Athletic performance improvement analytics continue to evolve hand in hand with technology. Last time I wrote about four companies who are taking sports technology mainstream. Following my discussions with some golf swing analysis and modification companies, I want to highlight three key innovations which are revolutionising the industry.
While the focus here is on golf, the same applies to most other sports.
Companies like Round.U (pre-cursor to Newstream Ai), Sportstrace, and deWiz Golf have all integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into their products and apps, which cover three main categories:
1st innovation: Marker less motion capture in the field i.e. simply using cameras instead of installing sensors/markers on a person in a contained environment
Round.U was formed to give players a marker-less motion capture solution using cameras and support that by providing an analytical framework. The full scope of the product involved installing cameras at each hole of a golf course allowing players to analyse their performance after a game.
The analytical product also provided qualitative recommendations for improvement but the broader onus of analysis was at this time with the player or their coach viewing the motion data.
2nd innovation: Data visualisation, analysis and insight in the form of recommendations for performance improvement
Sportstrace started by using the Microsoft Kinect cameras to track and analyse motion. The first iteration was built for baseball but that evolved into a mobile-based motion capture and biomechanical analysis product for other sports, including golf.
While Sportstrace is not the only one relying on motion and biomechanical data captured from videos via personal phone cameras, it is one of the few to provide insight into utilizing this data to improve. The company does three key things beyond analysis:
- Distill the data into self-explanatory assessments and further improvement recommendations (through an app and remote coaching).
- Provide tools with filters to visualise player movement
- Explain the importance of biomechanical data output
3rd innovation: Near instant feedback with brain training for modifying swings and achieving consistency
This leads me to deWiz Golf who have created an unique wearable device (to be worn on the wrist) for modifying the golf swing. Unlike Sportstrace and others, deWiz combines biomechanical motion data with neuromotor skill development.
The deWiz device provides an electric impulse stimulus every time a golfer exceeds pre-set levels for metrics like downswing and tempo. Simply put, the watch trains the cerebellum to retain the good swings and not internalise improper swings. A player can keep changing the pre-set metrics as they keep improving.
As all the data is accessible via the web and app, it is possible for coaches to remotely train a player (like with Sportstrace and a few others). Most importantly, the device can be used while playing on the course as Vijay Singh and Annika Sorenstam demonstrated recently.
The three key goal posts of technological innovations for performance improvement analysis in golf are: marker-less motion capture, data visualization and performance improvement insights, and instant feedback with brain training.
And like my previous article, these companies are also equally focused on finding other markets for their products. Qualisys and Chip-ing are two other notable companies in the same space.
Finally, what also struck me was the motivation behind creating these products. All three company founders were driven by the pursuit of improving their own game – be it golf or baseball.
PS: These are the screenshots of my own swing using deWiz’s phone application
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