Instrumentation of a surfboard to evaluate surfing performance

This paper reports the development of a system to instrument a surfboard aiming to evaluate wave riding performance. According to the research only 3.8% – 5% of the total surfing time corresponds to the wave riding movements, despite of been the surfing goal. The system developed collects the data from twenty four force sensors positioned beneath the surfer's feet using a microcontroller ATMEGA1280, and determines the surfer's feet positioning and Centre of Pressure (CoP). Furthermore, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with an ADXL335 accelerometer and an IDG500 gyroscope provides information of the surfboard's position in relation to the gravity force axis. To store the result of the acquisitions a SD Card is used. To transmit the data to an external device such as a computer, a WI-FI module complete the electronic system. A battery management was used to allow the system to work remotely. This work presents an overview of the parameter recognized in literature as influencing athlete's performance and a brief description of the major manoeuvres in competition to figure out the parameters to be measured likewise the system developed. Preliminary tests with five different setups have shown that the force sensors to measure CoP and the electronic circuit board works properly.