Swimmer Stroke Measurement Panel with Grid Reference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods lack standardized guidance for improving a swimmer's performance at the elite level, as coaches provide vague cues that are difficult to translate into mechanical changes, making it challenging to identify and correct deficiencies in a swimmer's mechanics at a centimeter scale.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a measurement panel and stabilizing structures, equipped with a measurement grid, allows for precise data point measurement and image recording, enabling comparison with model swimmer data to generate recommendations for stroke improvements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If standardized measurement tools are introduced to improve measurement precision, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system is segmented into multiple independent components: measurement panels with grids positioned at specific locations, multiple cameras capturing different views, and separate stabilization structures. Each component performs a specific function, allowing the system to achieve high measurement precision through coordinated operation of simpler individual elements rather than requiring a single complex measurement device.
Solution Approach 2:
Measurement panels with grids serve as intermediary elements placed in the swimming pool environment. These panels act as reference frames that mediate between the swimmer's movements and the camera system, providing standardized measurement markers without requiring direct complex interaction between cameras and swimmers. The grids on panels provide intermediate reference points that simplify the measurement process.
2Reliability
If multiple measurement panels and stabilizing structures are added to improve measurement reliability, then measurement reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides measurement functionality across multiple independent panels positioned at different locations in the pool, each with its own stabilization structures. This segmentation allows reliable measurement data to be collected from multiple sources simultaneously, and the overall system reliability improves through redundancy and distributed measurement points rather than relying on a single complex measurement apparatus.
Solution Approach 2:
Stabilization structures are pre-attached to measurement panels before deployment in the water. These structures provide beforehand cushioning against water currents and disturbances, ensuring that panels remain stable and measurements remain reliable. The stabilization elements are prepared in advance to counteract potential instability issues before measurement begins.
3Productivity
If detailed stroke analysis at centimeter scale is implemented to improve swimmer performance, then swimmer performance improves, but difficulty of detecting and measuring increases
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system transitions from two-dimensional surface observations to three-dimensional spatial measurement by positioning measurement panels vertically within the water column and using multiple cameras at different angles. This dimensional expansion enables detection of stroke mechanics at centimeter scale throughout the entire volume of water occupied by the swimmer, not just at the surface level.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cameras create optical copies of the swimmer from different viewpoints simultaneously. These visual copies are captured against the backdrop of measurement panels with grids, allowing detailed analysis of stroke mechanics by comparing the swimmer's position relative to the grid markers in multiple views. The copying approach enables precise measurement without requiring direct physical contact or interference with the swimmer.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes some embodiments of an apparatus including a measurement panel to enable generation of a measurement related to one or more data points associated with a swimmer's stroke. The disclosure also describes an embodiment of a method including processing one or more images associated with a plurality of model swimmers to obtain information related to at least two structural data points related to a swimming stroke having a catch phase, processing one or more images associated with a target swimmer to obtain information related to the at least two structural data points associated with a target swimmer's catch phase, and generating one or more recommendations to change the catch phase of the target swimmer to bring the catch phase of the target swimmer closer to the model swimmer's catch phase.