On-Site Personal Sport Skill Improvement Support Using Only a Smartwatch

In recent years, with the widespread use of wearable devices, in the sports field and the like, research and techniques for analyzing the movement are being developed by attaching sensors to a body or a gear and analyzing the movement from the acquired data. However, most of them require dedicated sensors and post-processing by computers. Also, there is nothing to do on the spot to provide feedback for form and skill improvement. In this research, we developed a sports skill improvement support system using smartwatch sensors and feedback screen. We verified whether it can be utilized in everyday life. In order to demonstrate the versatility of sports skill improvement support, we implemented application software targeting two movements, baseball pitching action and tennis' serve action. Designed and implemented so that analysis and feedback can be presented solely by smartwatch worn on the wrist of the dominant arm without having a paired smartphone so that the user can perform the usual operation. As a result of the verification experiments, both average and maximum ball speeds increased for all the subjects with respect to the pitching motion. Concerning serve motion, a significant improvement of the pronation movement capability was observed. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of smartwatches as an individual skill improvement support system in sports where arm movement is greatly related to skills.