Potential of IMU-Based Systems in Measuring Single Rapid Movement Variables in Females with Different Training Backgrounds and Specialization

Stefan Marković; Milivoj Dopsaj; Sašo Tomažič; Anton Umek

doi:10.1155/2020/7919514

Potential of IMU-Based Systems in Measuring Single Rapid Movement Variables in Females with Different Training Backgrounds and Specialization

Appl Bionics Biomech. 2020 Jun 30:2020:7919514. doi: 10.1155/2020/7919514. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Stefan Marković^{1

2}, Milivoj Dopsaj^{1

3}, Sašo Tomažič², Anton Umek²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
² Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia.
³ Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk 454080, Russia.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine the discriminative potential of the IMU-based system for the measurement of rapid hand movement properties, i.e., relevant kinematic variables in relation to different groups of participants. The measurement of the kinematics of the rapid hand movement was performed using a standard hand tapping test. The sample in this research included a total of 70 female participants and was divided into 3 subsamples. The discriminant analysis has identified two functions, DF₁ and DF₂, that explain 91.1 and 8.1% of the variance, respectively. The differences between the examined subsamples originate from the variables grouped in DF₁, which were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.000). In relation to this function, the national volleyball team centroid position was shifted with -1.108 and -1.968 standard deviation values from the control group and youth volleyball team, respectively. The difference between control and Voll_Youth groups was -0.860 standard deviation value. The factors with the greatest discriminative potential among the groups represent the temporal characteristics of the rapid hand movement, i.e., the time elapsed between the onset of the movement and the first and second tap, as defined by the variables t ₁ and t ₂, respectively. The established findings clearly indicate that IMU sensors are practically applicable in relation to the sensitive measurement of rapid arm movement capability of female athletes.