces. Presently orthotic calipers are made up of Aluminum alloys which are considerably heavy so main purpose is to design calipers which will possess better strength, stiffness, low density, cheap, easiness in fabrication, environment friendly and sustainable and most important lighter in weight. Tribological test has been done to find out the longevity of the product. It is observed that the specific wear rate and coefficient of friction is minimum.

Possibilities of Brand Promotion Through Lifestyle Mobile Sports Applications

Abstract The objective of the article was to present the authors’ conceptual model of using lifestyle sports applications. Proposed model provides classification of lifestyle sports mobile applications types used by companies for brand promotion purposes and identification of ways in which companies can reach users through applications. The recognition of benefits that applications can provide to the enterprises and possible benefits associated with the presence of brands in the application for its user was also provided in the conceptual model. The second objective was to study the opinions of runners about the presence of brands in sports mobile applications on the basis of own quantitative research (n = 2434 questionnaires). The research results indicate that presence of commercial brands in the app is treated by their users as too invasive, therefore this communication tool should be used with moderate intensity. In spite of the fact that majority of sports applications users are reluctant to see brands in their apps, a significant proportion of them participate in the activities and challenges proposed by companies. According to the authors, lifestyle mobile applications could be promising marketing space for vendors, especially regarding the growing market of sports mobile apps users. However, companies should use more personalized, innovative and socially responsible approach to application users. Although the article uses the results of empirical research, it should be treated primarily as a signalling of a new research problem, which is the new brand communication channel with consumers. Thus, it is descriptive rather than exploratory.

Artificial Somatosensors: Feedback Receptors for Electronic Skins

The human skin is the largest sensory organ, made up of complex sensors that detect noxious stimuli to rapidly send warning signals to the central nervous system to initiate a motor response. It is complex to mimic key skin features using existing tactile sensors, and there exists no somatosensor that responds to real stimuli of pressure, temperature, and touch. Herein, three critical skin receptors created by realizing integrated electronic systems that mimic the feedback response of somatosensors are experimentally demonstrated. Fully functional Pacinian corpuscles, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors are realized using a combination of stretchable pressure sensors, phase‐change oxide thin films, and threshold‐based resistive switching (memristor) memory elements. The ability to detect and respond to pressure, temperature, and pain stimuli above a threshold with real‐life performance characteristics is demonstrated with explanation of underlying mechanisms. The ability to design and realize artificial skin receptors enables replacement of affected human skin regions, augment skin sensitivity for agile applications in defense and sports, and drive advancements in intelligent robotics.

An in vitro validation method for inertial-sensor-to-bone alignment

Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), an alternative to 3D optical motion capture, are growing in popularity to assess sports-related movements. This study validated an IMU system against a “gold-standard” optical motion capture system during common sports movements. Forty-nine healthy adults performed six movements common to a variety of sports applications (cutting, running, jumping, single leg squats, and cross-over twist) while simultaneously outfitted with standard, retroreflective markers and a wireless IMU system. Bias, RMSE, precision, and maximum absolute error (MAE) were calculated to compare the two systems at the lower extremity joints and the trunk in all planes of movement and for all activities. The MAE difference between fast and slow activities for the sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes were 11.62°, 7.41°, and 5.82°, respectively. For bias, the IMU system tended to report larger angles than the optical motion capture system in the transverse and frontal planes and smaller angles in the sagittal plane. Average intraclass correlation coefficients for the sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes were 0.81±0.17, 0.38±0.19, and 0.22±0.37, respectively. When calculating a global bias across all three planes, the IMU system reported nearly identical angles (< 3.5° difference) to the optical motion capture system. The global precision across all planes was 2–6.5°, and the global RMSE was 7–10.5°. However, the global MAE was 11–23°. Overall, and with suggestions for methodological improvement to further reduce measurement errors, these results support current applications and also indicate the need for continued validation and improvement of IMU systems.

A combined multiple action recognition and summarization for surveillance video sequences

Human action recognition and video summarization represent challenging tasks for several computer vision applications including video surveillance, criminal investigations, and sports applications. For long videos, it is difficult to search within a video for a specific action and/or person. Usually, human action recognition approaches presented in the literature deal with videos that contain only a single person, and they are able to recognize his action. This paper proposes an effective approach to multiple human action detection, recognition, and summarization. The multiple action detection extracts human bodies’ silhouette, then generates a specific sequence for each one of them using motion detection and tracking method. Each of the extracted sequences is then divided into shots that represent homogeneous actions in the sequence using the similarity between each pair frames. Using the histogram of the oriented gradient (HOG) of the Temporal Difference Map (TDMap) of the frames of each shot, we recognize the action by performing a comparison between the generated HOG and the existed HOGs in the training phase which represents all the HOGs of many actions using a set of videos for training. Also, using the TDMap images we recognize the action using a proposed CNN model. Action summarization is performed for each detected person. The efficiency of the proposed approach is shown through the obtained results for mainly multi-action detection and recognition.

The Intention to Use Fitness and Physical Activity Apps: A Systematic Review

Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the intention to use mobile applications (Apps) related to fitness and physical activity by consumers. This systematic review is a critical evaluation of the evidence from quantitative studies in the field of assessment of consumer behavior towards sport applications. A total of 13 studies are analyzed that propose models for evaluating the intentions to use fitness applications by sport consumers. The results revealed several key conclusions: (a) Technology Acceptance Model is the most widely used model; (b) the relationship between perceived utility and future intentions is the most analyzed; and (c) the most evaluated applications are diet/fitness. These findings could help technology managers to know the most important key elements to take into account in the development of future applications in sport organizations.

Development and Evaluation of 3D‐Printed Dry Microneedle Electrodes for Surface Electromyography

AbstractSurface electromyography (sEMG) allows for direct measurement of electrical muscle activity with use in fundamental research and many applications in health and sport. However, conventional surface electrode technology can suffer from poor signal quality, requires careful skin preparation, and is commonly not suited for long‐term recording. These drawbacks have challenged translation of sEMG to clinical applications. In this paper, dry 3D‐printed microneedle electrodes (MNEs) are proposed to overcome some of the limitations of conventional electrodes. Employing a direct‐metal‐laser‐sintering (DMLS) 3D printing process, a two‐step fabrication method is developed to produce sharp medical‐grade stainless steel MNEs. The developed MNEs are compared to needle‐free versions and to standard wet Ag/AgCl electrodes. Functional testing is conducted to analyze the electrode–skin impedance in healthy human volunteers and sEMG data are recorded from the biceps brachii muscle. Results show that microneedle electrodes display a greatly reduced (≈63%) electrode–skin contact impedance with respect to needle‐free electrodes and record sEMG at a signal‐to‐noise ratio comparable to clinical‐grade wet Ag/AgCl electrodes over a period of up to 6 h. Overall, a fabrication method and electrode type are presented which yield high‐quality sEMG signals when evaluated in humans, highlighting the potential of MNEs as a platform for biosignal recording.

Recent advances in clinical probiotic research for sport

Purpose of reviewThis is a review of the most up-to-date research on the effectiveness of probiotic supplementation for outcomes related to athletes and physical activity. The focus is on clinical research incorporating exercise and/or physically active participants on the nutritional effectiveness of single and multistrain preparations.Recent findingsFindings of the included clinical studies support the notion that certain probiotics could play important roles in maintaining normal physiology and energy production during exercise which may lead to performance-improvement and antifatigue effects, improve exercise-induced gastrointestinal symptoms and permeability, stimulate/modulate of the immune system, and improve the ability to digest, absorb, and metabolize macro and micronutrients important to exercise performance and recovery/health status of those physically active.SummaryThe current body of literature highlights the specificity of probiotic strain/dose and potential mechanisms of action for application in sport. These novel findings open new areas research, potential use for human health, and reinforce the potential role for probiotic's in exercise performance. While encouraging, more well designed studies of probiotic supplementation in various sport applications are warranted.

Wearable sensor validation of sports-related movements for the lower extremity and trunk

Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), an alternative to 3D optical motion capture, are growing in popularity to assess sports-related movements. This study validated an IMU system against a “gold-standard” optical motion capture system during common sports movements. Forty-nine healthy adults performed six movements common to a variety of sports applications (cutting, running, jumping, single leg squats, and cross-over twist) while simultaneously outfitted with standard, retroreflective markers and a wireless IMU system. Bias, RMSE, precision, and maximum absolute error (MAE) were calculated to compare the two systems at the lower extremity joints and the trunk in all planes of movement and for all activities. The MAE difference between fast and slow activities for the sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes were 11.62°, 7.41°, and 5.82°, respectively. For bias, the IMU system tended to report larger angles than the optical motion capture system in the transverse and frontal planes and smaller angles in the sagittal plane. Average intraclass correlation coefficients for the sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes were 0.81±0.17, 0.38±0.19, and 0.22±0.37, respectively. When calculating a global bias across all three planes, the IMU system reported nearly identical angles (< 3.5° difference) to the optical motion capture system. The global precision across all planes was 2–6.5°, and the global RMSE was 7–10.5°. However, the global MAE was 11–23°. Overall, and with suggestions for methodological improvement to further reduce measurement errors, these results support current applications and also indicate the need for continued validation and improvement of IMU systems.

Flexible and Wearable Power Sources for Next‐Generation Wearable Electronics

AbstractPersonal electronic devices are moving toward an era in pursuit of wearability and versatility enabling a wide range of healthcare, entertainment and sports applications. Conventional power source with bulky and rigid structure becomes a bottleneck for the rapid advancements of wearable smart electronics. To meet the requirement of next‐generation wearable electronics, power supplies with high flexibility, bendability, and stretchability have received extensive attention. In this review, requirements of flexible and wearable power sources in terms of the flexible battery configuration design, flexible materials, energy density and other request are highlighted. Several promising power supplies (e. g., metal−sulfur batteries, metal−air batteries, energy storage and conversion integrated devices) for the application of wearables are discussed in detail. Furthermore, discussions are presented on the remaining challenges and some possible research directions to establish a perspective for practical applications of power sources for wearable electronics in the near future.

Stretchable screen-printed PEDOT:PSS electrodes for upper-arm surface electromyography.

In the past ten years, wearable electronics underwent tremendous growth. Undoubtedly, one of the fields that led this trend is represented by biomedical applications. In this field, wearable technologies can provide unique features such as the unobtrusive monitoring of biopotentials. Polymerbased electrodes developed for this purpose can take advantage of their seamless integration in the garments. However, the available solutions exhibit fragility in relation with the stretchability of the fabric, causing significant performance degradation.In this work, this problem is tackled by a novel deposition approach based on screen-printing technology. The electrodes are deposited onto the pre-stretched fabric to ensure the full functionality during common operating conditions. To this aim, a novel PEDOT:PSS conductive ink formulation and printing procedure were conceived. In order to prove the electrode performance for surface electromyography, we printed the electrodes directly onto a commercial stretchable polyester sleeve for sport applications. The electrodes allowed to reliably record the muscular activity of the forearm with performance comparable to that of commercial gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes. The obtained results suggest that the proposed approach can be valuably used in health and fitness applications.

역동적 스포츠 분야 응용을 위한 IMU 기반 관절각 추정에서의 표류오차 감소

In the case of dynamic sports activities such as skiing and sprints, it is difficult to apply optical motion capture systems because of measurement volume limitation. Alternatively, the use of inertial measurement unit (IMU) as a motion sensor has gained attention. This paper proposes a drift reduction method in the IMU-based joint angle estimation for dynamic motion-involved sports applications. To resolve the problem of conventional IMU-based methods significantly reducing performance under highly dynamic conditions, the proposed method applies a correction method using joint constraint. The proposed method is the complementary filter based on the previous drift reduction technique using the joint constraint, but performs in real time. The proposed method was validated by comparing the estimation accuracy with conventional methods under various dynamic conditions. The results showed that the proposed method was superior to the methods that did not use the constraint. While the proposed method was 0.19° less accurate than the non-realtime method of the reference, it is more practical due to its realtime correction capability.

Sport Biomechanics Applications Using Inertial, Force, and EMG Sensors: A Literature Overview.

In the last few decades, a number of technological developments have advanced the spread of wearable sensors for the assessment of human motion. These sensors have been also developed to assess athletes' performance, providing useful guidelines for coaching, as well as for injury prevention. The data from these sensors provides key performance outcomes as well as more detailed kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic data that provides insight into how the performance was obtained. From this perspective, inertial sensors, force sensors, and electromyography appear to be the most appropriate wearable sensors to use. Several studies were conducted to verify the feasibility of using wearable sensors for sport applications by using both commercially available and customized sensors. The present study seeks to provide an overview of sport biomechanics applications found from recent literature using wearable sensors, highlighting some information related to the used sensors and analysis methods. From the literature review results, it appears that inertial sensors are the most widespread sensors for assessing athletes' performance; however, there still exist applications for force sensors and electromyography in this context. The main sport assessed in the studies was running, even though the range of sports examined was quite high. The provided overview can be useful for researchers, athletes, and coaches to understand the technologies currently available for sport performance assessment.

THE IMPACT OF SPORT GAMES EXERCISE PROGRAMS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC MOTOR ABILITIES IN ADOLESCENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL IMPAIRMENT

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a sports games experimental program on improving specific motor abilities in adolescents with mental impairment. The study was conducted on a sample of 60 adolescents diagnosed with mild mental impairment, divided into two groups (experimental group EG, and control group CG) with an equal number of participants. The special program of sports games lasted for 12 weeks, with a weekly frequency of four times and a duration of 30 minutes per training. The participants of both groups were tested with the same variables within the specific motor skills for the sport of football and basketball. After a twelve-week experimental program of sports games, there were statistically significant improvements in the EG in the variables: SMFS, SMDR, SMCP with a statistical significance of r=0.000. The results of the ANOVA and MANOVA analyses indicated that after the application of the specific sports games program there was a statistically significant difference in the benefits for the EG compared to the CG, in the parameters of specific motor abilities with a statistical significance r=0.000 and the size of the impact. Based on these research results, it can be concluded that a specific exercise program conducted within twelve-week training of specifically dosed sports activities has significantly contributed the development of specific motor skills for football and basketball.

Dual-clutch Transmission for Super Sports Applications

Dual-clutch Transmission for Super Sports Applications

Design and mechanical properties of 3D-printed auxetic honeycomb structure

The combination of theoretical calculations, computer simulations, and experimental evaluation of Poisson's ratio was carried out for re-entrant honeycomb auxetic structure. Optimal honeycomb cell parameters were determined for 3D-printed samples made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The low-cycle compression tests of 3D-printed re-entrant honeycomb auxetic samples showed that the structure based on auxetic hexagonal cell can withstand almost 1.75 times more very low cycle fatigue cycles than the similar non-auxetic structure. Neither failure nor layer delamination in 3D structures were detected in the auxetic sample after 500 compression cycles. 3D-printed auxetic structures offer a promising candidate for applications in medicine and sports.

Co-REERP: Cooperative Reliable and Energy Efficient Routing Protocol for Intra Body Sensor Network (Intra-WBSN)

Intra-WBSN are generally short range wireless health monitoring networks, consisting of strategically placed miniaturized, intelligent and low powered bio-sensors. They perform various applications in healthcare, fitness, military, sport and consumer electronics. The network stability and the network longevity of such networks have prime focus in current research. Routing schemes have a significant potential to make such network energy efficient by sending the sensing data properly and promptly. In this paper, we have proposed a relay based cooperative routing scheme to achieve high energy efficiency. Sensing data from the bio-sensor node have been delivered on the basis data priority. The sensing data with high priority has been directly transmitted to body network controller (BNC). The delivery of normal sensing data from bio-sensor to the BNC through relay nod or cooperative node. These nodes are deployed in clothes, they can be easily replaced or recharged, it provide effective, easy and comfortable health monitoring. Through simulation results, the proposed routing protocol achieved improved performance in terms of energy efficiency, network stability, network lifetime, path-loss and throughput in comparison to the existing routing schemes.

Effect of weaving patterns on damage resistance of 3D woven jointless T and H shaped reinforcements

Owing to the presence of yarns in three dimensions, 3D woven structures have better through thickness mechanical properties and find applications in aerospace, sports, construction, and automotive industries. Joining in thermoset composite is a complex subject and joints are the weakest part of a composite structure due to the discontinuity of fibers. One of the solutions to such problems is development of 3D woven jointless shaped fabrics. The current work aimed to investigate damage resistance of jointless 3D woven T and H shaped fabrics developed using four basic weaving patterns. These structures include orthogonal layer to layer (OLL), orthogonal through-thickness (OTT), angle interlock layer to layer (ALL) and angle interlock through-thickness (ATT). Four layered samples, having equal thread density, were prepared on Dobby loom using jute yarn. Testing was done on ZwickRoell UTM. The maximum force to rupture was exhibited by shaped fabric woven with OLL design followed by ATT, OTT, and ALL. The poor performance of ALL was due to the pulling out of stitching yarns rather than breakage. The least deformation against applied force was exhibited by the structure with OTT design, due to the presence of two truly vertical orthogonal binding/interlocking yarns. Furthermore, the OLL woven shapes showed the highest value of work done during fracture depicting its toughness as compared to the other multilayer shapes.

Research on the Promotion Strategy of Multimedia Network Educational Platform in College Sports Education

With the gradual innovation of informational technology in China, various industries have carried out innovative reforms. As we all know, the practice of physical education can exercise students’ physical quality and enhance their resistance. It can also educate the students in ideology and moral character. As the application of network education platform is extensive, the application of platform in college sports education is the focus of physical education reform. This paper analyzes the benefit and importance of the application of network sports teaching in college physical education courses, and finally gives the corresponding conclusions.

Characterization of ‘green’ composite laminates after flexural tests by speckle interferometry

For many years, the use of advanced composite materials in aeronautics, automotive, and sports applications has been well established. The characteristics of composite materials in terms of weight reduction, fatigue, and corrosion resistance make them competitive in many cases with respect to conventional ones (i.e., metal alloys). On the other hand, the fabrication process of the most employed composites reinforced by carbon or glass fibers requires complex steps that are not always environmentally friendly. In fact, such composite materials are not themselves “green.” For these reasons, in the last decades, the use of natural reinforcing fibers has gained increasing attention, allowing the development of new materials sharing the same advantages with conventional composite systems while respecting the environment. Due to their structural complexity, these materials are not always compatible with the use of standard nondestructive evaluation methods, e.g., ultrasounds testing. The effective use of speckle holographic techniques as nondestructive evaluation methods in full field and noncontact modality is proved on “green” composite materials. In particular, electronic speckle pattern interferometry is tested on different kinds of specimens preliminarily subjected to flexural tests. Results show that, in most cases, the damage appears more severe on the back side of specimens, opposite to the loaded one, with the sole exception of basalt laminates.