Development of High-Performance Sports Machine and Elucidation Of

Impact Objectives • Explore sports technology and human dynamics by integrating ergonomics and biomechanics

• Develop high-performance sports equipment and training machines for baseball, badminton and table tennis

Intelligent sports machines

Professor Shinobu Sakai is using artificial intelligence and neural networks in the development of innovative sports machines that will be of benefit to professional athletes and amateur sports players alike

Could you briefly In order to improve the performance, machine within a few years. introduce your safety and comfort of sport equipment, research? it is necessary to consider the motions What are you hoping to focus on in the next and movements of the human user. This couple of years? I have invented a academic field is called sports engineering high-performance and is one of the new fields concentrating Within the next few years, I will develop a baseball pitching on human kinematics by integrating high-performance table tennis machine. machine that has a pitching mechanism ergonomics and biomechanics into the Due to the influence of COVID-19, the in which four rollers are arranged in a more conventional field of mechanical practice of the indoor sports such as table cross shape, and it is possible to throw engineering. Sports technology and human tennis or interpersonnal practice where all breaking balls, including gyro balls dynamics are key research focuses for me many players gather is severely restricted. and cut balls. Artificial intelligence (AI) and my goal is to contribute to the future For this reason, I would like to develop a control by a neural network (NN) is used improvement of human society. high-performance table tennis machine so for the pitching control method. I have that one player can conduct high-quality also developed a shuttlecock launching Have you had any results that you are practice independently. machine for badminton that can launch particularly pleased with? at high speed. This machine has a launch mechanism using two rollers, and has a About 30 baseball pitching machines have high launch performance that can drop a already been sold in Japan and are highly shuttlecock weighing only 5g to the target rated by many people. The opinions of the course with an initial velocity of over 83 m/s. athletes and people who purchased are Unlike conventional machines, this machine as follows: they can practice batting with is a machine that throws balls one after various ball speeds and breaking balls; the another while thinking for itself. We call it an ball control accuracy is very high (less than ‘intelligent pitching machine’. two balls); and in a similar way to an actual pitcher, each ball throws a different type of Can you discuss who will benefit from these ball, which is a very good batting practice. studies? How do you plan for your learnings to be The ultimate goal of my research is to applied into real-world use? develop sports equipment such as bats and rackets that match the technical abilities of In order to launch the sports machine, athletes, and training machines for athletes I have developed into the market and by making full use of AI. The people who will made it available to the general public, it benefit are not only athletes but also people is necessary to gain the interest of sports across the globe who enjoy sports. athletes and manufacturers. For this reason, I would like to disseminate my Your latest research involves the research widely. If I can collaborate on joint development of a high-performance sports research with a sports manufacturer, I think Finite element models of four rollers type baseball machine. Could you tell us more about this? it will be possible to commercialise the pitching machine and ball in gyro posture

www.impact.pub 75 Super sports machines for superior athletes At Komatsu University, researchers are developing high-performance sports equipment and training machines for baseball, badminton and table tennis, helping athletes to optimise their performance

Sports engineering is a relatively new and tools and machines to maximise human an inability to simultaneously change ball growing field that bridges the gap between performance,’ he comments. speed and direction, and therefore has a sports science and engineering. It seeks to high throwing performance. overcome sporting problems by applying In his work, Sakai uses state-of-the art mathematics and physics. The field involves tools and methodologies, including high- INTELLIGENT MACHINES the conception, design and manufacture of resolution sensors, laser-speed sensors, In other work, Sakai has developed a sports equipment and facilities that meet MATLAB and general finite element method pitching control method that uses AI. The the demands of athletes and help maximise analysis software (ANSYS/LS-DYNA). machine has three rollers and two actuators. their performance. In order to successfully One of the machines he has developed ‘The motion of these components is optimise equipment and facilities for is a shuttlecock launching machine for independently controlled by a hierarchical athletes, their motions and movements badminton that has a launch mechanism NN,’ he points out. ‘As such, the machine must be considered. This ensures that which uses two rollers and is able to can repeatedly pitch balls in the way the intelligent and fit-for-purpose products are launch at high speed. Indeed, it can launch batter desires.’ All that needs to be done is produced. shuttlecocks with an impressive initial to input ball speed, direction and rotation velocity of more than 83 m/s. to the machine according to the pitcher’s Professor Shinobu Sakai is a Doctor of wants. Detailed motion information about Engineering based at the Department Another of Sakai’s creations is a high- the three rollers and the projected angles is of Production Systems Engineering and performance baseball pitching machine. generated as output data. Sciences, Komatsu University in Japan, Currently, there are only a few developed who is combining AI and neural networks pitching machines that can throw a ball with Sakai explains more about this, including (NN) to develop innovative sports training gyro spin. ‘One of the innovative features how the NN works. ‘There are five input machines for baseball, badminton and of this pitching machine is a four-roller data in the NN: three roller rotation speeds, table tennis. ‘My laboratory is developing throwing mechanism, whereby there is the elevation and declination angles. There multifunctional and high-performance option to control the rotational speed of are five output data: ball speed, two ball sports equipment and training machines,’ each of the four rollers and the crossing type parameters, X and Y coordinates. By he highlights. angle of the opposite gyro rollers in order throwing one ball, you can get one set of to generate an efficient and objective gyro the input and output data,’ he says. ‘Then, if PITCH PERFECT spin,’ Sakai observes. ‘The impressive you throw 200 balls with the roller rotation Sakai’s work involves combining sports pitching machine is able to throw a baseball speed, elevation angle and declination technology and human dynamics to develop with a range of speeds from 22.2 m/s (80 changed arbitrarily, you can get 200 sets of innovative and intelligent machines that km/h) to 44.4 m/s (160 km/h) and with data. These data become the teacher data in are of benefit to professional athletes, as all pitch types, including fastball, curveball the NN, the NN is learned and the NN has well as to people throughout the world who and gyroball, for example.’ What is more, been completed.’ Essentially, the pitching play sports. For Sakai, sports equipment the spin axis can be controlled in any control machine that Sakai has created is is inferior to sports players, and his desired direction. An additional benefit of able to think for itself like a human pitcher, research exists to assist and augment the this machine is that it has a higher level and Sakai refers to it as an ‘intelligent performance of players. ‘A key learning of accuracy than commercially available pitching machine’. for me has been that sports equipment pitching machines. The pitching machine and machines are subordinate to human he has developed overcomes the limitations Excitingly, around 30 of these pitching beings and it is important to develop associated with existing machines, including machines have already been sold in Japan

76 www.impact.pub and the feedback that Sakai has received so right collaborator, his pitching machine far is incredibly encouraging. Athletes and could be commercialised in the next few Project Insights others who have purchased the machine years. have commended its features, including FUNDING Japan Society for the Promotion of that it affords them the ability to practise Looking ahead, Sakai intends to focus Science (JSPS), KAKENHI, Grant number on developing a machine that helps batting with various ball speeds. They JP18K10884 have also been impressed with the ball overcome challenges presented to control accuracy and that each ball throws athletes by COVID-19. Due to the current COLLABORATORS a different type of ball, as a pitcher would, situation, the practice of indoor sports is Nishino Seisakusyo Co., Ltd., and Kanazawa University in Japan

TEAM MEMBERS Komatsu University - Assistant Professor Sports equipment and machines are subordinate to Jin-Xing Shi, Professor Hiroyuki Kagawa human beings and it is important to develop tools and and Associate Professor Yusuke Kajiwara CONTACT machines to maximise human performance Professor Shinobu Sakai

T: +81 761 23 6600 E: [email protected] facilitating effective practice. The machines limited, restricting athletes and potentially W: https://www.komatsu-u.ac.jp/en/ have been sold by Nishino Seisakusyo Co., hampering their performance. Sakai wants facilities/teacher.html Ltd., who is an important contributor to the to develop a high-performance table tennis W: https://researchmap.jp/ project. machine that athletes can use to effectively read0009912?lang=en practice the sport without needing another W: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/ COLLABORATING FOR player. This would enable athletes and Shinobu_Sakai2 COMMERCIALISATION sports players to continue practising table BIO At this point, Sakai is working to tennis despite restrictions. Sakai is making Professor Shinobu Sakai was a research disseminate his research and hopes important contributions to the field of associate of Kanazawa University in to secure a collaboration with a sports sports engineering with his innovative work Japan from 1990 to 2008, and from manufacturer in order to make possible the and facilitating the lives of athletes and April 2008 an assistant professor of commercialisation of his baseball pitching sports players by helping them to hone their Kanazawa University. He has been a machine. Excitingly, if Sakai can secure the skills, ultimately enriching society. l professor of Komatsu University in Japan, newly established in April 2018. Sakai’s research interests include multi- functionality, high performance and AI control of new sports training machines for baseball, badminton and table tennis.

Shuttlecock launch mechanism by two rubber rollers: The shuttlecock is inserted between two opposing rollers and then the shuttlecock is launched at initial velocity