Design of a Motion Detector to Monitor Rowing Performance Based on Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) have been applied to gather data from a large number of scenarios. WSN provide the potential to collect data at spatial and temporal scales that are many times not feasible with past instrumentation. Although many applications have been already developed, little has been done using WSN as infrastructure for sports oriented commercial applications.This paper studies the use of WSN to develop motion detectors. Particularly REMOTE, a sensor network based application that provides a detailed picture of a boat movement, rower’s individual performance, or his/her performance compared to other crew members is proposed. The application aims to analyze data gathered with a WSN strategically deployed over a boat to obtain information on the boat and oar movements. The paper presents the architecture, software design and hardware infrastructure used to develop the application.