A METHOD OF MOTION ANALYSIS FOR SELF-PROPELLED AQUATIC CRAFTS

Abstract

Cimematography/videography has been the method of choice for the evaluation of self-propelled aquatic craft kinematics. However, direct measurements of acceleration of this type of craft has proved to be difficult. At Dalhousie the use of acceleration data in combination with video data has facilitated the analysis of rowing and canoeing kinematics. The aim of this study is to describe the method of motion analysis currently used at Dalhousie's Sport Science Lab. Description includes a custom software program developed to divide acceleration data into individual cycles and a cubic spline to normalize the data. In addition, impulse data was calculated integrating by acceleration data using Simpson's Rule as well as the Trapezoidal Rule. A multiple low pass 2nd order Butterworth digital filter has been used successfully to smooth the acceleration data. Video data has been used to confirm that the software correctly detects these variables.