Vision application combines sports, science, government, and business

STUTTGART, GERMANY. A machine-vision application presented at Vision 2009 highlighted the intersection of sports, education, science, business, and government. Speaking at a press conference hosted by Basler Vision Technologies, Dr. Roald van der Vliet, manager of InnoSportLab De Tongelreep of the Netherlands, described a camera system that can help everyone from children to peak performers improve their swimming skills. Part of the impetus to develop the system, he said, stemmed from the fact that sports represent a $4.8 billion industry in the Netherlands. In a virtuous circle, winning more medals increases available funding from government, which creates business opportunities, which spurs on cooperation among athletes, educators, coaches, and scientists.

The specific application addressed by Dr. van der Vliet at the Basler press conference is swimming. Swimmers, he said, operate in a world of thrust and drag as well as weight and buoyancy. Those factors might be considered the steady-state situation as swimmers traverse the length of a pool. But analysis of a swimmer’s performance is complicated by the transient effects at the beginning of a race - including the swimmer’s angle and position of entry into the water and the depth to which he or she submerges. Initially, said Dr. van der Vliet, “We thought we knew a lot about swimming, but we didn’t.”

Initial attempts to use camera systems to learn more fell short, he said. Early systems provided about 80% of the necessary information, but with peak-performing athletes, it’s that extra 20% is critical.

Ultimately, InnoSportLab installed a system including 16 hardware-triggered Basler GigE cameras connected to two PCs. Cameras are configured in groups of four, with recording and display under the control of Norpix software. Four cameras are located above water to record start positions; they operate at 50 or 200 frames per second, with the higher frame-rate data used to focus in on detailed muscle movement. Twelve underwater cameras operate at 50 frames per second, which is adequate to record the relatively slower in-water movements.

Dr. van der Vliet said the system has been used for everyone from children and beginners to peak athletes; for the latter, he said, the system records personal-best performances, which become the baselines for future performance. He noted that that the Netherlands has 10% the population of Germany, location of press-conference host Basler. “If we want to be competitive,” he concluded, “We have to be 10 times smarter.”

See related article: “Vision 2009: Basler positions GigE cameras to supplant FireWire versions“