A formal agreement was celebrated, symbolizing the partnership between Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Diocesan Girls’ School as they come together to establish a pioneering laboratory: The PolyU-Diocesan Girls’ School Artificial Intelligence Swimming Technology Lab. The collaboration is geared towards elevating athletic training through the integration of state-of-the-art AI technology, making use of the school’s top-tier swimming facilities.
The Vice President of PolyU underscored the impressive accomplishments of homegrown swimmers on the global stage. By incorporating technology into training methodologies, PolyU facilitates the realization of athletes’ maximum capabilities and contributes to outstanding performance. PolyU is dedicated to translating research into tangible solutions and anticipates that students will cultivate a greater enthusiasm for cutting-edge technologies and scientific understanding through their engagement in research endeavors.
The principal of the Diocesan Girls’ School expressed enthusiasm for the practical validation of AI and biomechanics research results with the school’s swim team, aiming to significantly improve the understanding and application of sports science. Led by Assistant Professor Dr. Jason So from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at PolyU, the research team employs advanced sensory equipment and underwater motion capture to help coaches refine training techniques for swimmers.
The team captain of the swim team provided feedback indicating a significant enhancement in start times, attributed to the technological support of advanced data analysis. With this assistance, swimmers can readily pinpoint areas for improvement in their strokes and work closely with their coaches to address specific weaknesses. These refined training techniques have also proven advantageous in refining reaction times and start performances.
The project offers students interested in technology the opportunity to engage at a higher level of learning, not only by improving the performance of swimmers but also by developing new AI systems to analyze the team’s data and create various AI models. During the research, approximately 30 student-athletes from PolyU and other local sports organizations participated in eight weeks of muscle training focused on core stability, resulting in an average boost of swimming propulsion by about 10%. This equated to an increased speed of 0.02 to 0.03 meters per second for a 50-meter freestyle event.
The team intends to partner with PolyU's Department of Computing to refine the model's accuracy by integrating video motion analysis into innovative AI models, utilizing the gathered data. This groundbreaking endeavor holds promise in transforming the methodology and effectiveness of training competitive swimmers.
