DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A NOVEL SENSOR SUITE TO STUDY SOCCER KICKING BIOMECHANICS

Abstract

This study sought to analyze the soccer kick to identify the biomechanical parameters which may influence accurate kicks at different target locations, and it is divided into three different chapters. Chapter 3 analyzed the soccer kick from an accuracy perspective. The results indicated that knee range of motion, vertical ground reaction force and hip moments were the key parameters to achieve more accurate kicks. Furthermore, we observed that the current motion technology did not provide information in terms of kicking and supporting foot. Therefore, chapter 4 was focused on the design of a sensor suite composed of three different sensors with the purpose of measuring the supporting foot and the kicking foot in terms of force profile. Chapter 5 provided a biomechanical and force profile description of the soccer kick for each sensor developed. The detailed description of the design and evaluation of each sensor are included in this study.