'Tracking a punch' - IIT tech to help Indian boxers analyse punches, up chances of Olympic medals
IIT-M invents SmartBoxer.
At the higher levels of competitive boxing, it is not enough if one just packs a punch, one must be able to track the punch as well. Factors such as punch force, upper and lower body movement need to be closely analysed and evaluated to improve a pugilist's performance. It is towards this goal that teams from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras(IIT-M) and Inspire Institute of Sports, Karnataka are working on a cost-effective, technology-driven solution that will help boxers and their coaches.
Dubbed 'Smartboxer', this analytics platform is meant to provide detailed analysis of a boxer's performance based on wearable sensors. These sensors would be embedded in the gloves (for punch force analysis), foot pressure sensor (for ground reaction force), in addition to sensors to track upper and lower body movement. Video cameras placed in the ring would also identify the left and right limbs of the boxer, while classifying his/her movements as attack or defence or feint (a deceptive or pretended blow, thrust, especially in boxing).
According to Dr. Babji Srinivasan, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, “The smart boxer system integrates data from video streams and multiple IoT devices (sensors). The information extracted from this multivariate data provides fight analytics that can not only help coaches but also the judges to quantify the key traits of boxing champions."
Once the data is gathered from the sensors and camera, it will be merged to provide comprehensive boxing analytics and key traits of the boxer. These traits which include quantity and quality of punch, dominance of the engagements and competitiveness are evaluated and used for scoring in Olympic boxing matches.
WION queried about the progress made in developing 'Smartboxer' and how this compares against International market offerings. In response, Prof. Ranganathan Srinivasan, Head, Center of Excellence for Sports Science and Analytics, IIT Madras said that boxing data is being collected over the last two months and the fundamental algorithms(boxer identification, ring awareness) are in testing phase, while few more algorithms(calculating boxing metrics (such as no of punches, type of punch etc.) would be developed within a year. He expressed confidence that the team was working towards developing it in time for the 2024 Olympics.
He added, UK has an advanced analytics software called iBoxer and that such software is not made available to other countries, given the highly-competitive nature and prestige of the Olympics. Hence, he explained that the know-how must be developed by each country for its advancement in the Olympics.
Also WATCH |Tech Talk: Faster charging could lead to smaller & cheaper EV batteries
