Science Week 2015: Athletes benefit from appliances of science

Today’s athletes have a touch of the Bionic Man to them, with GPS tracking their movment, devices to measure the force of impacts and wireless radio connections to get the data back to the coach.

It all comes down to biomechanics, says Univeristy of Limerick’s Dr Ian Kenny. It involves using modern technology to study movement in detail and help improve performance.

Dr Kenny is based in the university's Biomechanics Research Unit within the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. UL is holding a number of events linked to Science Week 2015, Ireland's national science event organised by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover programme.

“Biomechanics has two functions: one, to improve performance by changing technique; and two, to reduce injury through poor technique,” he said.

Kenny has studied this in detail in relation to golf, where a golfer’s movements have to get the best out of the clubs used.

A range of technologies are used to analyse this, including high-speed cameras to study the “kinematics of movement”, he says. Electric sensors are also used to monitor muscle contractions and force measurements are calculated for thelimbs involved.

“We are moving to do that in the field in a real-world setting using moveable practical technology. We are going from wired technology to wireless to give us real-time feedback.”

The university is investing in an “academy of excellence” for golf analysis, set to open in 2017.

Interestingly, it is not only about hitting a ball further down the fairway, it is also about protecting the intrinsic nature of the game under study, Dr Kenny says. “Biomechanics looks at preserving the nature of the game, not just hitting harder and longer. This is happening in other sports, like tennis, in slowing down the ball.”

Two other sports-related events during Science Week 2015:

James Soper: Bend it Like Beckham

Can you use the on-stage football free-kick simulator and apply the science you’ve just learnt to bend it like Beckham?

GMIT Castlebar, Co Mayo 11.30a.m. 15/11/2015

Robot Soccer

Demonstrations (three sessions) for primary schools of Robo Éireann, the robot soccer team of the Autonomous Robotics Research group at Maynooth University. Robo Éireann has been developed by an inter-disciplinary team of researchers from the department of electronic engineering, the department of computer science, and the Hamilton Institute.

Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co Kildare 18.30p.m. 13/11/2015

Science Week 2015 daily puzzle:

1. Two amoebas are placed in a test tube. They reproduce by splitting themselves in two, a process that takes five minutes. After four hours they have filed the test tube, how long will it take a single amoeba in an identical quantity of water to do the same?

ANSWER:

Four hours and five minutes