Ultimate Form: Improve Your Pulls
For Ultimate Frisbee players, consistently being able to chuck a Frisbee from end zone to end zone is a rite of passage. But what enables one to accomplish this feat? We analyzed the throws of various Ultimate players to determine the best conditions for that dreamy pass. Our results compare release angle and acceleration to distance traveled by the disc.
OUR PURPOSE
"Practice makes perfect." But even after tossing frisbees around for hours a week, many Ultimate players still struggle to see noticeable improvements in how far they can throw. Our goal is to make it easier for these players to move past this barrier by informing them of factors that could affect their performance.
HOW IT WORKS
Our system involves two sensors: one 3-axis accelerometer mounted to the user's dominant arm, and one wireless accelerometer mounted to the bottom of the frisbee. The data collected from these two sensors in conjunction allow us to determine:
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Angle of Release: The angle at which the frisbee is released by the thrower relative to the ground.
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Velocity: The speed at which the frisbee is released by the thrower.
A second part to our data collection and analysis involved attempting to evaluate the motion of a frisbee based on gyroscope and accelerometer data captured by the wireless sensor.
SPECIAL THANKS
​The Ultimate Form team would like to extend our thanks to the following for making this project possible:
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Our willing and patient Ultimate players:
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David Pitcher -- (Check out youtube.com/pitcherpuzzles!)
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AJ Pave
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Alex Wenstrup
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Anil Patel
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The QEA teaching team​
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Especially Paul and Rebecca for letting us borrow additional accelerometers​
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Ultimate Frisbee​
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Camille Girard for feeding us scones in a time of distress
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Late-night tea and fuzzy blankets
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