Speed Climbing Analysis System Based on Spatial Positioning and Posture Recognition: Design and Effectiveness Assessment

The human body posture and trajectory are important parameters of the optimal path in speed climbing, and current researchers are focused on them. However, the performance of the newly developed analysis tools for synchronously and accurately analyzing climbing posture and trajectory is limited. This study develops an innovative speed climbing analysis system (SCAS) that integrates three-dimensional trajectory tracking using HTC Vive trackers and full-body posture capture with BlazePose. And the system is validated. Climbing trials were recorded from twelve professional athletes (speed climbers, eight males and four females; age 22 ± 2.2 years, all with ≥1 year of competitive experience) on a standard International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) speed wall. The SCAS’s accuracy was analyzed by comparing its trajectory measurements to a video-based reference: the mean deviation was 0.061 ± 0.005 m (mean ± SD, 95% confidence interval [0.058, 0.064] m), indicating high precision. Trajectory metrics between genders were compared using independent-sample t-tests, revealing that male climbers had significantly shorter average path lengths (p < 0.05) and fewer movement inflections than female climbers. Finally, the group-optimal path derived from the data showed only slight deviations from the top-performing climbers’ paths. The proposed SCAS enables synchronous, millimeter-level tracking of climbing trajectory and posture, and can provide coaches with quantitative feedback for each athlete’s climbing strategy.