ONLINE LECTURE: Ubiquitous Computing in Sport
Professor Arnold Baca from the University of Vienna accepted our invitation to present a lecture on "Ubiquitous Computing in Sport". Due to the epidemic situation, the lecture took place online in MS Teams on 17 December 2020.
Ubiquitous Computing in Sport
The term "Ubiquitous Computing" was created in 1988 by Mark Weiser. It means the integration of information technology in all areas of daily life. On the hardware side, this development is being driven in particular by the tendency towards miniaturization of sensor and computer technologies and the possibilities of wireless technologies and networks. Systems that are used in the practice of sports or in sports science utilize sensors that are attached or installed either on the athlete, on the sports equipment or in the vicinity. Wearable technologies have been the most important fitness trend throughout the last years. Mobile apps are getting more and more popular. For one reason, this is due to an increasing number of smartphones, which can be used as mobile computer stations nowadays.
The presentation first gives an overview on current trends and developments in this challenging field. Then, focus will be put on remote coaching, which, in particular in the wake of Covid-19, is foreseen to become another big trend. Various scenarios are developing, which allow exercising assisted by experts or coaches connected via an online platform. The Mobile Motion Advisor (MMA) developed by the author’s working group will be introduced. It is a mobile feedback system applicable to support athletes and people doing sports based on the integration of up-to-date sensor, data transmission and processing technologies. The unique characteristic of the system is to give individually customized exercise instructions and feedback. An android based smartphone serves as the mobile client. It records data from various sensors, which then is sent to a remote server where it is analyzed by coaches and experts or by using intelligent algorithms. Based on the result a feedback message is generated and sent back to the mobile client.
