This post is the third installment of our #SportsInSTEM Series, which explores, demonstrates, and illuminates how sport serves as a vehicle to train and enlighten students of all ages in pursuing interests and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. If you or someone you know is using sports to help with STEM education, then please let us know so we can include their work in our series.
It may go against every device-owning instinct you have to use a smartphone underwater, but that is exactly what SinkOrSwim has done to help the Georgia Tech Swim Team and other competitive swimmers gain an edge. SinkOrSwim is a Senior Design team made up of three Georgia Tech engineering students that used National Instruments‘ (NI) LabView software to build a product that could help swim coaches analyze details of a swimmer’s performance.
Typically, it is difficult for coaches to detect and correct changes in a swimmer’s form when they are in the water and fatigue sets in. When minor mistakes made by a tired swimmer go unnoticed bad habits form and an inefficient race is swum. These inefficiencies are missed because swimmers are submerged when they are competing or practicing and it can be difficult or very expensive (there are existing tracking systems but they range from $5-10K and need to be specifically designed for each facility) to analyze a swimmer’s hand angle, stroke timing or other movements.
After meeting with the Georgia Tech swim coaches, SinkOrSwim determined that there would be a demand for a swim analysis product that cost less than $2K. Additionally, they performed market research to show that their would be interest in an affordable product for individual swimmers that cost less than $200. These were encouraging results considering there are over 500 college swim teams in the U.S. and 300,000 competitive swimmers. Based on this market analysis and the partnership with National Instruments, SinkOrSwim set out to make their swim analysis product; one that would ultimately be a challenge, but also a great educational experience.
SinkOrSwim‘s product – officially called the S.O.S. Virtual Swimming Analysis System – had several technical issues to overcome from the beginning. The product would need to be able to safely and effectively operate in an aqueous setting, not disrupt a swimmer’s maneuverability and work without an external power source. To conquer these obstacles the team came up with two methods for collecting swimmer data: constrained and unconstrained method.
The unconstrained analysis method used a waterproofed iPhone attached to the swimmer’s chest with lightweight straps to measure lap times, stroke rate and changes in stroke timing over the course of a race. With the constrained method the team tethered a swimmer to an elastic rope and collected relative force generated, stroke total and stroke rate data while the swimmer swum in place. This method also allowed coaches to view video of swimmers as they swum in place so they could review and trouble shoot. The constrained method provides the benefit of being able to capture video throughout the swim while the unconstrained method allows the swimmer to move as they normally would and creates a more natural data gathering environment (the team focused on measuring the freestyle stroke because it is the most common).
Here is a video of the three SinkOrSwim designers, Federico Guzman, Daniel Kim and Matt Ward, presenting S.O.S. Virtual Swimming Analysis System:
Both methods of use with the S.O.S. Virtual Swimming Analysis System met the needs that were laid out by the Georgia Tech swim coaches and were tested and approved by individual swimmers. Best of all, the S.O.S. Virtual Swimming Analysis System is a prime example of sports helping young students gain a STEM education. They were able to conduct market research and identify a need, use the LabView software from NI to build an operational product and then test their product with swimmers from the Georgia Tech team.
This was a very real-world educational experience and it helped to prepare them for an engineering career. Not only were they able to learn by working on something they were passionate about, their product will be passed along to the next group of engineering students to continue the learning process.
National Instrument’s partnership with SinkOrSwim is just one of many sports related projects where they are providing their software. While it’s great for NI to get their software in the hands of young engineers, it also shows that taking a sports related approach to STEM education can be very effective for making U.S. students interested in STEM skills and education.