a highly miniaturized, wireless inertial measurement unit for characterizing the dynamics of pitched baseballs and softballs高度小型化、无线惯性测量单元的动力学描述棒球和垒球.pdfVIP

Sensors 2012, 12, 11933-11945; doi:10.3390/s120911933 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article A Highly Miniaturized, Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit for Characterizing the Dynamics of Pitched Baseballs and Softballs Ryan S. McGinnis * and Noel C. Perkins Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward St., Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA; E-Mail: ncp@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: ryanmcg@. Received: 13 June 2012; in revised form: 23 August 2012 / Accepted: 24 August 2012 / Published: 29 August 2012 Abstract: Baseball and softball pitch types are distinguished by the path and speed of the ball which, in turn, are determined by the angular velocity of the ball and the velocity of the ball center at the instant of release from the pitcher’s hand. While radar guns and video-based motion capture (mocap) resolve ball speed, they provide little information about how the angular velocity of the ball and the velocity of the ball center develop and change during the throwing motion. Moreover, mocap requires measurements in a controlled lab environment and by a skilled technician. This study addresses these shortcomings by introducing a highly miniaturized, wireless inertial measurement unit (IMU) that is embedded in both baseballs and softballs. The resulting ―ball-embedded‖ sensor resolves ball dynamics right on the field of play. Experi