Wireless Sensor System for Rugby Impact Assessment

Wireless key outor System for rugby football football Impact AssessmentThere is plenty of advantages in turning sports, whether it is for pure pleasure or profession each(prenominal)y, however this give the axe transfer irreversible consequences. Any trauma is bad intelligence agency and later on life the damage tends to come back ten times worsened than when the injury first occurred. The worst of injuries atomic number 18 the ones that fuel cause heading damage, handle cuts, which are genuinely common in converge sports such(prenominal)(prenominal) as rugby football. Do practitioners calculate the hazard e very time they book part in the respective contact sport, or do they clean think slightly the present moment and carry on? Do practitioners know the consequences of humor damage such as dementia and keeping loss, or do they think that dislocating a knew or a lift are the worst injuries that throw out happen as it would prevent them from playing, layabout inj uries be prevented or reduced or lead the game perpetually be dangerous, these are a couple of question that I devour and hope accomplish in the end of this undertaking. A survey expatiate by me, allowed me to acquire different answers from ampere-second practitioners of different contact sports and it prove that approximately people dont know fully the jeopardys of playing contact sports. end-to-end the years, the arrange and severity of injuries in sports put one across drastically increased. Athletes tend to conk out bigger, faster and stronger. In contact sports such as rugby, boxing, Ameri bear football, etc., athletes and enthusiasts jeopardy their health and well-being exposing their bodies to the stress and injuries present in sports. This thesis is to a greater extent than(prenominal) foc utilise on head injuries, concussions to be specific. Concussions or any sense damage tend to affect the athletes closelyly later on in life, causing dementia, permanent h eadaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or completing tasks, irritability, anxiety, memory loss, the reheel goes on.Anyone that has ever played a sport and had an injury, is now more than alert than before of the risks of playing whatever sport the person was playing when the injury occurred. Not that being aware is going to prevent injuries, unless at least(prenominal) the practitioner wont be surprised when roughthing unexpected happens or at least the practitioner impart be in a position where he can decide if is in truth worth the risk.1.1. pauperizationAs a sports enthusiast I have al trends been material bodyle in sport, and I have al managements practiced sports. Summer of 2012 I started playing American football, I loved the rush of the game and the occurrence that I was so fast that they couldnt catch me. As months went by, the whole team was getting ready for the beginning of the season, everyone was becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, and therefore t he jolts during collisions and tackles were becoming more taxable on the body. It was part of the routine to do an exercise we utilize to call Bull fight, where we knock heads against each some other so we can get used to the clashing. The first time I did this I matt-up dizzy, but as a teenager I didnt think oftentimes about it. First game of the season, I was getting ready to class my first ever touchdown, I got tackled. I was unconscious on the narrative for two minutes, they say. I was taken to the local doctor for a degene judge check up to make sure everything was ok with me. The doctor said that I most definitely have had concussion. After I have done some interrogation into the topic, I kind of realised the risk I was exposing myself too, every time I carried an American football. When we talk about American football, every contact sport serves as example and in this dissertation we impart focus more on rugby.My main motivation to do this project is the fact that I believe that a major part of the population that practices sports, specifically contact sports, dont know the consequences on the retentive run of doing so. I hope that with the realisation of this project I can create an impact towards sports enthusiasts desire myself, not in a way to make them give up on the sport, but at least they allow foring be aware of their actions, and maybe adopt the use of safer deliver when playing the sport, as most players dont use the equipment available like the rugby helmet.And my question are Do athletes or enthusiasts really know what figure of circumstances and risks they are exposing themselves to? And can this injuries be prevented or can the risk exposure be reduced?1.2.Aims and objectivesThe dissertation will focus on the design and sorting of a neck portable system assailable and efficient at monitoring the unidimensional and angular head speedup, which has been depict as a very efficient way of assessing the violence impact that players go through during practice or a serious game, as shall be demonstrated during this thesis.The main aims of this project is to conduct background research on rugby injuries statistics, accelerometers and portable sensors, to find the outperform design for this project, carry out and test it using an Arduino chip, to calibrate the system against involuntary speedups, to investigate the portability, usability and pertinency in rugby and other contact sports, and to demonstrate the collected results and visualisation.In order to conclude this project successfully a general perceptiveness will be acquired through background research. Therefore the section 2.1 will represent an in depth research about injuries in rugby, a comparison between youngsters, seniors and professional players, section 2.2 will explain the concepts tie in to accelerometers, different types of accelerometers, price ranges, advantages and disadvantages of each, section 3 will focus on the importan ce of bar the linear and angular head acceleration, section 4 will explain the two different types of interface, SPI and I2C, and detail the I2C interface as is the interface that is going to be used during this project, section 5 will demonstrate the design and implementation of the project by displaying pictures of the first prototype, and final project, the reason why such design was chosen and all the go followed, finally the section 6 will demonstrate all the testing done in different scenarios, and respective results of the prototype and the final project, all represented using, graphs and tables . Since the project is also an investigation on how efficient the project is going to be during a game or practice, some ideas and splendid tests will be carried out in the end.An equipment of this category, will be really useful in any contact sport, as it will take into account important information to monitor the force exerted towards a head, and carry on further studies in th e area of concussions and other brain damages that often occur in rugby players, or other athletes performing contact sports. It can also increase the attention towards adopting safer protective gear.2.1 rugby injuries base on balls injuries are really frequent in contact sports such as rugby, occurring more in situations like the scrum, head impacts on the floor, etc. The most common head injury is called concussion, however thats the most minor kind of head injury (Lava). A concussion occurs at 90 to 100 g-force, equivalent to a head impact of 20mph (Gorgens, 1). 65% of head injuries occurred in rugby are laceration, 17% concussions and 9% are fractures to the skull (Kaplan et al. 91). Due to the spirited chance of head injury, the RFU (Rugby Football Union) has found ways to prevent these dispossessed situations. few of them being laws, regulations, guideline based on research evidence, concussion awareness, first aider and health care and professional player testing courses .Rugby Union is on a pinnacle of success and popularity (Edgar, 1995), this attracts the media, the media attracts the population, therefore the occupy for the sport, practitioners, researches and experiments increase exponentially as well, placing more emphasis on purpose ways to protect our athletes.A study carried out by UU at civilises in blue Ireland discovered a broad(prenominal) rate of pure(a) injury in rugby to rugby players in schools (Meredith, 2016). A get of 825 students from 28 different school teams participated in the study during 2014/2015, which resulted in 426 injuries, 204 of them resulting in an incapability of practicing the sport for an average of four-spot weeks. One in four rugby players will suffer an injury, 55% of the injuries occur during a tackle, 78% of concussions specifically occur during a tackle, 13% are knee injuries, 7% hand injuries, 10% concussions, 11% ankle injuries, 10% shoulder ligament injuries and 5% shoulder dislocation. After ca lculating it reveals that it occurs three concussions per team. Young athletes are more vulnerable to concussion and may be affected by more complicated recovery times and high risk of adverse outcomes. (Meredith, 2016). On 29 Of January of 2011 a drastically accident happened to a young player, 14 years old named Ben Robinson while playing rugby union for his school team. During the game he had three impacts to the head, on each impact he was taken off the field and put back, on the fourth impact he collapsed and died later on in the hospital (Bull, 2013).As cases like the death of Ben Robinson happen once in a while it will automatically increase the urgent increase for awareness, researches and solutions to this problem. Enforcing the laws of the game is definitely one, thats things like looking at the height of the tackle, ensuring that its interpreted properly, and teaching good tackling technique, (Bleakley, 2015). Some rules that could be applied would be in case of a brain injury like concussion the player shouldnt play for at least 30 days, like applied in boxing, the player shouldnt have to play under effect of pharmaceuticals to dont feel the damage caused by the injury suffered, among other rules.Rugby is the sport with highest risk of injury. It was stated that Paradoxically at the internationalistic level, where the game is fastest and most spectacular, evidence shows that fitness and experience considerably reduce the injury rate. (Addley and Farren, 1988), however a research carried out in English premiership honorary society and schools rugby union, concluded that the rate of injuries in academy and school youth rugby union and fairly lower than the rate of risks recorded for senior elite rugby union (Palmer-Green, Trewartha and Stokes, 2009). Personally I dont agree with the first statement, as the higher the level of the game, the higher the visible characteristics of the players and the faster the pace of the game, which increases the st rength of collision involved.As the years go by, the rugby rules have been changing trying to create a safer way to play the game, however is still not good enough, It still a really high chance of injury by playing the sport. Is apprehensible if someone adult knows the risk of playing the game, accepts it and takes responsibility upon any consequences, but maybe anyone under 18 that is not capable of making the best decisions shouldnt play such an aggressive game or at least with not as much contact as they do.2.2 AccelerometersAn accelerometer senses positive and controvert accelerations of a body. It works by sensing the acceleration of gravity and allows us as well based on the results produced, to calculate the direction of the acceleration. It uses the engine room MEMS, that stands for Microelectromechanical systems, however thats the term used in the joined States of America, In United Kingdom the term used is MST, that stands for microsystems technology (Maluf and William s, 2004). MEMS are similar to an integrated circuit but they are mechanical. The technique used to make MEMS are the same as the technique used to make electronics, microfabrication, but rather its made dispirited mechanical structures that can interface with electronics (Afrotechmods, 2014).Acceleration is the rate at which the pep pill of a body changes with time (Nistic, 2013).Accelerometers can be used for different applications. They can be used for automotive applications such as airbags control, achievement sensing, GPS, navigation. They can be used in seismometers, television camera stabilization, to play games, smartphones, etc.2.2.1 Sensing functionsAn accelerometer has six sensing functionsMovement covers apparent motion control and general apparent movement detectionFall identifies that a heroic impact is highly likely to happen. mountain be used for motion controlTilt can be applied to mobile phones to detect whether is facing up or down, text scrolling, lcd projection, user interfacing, image rotating, camera stability, etc.Positioning requires more complex algorithms than the others. It can be used in a GPS and personal navigation knock Can be used in situations of shipping and handling, car event information recorders and hard disk drive protectionVibration Mostly used in cases where high aesthesia and high absolute frequency accelerometers are needed. much(prenominal) as seismic activity monitors and acousticsFor every situation there will be the best choice of accelerometer, as every range of acceleration has different applications. For example fault detection and tilt control is in the range of 1G to 2G, take aback detection lands on the 2G to 8G range, vibe 8G to 10G range, an odometer 20G to 30G range, a car crash can range from 20G to 250G and a bullet can go up to 5000G (G. Ogden, 1895).When measuring free fall the values can be positive or negative, and for best results it requires a height of at least one meter. Th ere is three types of freefall, linear, rotational and projectile. A linear freefall, is when there is a drop from certain height straight to the, a rotational freefall is the same as the linear freefall, however a crack or rotation is added to the travel of the body, the projectile freefall is when the body is thrown away, and it includes plain movement as well as a vertical movement and it will also have a small rotation (FarnellElectronics, 2011).When measuring the tilt, there is some things to take in consideration. The accelerometer needs to be mount in a way so the axis of sensitivity is parallel of latitude to the surface used. The formula used to calculate the output is the follow Vout = sensitivity of the accelerometer multiplied by 1G times the tilt of the angle plus the start-off voltage of the accelerometer. The output can vary from -1G to 1G, and detects angles from -90 to 90 degrees (FarnellElectronics, 2011).There is some considerations needed to be taken when mea suring the position. First is the displacement, how far the accelerometer will be moving to detect the change in movement. The range of the artifice is really important. If its going to be tested on a person, is going to be produced a higher G force and requires an accelerometer that supports a higher G force range, If its going to be a very small change such as a mouse it requires an accelerometer with a really high sensitivity (CH Robotics, 2017).When measuring shock the biggest thing to consider is the G-range. The accelerometers uses the lag of the object to determine the shock, like tapping or a car crash. To taproom the vibration, the closer the accelerometer is from the vibration source, the higher the G value (Morrow, 1974). For measure vibration the most important thig is the frequency of the vibration, the second thing to consider is the G range, similar to previous situations, for every application there will be a different type of accelerometer, and where the accelero meter is mounted will affect the readings as well.Below is represented on how the g force is spread through the axis2.2.2 Main typesBetween a DC- response accelerometer and an AC-response accelerometers, DC is the most recommended one as AC-response accelerometers cant measure static accelerations, slow vibrations or sustained accelerations due to being AC coupled.The main types of accelerometers are the ones listed below.capacitive DC coupled. Produces an output based on capacitance changes. They are small and cheaper than the average accelerometer (Mineta et al. 431-435). They are mostly found in phones, gaming platforms (Wii, Xbox, etc)Piezo resistive DC coupled. Produces an output based on the resistance changes, under manikin gauges that are part of the accelerometers seismic mass. Commonly used in shock events due to its high frequency range, amplitude and wide bandwidth ( leaveridge et al. 58-62). They are very accurate, as they can measure as low as 0 Hz, but they are n ot a good choice to test low frequency vibrations due to lack of sensitivity (Voldamn 2007).piezoelectric AC coupled. Produces an output based on an electric charge proportional to the force suffered under acceleration. Mostly used for test and measurement roles, due to its high frequency, sensitivity and simplicity (Tian et al. 2). However because they are not DC coupled, is a bad choice in situations with high displacement or velocity as it cant detect low vibrations, or high acceleration levels.Below is listed in a resumed way the characteristics of each accelerometer.ApplicationPiezoelectricCapacitivePiezo resistiveStatic accelerationG force seismalLow frequency vibrationGeneral vibration exalted frequency vibrationGeneral shockHigh impact shock entire shockReferencesAddley, K and J Farren. Irish Rugby Injury review Dungannon Football Club (1986-87).. British Journal of Sports Medicine 22.1 (1988) 22-24. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.Afrotechmods,. How An Accelerometer working. 2014. Web . 22 Feb. 2017.Bleakley, C. (2015). Research on youth rugby injuries in Northern Ireland. theBMJ, p.3.Bull, A. (2013). Death of a schoolboy why concussion is rugby unions dirty secret. 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An Introduction To Microelectromechanical Systems Engineering. 1st ed. Boston, Mass. u.a. Artech House, 2004. Print.Meredith, R. (2016). Schoolboy rugby UU study finds high rate of severe injury. BBC News, online p.1. Available at http//www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35636594 Accessed 22 Feb. 2017.Mineta, T et al. Three-Axis Capacitive Accelerometer With Uniform Axial Sensitivities. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 6.4 (1996) 431-435. Web.Morrow, C. (1974). lit Review Application of Bk eQuipment To Mechanical Vibration and Shock Measurements J. T. Brock. The Shock and Vibration Digest, 6(12), pp.86-87.Nistic, A. (2013). Working principle of a capacitive accelerometer.Palmer-Green, Dr Debbie, Dr Grant Trewartha, and Dr Keith Stokes. cogitation On Injury Risk In English Youth Rugby Union. Sport, He alth Exercise Science, University of Bath, 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.Tian, Bian et al. Design Of A Piezoelectric Accelerometer With High Sensitivity And Low Transverse Effect. Sensors 16.10 (2016) 2. Web.Using Accelerometers to Estimate Position and upper CH Robotics. (2017). online Chrobotics.com. Available at http//www.chrobotics.com/library/accel-position-velocity Accessed 23 Feb. 2017.Voldamn, Joel. A Capacitive Accelerometer. 2007. Lecture.