Accelerometer project

mj2505

Hey guys, Im new to the forums.

Im trying to do a project that will measure the force that is applied to an object, in general terms.

But this is my main goal, I want to measure the force used by an athlete to take off from the ground for a jump. I will post a link of a video that show a high jumper. In the video i would like to measure the force used at the exact moment of take off. I was thinking of placing a pressure mat of some kind in the spot of take off.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can assist me.

graffix

With so many other bodyparts moving I don't see how you'll get accurate measurements.Any how you'll need a load sensor in the shoe.the material used for the tread will absorb some force.Imho a mat could possibly work much more costly.A g force sensor might be of interest.See what others think maybe a memsic 2125.Welcome to the forums

kwinn

If you are only interested in the vertical force a plate with load sensors underneath might work. It would need to be large enough to cover the jumpers typical launch area, and you would need to record the data. Using a prop (or other uC) you could take and store a number of readings on an sd card to plot the force.

SRLM

Why not just attach a microcontroller and a three axis accelerometer to the chest of the athlete, and record all the acceleration values? Then you can measure the mass of the jumper, and then graph your data using f=ma. You could probably tell just from the data where the jumping point is, otherwise you can add a button that is pushed at the jump time.

prof_braino

graffix wrote: »

With so many other bodyparts moving I don't see how you'll get accurate measurements.

What ever body parts are moving, wouldn't the force that matters be the force on the point of departure, over a length of time?
I think a load sensor mat under the point of departure and record the force and duration will give you what you want.

mj2505

Thanks guys...thanks for getting me on the right path.