Project Opportunities

Title: Cricket and golf biomechanics

Summary of opportunity:

This project is a cluster of available studies on sports biomechanics with partucular emphasis on cricket and golf:

Segment velocity contribution in cricket bowling
Power flow analysis of injury susceptible bowling actions
Three-dimensional kinematics and lower lumbar kinetics analysis of the golf swing
Upper body kinetics analysis of the golf swing
Biomechanics analysis of cricket batting drives
Biomechanics analysis of cricket throwing and baseball pitching
EEG, attention and golf putting mechanics
EEG and focussing strategies of elite cricket batters
Kinematics and kinetics analysis of kicking in soccer, rugby and AFL football
Kinematics and kinetics analysis of tennis serve, forehand and backhand strokes

Opportunity synopsis:

The cluster of projects requires the kinematics and kinetics analysis of sports techniques with a particular specialisation in cricket and golf. However, biomechanics projects in soccer, rugby and tennis are also available. Most projects share a similar methodology. The subjects are filmed using fourteen Motion Analysis Falcon High Resolution cameras (240 Hz) placed around the subject so that the field of view is sufficient to capture the performance area of the trials. Forty-eight to fifty-six reflective markers are strategically placed on the joints and segments of the subject. An EVa 3D motion analysis system (Motion Analysis Corporation Ltd.) is used to track and analyse the movement trajectory of these markers. The three-dimensional kinematics of all the major body segments are calculated. Typically subjects would perform trials while making front and rear foot contact on a separate force platform. The smoothed kinematics data and ground reaction force data are fed as input into a fifteen three-dimensional inverse solution model of the human body. Models will be developed in Mathematica (Version 6.0), Kintrak (Version 6.2) or Matlab (Version 7.0), which assist in the analysis and design of spatial rigid body mechanisms. Finally, selected kinetic and kinematics output data are used in the standard segment power calculations. For the projects involving attention states, electroencephalography (EEG) is used in conjunction with the motion analysis capture. Kinematics, kinetics, power data and EEG are used to identify the performance and attention state characteristics of elite performers, investigate feasible causal mechanisms of injury, and provide a biomechanical basis of prescribed techniques. All projects have the support of either elite state of national sporting organisations.

DrRene Ferdinands

LEARNING & TEACHING SUMMARy