A Self-Powered Portable Flexible Sensor of Monitoring Speed Skating Techniques

Abstract

With the development of 5G technology, contemporary technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data analyses have been widely applied to the sport industry. This paper focuses on the design of a portable, self-powered, flexible sensor, which does not require an external power supply. The sensor is capable of monitoring speed skating techniques, thereby helping professional athletes to enhance their performance. This sensor mainly consists of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) with polarization after a silvering electrode and a flexible polyester substrate. Flexible sensors are attached to the push-off joint part of speed skaters and the ice skate blade. During motion, it produces different piezoelectricity signals depending on the states of motion. The monitoring and analyzing of the real-time sensor signals will adjust the athlete’s skating angle, frequency, and push-off techniques, thus improving user training and enhancing performance. Moreover, the production of piezoelectric signals can charge the capacitor, provide power for small electronic equipment (e.g., wireless device), and extend the applications of wearable flexible sensors to the Big Data and IoT technologies in the sport industry.

Recent progress in flexible piezoelectric devices toward human-machine interactions

“…With the rapid development of various advanced technologies, such as VR/AR, cloud computing, 3D printing and so on, the incorporation of P-HMIs with these technologies will be the focus of both academia and industry. For instance, with VR/AR integrated P-HMIs, people will be able to chat with their friends, watch movies or play video games more interactively and immerse themselves in the virtual world [40,41,44] . Outlook for P-HMIs: from piezoelectric materials to future applications.…”

“…This review covers the recent progress made regarding smart flexible piezoelectric devices in the field of HMIs. Research concerning flexible piezoelectric electronics is comprehensively summarized and highlighted along with real-life P-HMIs, including robotic control, the Internet of Things (IoT), sports coaching, acoustic therapeutics and machine learning-enhanced P-HMIs [Figure 1] [27,[42][43][44][45][46] . Finally, the current challenges and prospects of P-HMIs are provided from our perspective, ranging from materials science and structural design to diverse potential applications in the near future.…”

Advanced Self-Powered Biofuel Cells with Capacitor and Nanogenerator for Biomarker Sensing

“…92−95 Capacitive SPBs with textiles like facemasks and cloths can help in monitoring respiration and physiological activities. 96,97 Researchers are now better able to create biodegradable implanted biosensors and wearable biosensors. Implantable SPBs can measure arterial blood flow using biodegradable capacitors.…”

A Self-Powered Wearable Motion Sensor for Monitoring Volleyball Skill and Building Big Sports Data

“…Recently, self-powered flexible biosensing devices have been used in real-time monitoring various physiological indicators like blood glucose, body temperature, heart rate and pulse in daily life [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. These self-powered flexible sensors that possess the ability to work without external power could also be probably used in the domain of sports motion monitoring [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”