A novel three-axis force sensor for advanced training of shot-put athletes

This paper presents a novel three-axis force sensor for measuring the throwing forces of shot-put athletes. The shot-put sensor has been designed and fabricated with almost the same size and weight as the standard shot for open males. Instead of using a common shot, the shot-putters can use this shot-put sensor to make their throws. The sensor can simultaneously detect applied forces along three orthogonal directions with reasonably high accuracy. With the help of a commercially available high-speed photography system, field tests have been performed. The experimental results show that each phase of the throwing motion can be clearly identified by analysing the force curves and it is easy to distinguish between good throws and faulted throws. In this manner, the shot-put sensor serves as a powerful tool for coaches and sports scientists to make scientific researches on shot-put techniques. It also provides an intuitive and reliable guidance for the shot-put athletes to improve their skills. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All fights reserved.