Force-Sensing Swimming Starting Block; The History and Ethics of Sports Monitoring Devices

Both my project and STS research paper center on the collection and application of sensor-based metrics in athletics, with a primary focus on collegiate and professional sports. For my technical project, I developed a device that records and stores athletic performance metrics. The device transmits the collected data to a web application, where it is mapped to real athletes’ profiles. The data recorded (the magnitude of force a swimmer jumps off the starting block with) is a quantitative measurement that helps to construct a personal profile for each swimmer based on past performances off of the block. These profiles will allow athletes to tailor their training to better improve their times in the pool. Most of the discussed monitoring technologies in my STS Research Paper were designed for sports on land instead of their aquatic counterparts. The use of electronics in water filled environments is a more recent development, and I hope that the creation of this technical project furthers the exploration and adoption of technology in aquatic sports. This technical project is now a small part of the history of the athletic monitoring devices I covered in my research paper. My technical project would not be possible if not for the monumental contributions of companies like Polar and Apple in the field of sports technology. This history also provides the basis that quantified metrics can be used to improve an athlete’s performance and that there is an ever increasing need for more research into the intersection of technology and sports.