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Technology Breakdown

Goreham’s developed technology for Canadian paddlers can be broken down into two distinct components, and when combined, it may better position Canadian canoe kayak sprint teams at competitive races around the globe.

Figure 1: Visual representation of the 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) present in the boat or body segment of a paddler [1]

The first part of the new training technology is attaching advanced inertial sensors onto the vessel (i.e. the kayak or canoe), as well as the athlete(s). Each sensor is placed to capture data points hundreds of times per second. Differing from the currently used tracking technology, which only measures boat velocity and stroke rate, inertial sensors or otherwise known as Inertial Measurement Units (IMU’s) capture much more data. These sensors are made up of several individual components: an accelerometer which measures accelerations, a gyroscope which tracks the pitch, yaw and roll (i.e. angular velocities) of the boat or body segment, and a magnetometer which measures orientation information that aides with positional data. These components work together to capture the velocity, stroke rate, pitch, yaw, roll and the physical body movements of athletes, presenting a clearer image of movement of the vessel and onboard athlete(s) for training coaches and teammates alike.

While the additional information these sensors provide is certainly useful for coaches and athletes, currently, the biggest issue is that data captured from traditional sensors isn't available until after the boats are out of the water. It can take up to a day for the coach to download all of the data manually and perform analytics to reveal anything that might be of use. Unfortunately for coaches, the only ‘real-time’ data that can be measured and used to make changes in training immediately comes from the commonly used stopwatch. This allows basic timing for the time it takes to complete a certain number of strokes; however, this information is quite limited in its ability to enable coaches to critique and make corrections during training sessions.

The second part of Goreham's training technology is the act of downloading the collected data in real time to a local computer with specially designed software. His cutting-edge software will apply statistical analysis and mathematical modelling to determine each athlete’s performance in a quantitative manner. This will provide coaches and athletes ample information during training to allow them to adjust and look for performance hindrances that occur due to inefficient technique or other factors.

With the increased quantity of data being provided from the inertial sensors and the real time data analytics, Canadian teams will hopefully have more effective and efficient training as they prepare for the 2020 Olympics.

Future Implications of Gorehams technology

The technology Goreham has provided grants athletes and coaches a more cohesive comprehension of the sport and the mechanics involved. Currently, Goreham’s model has many sensors to track real-time data, including the aforementioned accelerometer and gyroscope to gather input. However, the issue with this current implementation is that there are many sensors in place during training. This could affect athlete performance as far as discomfort in wearing the sensors, and possibly restricting their range of motion. Finally, it is most likely that the data gathered at each input sensor is not all valuable. Goreham plans to simplify and consolidate these sensors based on the value of the sensors input with the hope of converging all the sensors into one unit at one location on the vessel or a given athlete.

Goreham’s research shows us what can be accomplished with a broad understanding of human kinematics and modern technology, as well as motivation, which to him is the positive impact he seeks to make on the team, which is critical while not actually being on the team as stated:

“Luckily I’ve travelled to a few events internationally and it’s really interesting because I’m not a canoe/kayak athlete — I’ve never been one — but when you get connected with the team and you work with them daily and then one of your athletes or one of the athletes you’ve been working for wins a medal or gets a personal best and you see that your work along with other people’s work helped them do that, it’s just a feeling you can’t really describe.”

Overall, Goreham brings together passion and knowledge to pave the future of paddling for our Canadian teams.

Authors

Featured

Isaac Francis

Isaac is studying chemical engineering at the University of New Brunswick - Fredericton. He takes a special interest in the fields of sports medicine, and intends to pursue that career through medical school. Outside of class, he can often be found at the gym, running track for UNB or finishing last minute assignments at the library.

Matthew MacLennan

Matthew is studying Electrical Engineering and specializing in Biomedical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick. Always looking for new opportunities, he hopes to build valuable skills and experiences from an engineering perspective to then pursue an M.D. Matthew hopes to merge both educations to contribute to the rehabilitation field for the remainder of his life. Outside of school, Matthew spends a great deal of time with his friends and family, volunteering, working out and reading.

Srijain Man Shrestha

Srijain is studying Biology at the University of New Brunswick. He has a passion for oncology and neurological research and hopes to pursue medicine after his undergraduate degree. There is so much research in all areas of STEM that is going on currently in Atlantic Canada but unfortunately so few students are aware of this and even fewer know where to go to obtain this information. Srijain hopes that the ASRJ can be a viable and knowledgeable forum for scientific research for students and the broader public. In his spare time, Srijain can be found studying in the Science Library, listening to a classy podcast or finishing up chores at weird hours.

References:

Dalhousie University Alumni News, Josh Goreham (BScK’12, MSc’14) developing technology to improve canoe and kayaking performance. https://alumni.dal.ca/news/alumni/josh-goreham-bsck12-msc14/, Accessed August 2018.
VectoNav Embedded Navigation Solutions, Inertial Measurement Units and Inertial Navigation. https://www.vectornav.com/support/library/imu-and-ins, Accessed September 2018.
Wikipedia, 6 Degrees of Freedom. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:6DOF_en.jpg, Published June 6th, 2010, Accessed November 2018
Sparkfun, Toni_K, Accelerometer Basics.https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/accelerometer-basics, Accessed August 2018
Interesting Engineering, Christopher McFadden,Gyroscopes: What They Are, How They Work and Why They Are Important. https://interestingengineering.com/gyroscopes-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-are-important, Published September 4th, 2017, Accessed August 2018
Engineersgarage, Preeti Jain, What is Magnetometer: Types & Applications. https://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/magnetometer, Accessed August 2018

Featured Researcher

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Emma Giberson

Hi! My name is Emma Giberson, and I am entering my Masters of Applied Psychology, Research, and Evaluation (MAPRE) at UNB – Saint John. My Masters is the first step toward getting my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

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