Estimation of center of mass trajectory using wearable sensors during golf swing

This study suggests a wearable sensor technology to estimate center of mass (com) trajectory during a golf swing. groups of 3,4,and 18 participants were recruited,respectively,for the purpose of three validation studies. study 1 examined the accuracy of the system to estimate a 3d body segment angle compared to a camera-based motion analyzer (vicon®). study 2 assessed the accuracy of three simplified com trajectory models. finally,study 3 assessed the accuracy of the proposed com model during multiple golf swings. a relatively high agreement was observed between wearable sensors and the reference (vicon®) for angle measurement (r > 0.99,random error <1.2° (1.5%) for anterior-posterior; <0.9° (2%) for medial-lateral; and <3.6° (2.5%) for internal-external direction). the two-link model yielded a better agreement with the reference system compared to one-link model (r > 0.93 v. r = 0.52,respectively). on the same note,the proposed two-link model estimated com trajectory during golf swing with relatively good accuracy (r > 0.9,a-p random error <1cm (7.7%) and <2cm (10.4%) for ml). the proposed system appears to accurately quantify the kinematics of com trajectory as a surrogate of dynamic postural control during an athlete’s movement and its portability,makes it feasible to fit the competitive environment without restricting surface type. © 2015,journal of sports science and medicine. all rights reserved.