BMW was the Official Mobility Partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee for 2012. However, its interest in the games goes beyond providing world class transportation to all athletes. On August 3 BMW announced that they've developed an event-changing motion tracking system capable of analyzing swimmer's form and technique in order to help them improve performance.
The innovative system combines existing BMW automotive technology with advanced under-water cameras. The footage captured, identifies areas which coaches can target to help swimmers decrease their times. The points on the swimmers' bodies the cameras are engineered to watch most closely are wrists, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and toes.
Those swimming fans who can recall the day of Mark Spitz, when performance was measured by manually counting strokes and kicks, know this is a HUGE advancement, which will forever change the competition. A 0.01 second advantage can, after all, be the difference between a medal and nothing.
"…One challenge our coaches face is the lack of clear understanding as to which movement and techniques promote the strongest dolphin kicks," says Russell Mark, National Team High Performance Consultant, USA Swimming. "This tool will help us identify and teach those ingredients."1
Interested in more BMW news? Be sure to check the BMW of Southampton blog again soon. And remember, you can always experience BMW's performance-enhancing efforts on the road. Simply visit 759 County Road 39A Southampton, NY 11968 and test drive a new BMW or premium used BMW. We think you'll agree, if driving experience was an Olympic sport, BMW would walk away with a Gold.
Source: 1http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/bmw-auto-technology-assist-olympic-swimmers-article-1.1128336