Development of a Paddle Sensing System for Studying Paddle Dynamics for Dragon Boating

Abstract

Dragon Boat racing is a team sport that involves 20 paddlers in coordination racing against other teams over distances from 200 m to 2000 m. With some races being won by mere seconds, a small desynchronization of the team could mean the difference between winning and losing. Therefore being able to collect data on a rower’s stroke pattern is of great benefit to competitive teams. Using this data a coach can examine stroke profiles for all team members, and address problems as they arise during practice. The objective of this project was to further develop a paddle sensing unit (PSU) that can be used to monitor the paddling patterns of a rower. The improvements were to make the original PSU smaller, mountable to a paddle, and use wireless communication for data transfer. This involved the development of a circuit, designing a housing for the circuit on the paddle, and developing a phone application to collect the transmitted data.

Discipline: Physical Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Orla Aaquist