How Swimmers Can Win With Fluid Dynamics

By Richard Maino, London Press Service

Technology/Sport - 860 words - one colour picture

CHAMPION swimmers know it’s all in the “glide” - the way they slice through the water, and how a few hundredths of a second can make the difference between ending the race as a “somebody” or a “nobody”.

Now, new technology could enable would-be top swimmers to improve a main aspect of their technique more quickly and effectively than previously possible - with the chance of helping them win more medals in major championships in future.

Swimming coaches could use the computerised system that offers two key benefits beyond the capabilities of any other method used in elite swimming training.

Swimmers glide after their starts and turns, when they are not moving their arms or legs but are only using their momentum to travel through the water.

The novel software provides instant, in-depth feedback on glide technique and has been developed by sports scientists in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh’s aquatics research centre.

“Both the speed and accuracy of the feedback will add to the value of the advice that coaches give their swimmers,” said Professor Ross Sanders who is leading the project. “Another important benefit is that the alterations to technique suggested by the software are customised exactly to suit each individual swimmer.”

The mathematical model underpinning the new software was developed and validated by Roozbeh Naemi as part of his doctorate (PhD) thesis at Edinburgh University; he successfully completed his PhD in November 2006.

The new system offers two key benefits beyond the capabilities of any other method used in elite swimming training.

First, the feedback it generates is available immediately, allowing swimmers and coaches to use it at the poolside and implement its recommendations while a training session is still in progress; this will speed the improvement of glide technique. Second, it generates data of unprecedented quality in terms of detail and accuracy.

As well as supplying data on head position, body posture/alignment and so on, the software actively suggests ways that swimmers can improve their posture to minimise drag (resistance) - and it pinpoints the optimum moment to begin kicking.

Ultimately, the result will be faster times in races. Gliding more efficiently, with less drag, can cut vital fractions of a second from a swimmer’s time. The difference between winning an Olympic title and finishing out of the medals is often measured in hundredths of a second, therefore this innovative software could give swimmers a valuable edge in their quest for glory.

The software is being developed by sports scientists at Edinburgh University’s Centre for Aquatics Research & Education (CARE) with additional input from Sheffield Hallam University in England, and funding from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council in collaboration with UK Sport. Once tested and validated, it should be available to swimmers throughout the UK within about 12 months.

How it works. First, the swimmer is marked at their body joints using water-resistant markers. The swimmer is then videoed in action using underwater and poolside cameras, with the images fed into a computer equipped with the software.

The software tracks the movements of the markers and runs the digitised position data through an innovative, highly sophisticated mathematical model developed at Edinburgh by Dr Naemi. A replay of the swim instantly appears on a plasma screen at the poolside, overwritten with graphs and data on different technical aspects of the glide.

“The software could even help to identify the champions of tomorrow,” added Professor Sanders. “It will show which young swimmers naturally move easily through the water [and] which may well equate to outstanding ability or a particular aptitude for the sport.” 

The 12-month research project to improve swim performance is receiving Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council funding of 110,000 pounds. The project is the outcome of the EPSRC/UK Sport “Going For Gold” workshops held in 2006. These aimed to harness the best of UK academic research expertise to priority research questions identified by leading UK sports.

The research team is currently focusing on the glide phase of swimming because this tends to be overlooked in coaching, compared with the dive, the tumble turn and the swimming stroke. The team plans to assess the potential to develop the software for future application in these other phases as well.

The mathematical model underpinning the new software was developed and validated by Dr Roozbeh Naemi as part of his doctorate (PhD) thesis at Edinburgh University that he successfully completed.

The movement tracking and analysis capability being developed by this project could also have potential for use in the testing of swimsuits and wetsuits, and in other commercial applications where the resistance of gliding bodies moving through fluids needs to be measured and/or minimised.

The Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council is the UK’s main agency for funding research in its title’s fields and invests about 740 million pounds a year.

Established in 1997, UK Sport is charged with leading sport in the UK to world-class success. A key priority for 2007/08 is the enhanced use of leading-edge technology to provide winning improvements in the equipment and clothing available to UK sportsmen/women. This involves the development of close cooperation and partnership with organisations such as the EPSRC (www.uksport.gov.uk). 

流体力学如何帮助游泳运动员获胜

伦敦新闻局Richard Maino撰稿

科技/体育 — 一张彩色图片

获得过冠军的游泳运动员都知道，“滑行”对获胜是多么的重要，所谓“滑行”就是运动员在水中分水前行的方式，百分之几秒的差距就能造就“冠军”与“落榜”。

现在，新科技可以让那些有希望夺冠的游泳运动员，比以前更快、更有效地在自己的主要技术方面得到改进，也为他们提供了在未来重要锦标赛中，获得更多奖牌的机会。

游泳教练可以利用计算机化系统，该系统有两个重要的好处，超越了其它提高游泳训练方法的能力。

运动员在开始和返回时要滑行，这时候他们的手臂和腿不能运动，只能通过之前的惯性动力来向前滑行。

创新的软件可以提供即时、深入的滑行技术反馈，而且已经由苏格兰爱丁堡大学水上运动研究中心的运动科学家开发出来。

领导该项目的Ross Sanders 教授说：“反馈的速度和准确度将会增加教练为运动员提出的建议的价值。另外一个重要的好处就是，根据软件建议进行的技术改变，是为每个单独运动员精确定制的。”

支持这个新软件的数学模型已由Roozbeh Naemi开发出来，并已通过验证，这个数学模型同时也是他在爱丁堡大学博士论文的一部分，2006年11月他从这里成功获得博士学位。

新系统提供的两个重要好处超越了其它提高游泳训练方法的能力。

首先，它传回的反馈可以立即得以使用，让运动员和教练在泳池边上就可以利用，如果是正在训练中，就可以按照它给出的建议改进。这将加速滑行技术的改进。其次，就细节和准确性来说，它可以产生突破性质量的数据

在提供头部、身体姿势/整体动作数据的同时，软件还会积极提供运动员改进姿势方式，以减少游动时的阻力——它会指出最适合转身的时间点。

最终，所看到的结果就是运动员在比赛时速度更快。更有效的滑行、减少阻力，可以降低对运动员至关重要的须臾的比赛用时。奥运冠军和落榜选手之间的差别通常就在于一秒的百分之几用时差距上，因此，这个创新的软件在运动员问鼎冠军的道路上是非常有价值的。

这个软件现在正由爱丁堡大学水上运动研究和教育中心（CARE）的运动专家们进行开发，并得到了英格兰谢菲尔德哈勒姆大学的投入以及英国工程和自然科学研究理事会与英国体育局的资助。一但经过测试确认可用后，英国的游泳运动员就可以在12个月之内使用上这个软件。

它是如何工作的呢？首先，会用防水工具在运动员的关节处做上记号。然后，通过水下和游泳池旁边的摄像机记录下运动员的动作，这些图像会传送到一台安装了该软件的计算机里。

软件会追踪做记号处的动作，并通过一个由爱丁堡大学Naemi博士开发的高度精密的创新数学模型来运行数字化位置数据，于是关于游泳动作的回放会马上显示在泳池旁边的等离子显示屏上，对于滑行的不同技术方面会通过图形和数据的形式表示出来。

 “软件甚至可以帮助确认谁能够成为明日的冠军”， Sanders教授说，“它能够显示出哪位年轻的游泳选手能够在水中自然的游动，（以及）哪位选手具备了卓越能力，或者说具备游泳运动所需的特定天资。”

这个为期12个月、意在改进游泳动作的研究项目得到了来自英国工程和自然科学研究理事会110,000英镑的资助。这个项目是英国工程和自然科学研究理事会与英国体育局在2006年举办的“力争金牌”研讨会（Going For Gold）的成果。目的都是为了加强英国强势体育项目所确定的优先研究问题方面的学术研究知识。

研究小组现在关注的是游泳时的滑行方面，因为与入水、翻滚转身及泳姿相比，这一点在教练指导中总是被忽视。小组计划对其他方面软件开发的未来应用潜力进行评估。

支持这个新软件的数学模型已由Roozbeh Naemi开发出来，并已可以使用，这个数学模型同时也是他博士论文的一部分，他在爱丁堡大学成功完成了自己的论文。

本项目正开发的动作追踪和分析能力可，能也可以用来测试游泳衣和潜水衣，也可做其他商业应用，如水中滑行的人体所受到的阻力需要得到测量和/或最小化。

英国工程和自然科学研究理事会是其支持领域内英国重要的研究资助机构，每年要投资约7.4亿英镑。

 英国体育局成立于1997年，负责带领英国体育走向世界级的成功。它在2007到2008年度优先要做的是加强对最新技术的应用，来改进英国运动员使用的设备和服装，提高他们获胜的机会。  这涉及到了与其他组织的紧密合作并建立伙伴关系，如英国工程和自然科学研究理事会（www.uksport.gov.uk）。