Health and Human Performance
DCU’s School of Health and Human Performance research is devoted to advancing the fields of both sports and general health. The centre’s expertise is clustered around –
- Successful sporting performance
- Healthy lifestyle management
- Prevention and control of communicable diseases
DCU’s specialist areas include –
- Exercise physiology
- Physical activity and public health
- Bio mechanics
- Coaching
- Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
Sensor and Wearable Technology Research
The School of Health and Human Performance works closely with other research groups in DCU and beyond. The team works closely with the Insight Centre for Data Analytics to combine our expertise in sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Deep Learning with our expert knowledge of athletic performance. We also have access to a cohort of elite athletes through the university’s teams and various sports academies.
Examples of projects include –
Physical Activity Towards Health (Pathway) Project
Pathway has developed a simple and inexpensive solution using a Microsoft Kinect with a fitness-tracking bracelet to allow patients who are rehabilitating to exercise at home. The patients can be monitored individually, have the social benefits of being part of a virtual group and their exercise programme tailored for their individual needs.
Tennis Analysis
A low cost solution using off the shelf wearable sensors combined with data analytics, to enable tennis players of all levels obtain meaningful information about their performance. The solution builds on DCU’s growing expertise as a centre of excellence for motion analysis. There is great opportunity to combine DCU’s research expertise in sensors and data science to develop multiple compelling motion analysis across lots of sports and other fields of use.