Biomechanics tech could help safety and rider rehab in future

A study on markerless assessment used in other sports found it could also help riders

- 

ADVANCED tech can be used to assess rider biomechanics, raising hopes that the system may help in projects involving safety and rehabilitation.

A study was led by Heather Cameron-Whytock, course lead in bioveterinary sciences at the University of Central Lancashire, and biomechanics specialist Charlotte Apps from Nottingham Trent University.

They set out to find if artificial intelligence (AI) markerless technology, which is used in other sports, would work for riders. The system had been trained on humans on the ground, so the starting point was whether it would recognise a person essentially “bobbing through space”, which it did.

Marker-based systems, whereby reflective markers are attached to specific points on horses and riders, are the gold standard. Researchers wanted to see if the markerless system could provide compatible data, noting that if it could, it could facilitate real-world studies of rider kinematics - for example, during competitions where it is unfeasible to attach dozens of markers to competitors.