| dc.description.abstract | In the winter sport of biathlon, successful athletes are often characterized by their performance in the rifle shooting part of the competition given the substantial benefit it can provide in saving time. Research have shown that the shooting part of a race influences the final result of a competition by 40%, suggesting that athletes who successfully hits all five targets in the shortest amount of time will have a good chance of ending up ahead of competition.
One of the most important factors that influence the precision of a shot is the trigger-technique. A precise trigger-technique ensures stability of the rifle when the shot is fired. Keeping the rifle completely stable enhances the possibility of making the target, and consequently, all professional shooters aim to practice this ability to perfection.
In order for biathlon athletes to improve this ability, they should be able to obtain feedback. Today, coaches face limitations in providing constructive feedback given the lack of data available to them. Systems that can provide data that may enlighten the athlete s level of trigger-technique could prove valuable in shooting practice for both athletes and coaches.
The systems being used today for shooting training provide data on the level of force applied to the trigger, in addition to detecting the accurate timing of when the shot is being fired. This information is important for the athlete as it is decisive in terms of analyzing their trigger-technique.
The disadvantages of these systems lie in their technology, which is outdated with cumbersome usage. They require an assembling of several components before use, and remain limited to indoor practice.
Designing a solution that addresses these limitations has been developed in this thesis, providing the grounds of a system that is more reliable, robust and compact. The design is based on the fundamental idea of integrating all aspects of the systems to within the trigger, thereby limiting the use of hardware to solely the trigger.
A prototype was developed to test for the feasibility of the design. This prototype was based on measuring the movement and force applied to the trigger, subsequently transferring the data wirelessly to a software application on a mobile device. The application showed the data results in real-time following the shot, and provided for the possibility of storing data at the mobile device. The live data feed allowed for analysis to be conducted directly at the shooting range, resulting in a prototype that was portable, convenient and easy to use with rapid collection of data.
The results show that by solely using unidirectional data from an accelerometer combined with the measurement of force from the trigger, the system delivers results at a high level. Hence, the system can detect shots by only being dependent on data from the trigger.
In conclusion, this thesis shows that a small-scaled version of the prototype is feasible and delivers the desired detail of data measurements. Creating a waterproof and robust system that can be applied in an outside environment is accomplishable through the development of this small-scaled version. | en |
