In sport, the margin between success and failure is often measured in milliseconds. It could be a cricketer adjusting their foot positioning, a runner refining their sprint start or a footballer perfecting their passing.
This is where motion capture comes in – among the many approaches being used for athletic performance and movement analysis.
Conventional motion capture tracks a person’s movements by using sensors or reflective markers linked to cameras. This provides data that helps sport scientists analyse how to improve an athlete’s performance, personalise their training programme and prevent possible injury.
But for decades, motion capture in sport has been done using cumbersome suits and complex camera systems.