Injuries in running are often provoked by fatigue or improper technique, which are both reflected in the runner's kinematics. State of the art research on kinematics in sports is using optical motion capture systems that are inaccessible to most athletes. This paper demonstrates the potential of wearable sensors for runners' kinematics analysis. We present a user study including 21 subjects of different running experience that performed an exhausting run on a conventional outside track wearing ETHOS units. For performance level assessment, training assistance, and fatigue monitoring we extracted the foot contact duration, the foot strike type, and the heel lift as kinematic parameters. A questionnaire revealed that subjects perceived the sensors as comfortable to wear and would use them on a regular basis. We concluded that wearable sensors provide a valuable tool for runners, from beginners to experts, for running technique assessment.

This paper introduces a sensing garment to support posture coaching in children. The system measures back bending postures using acceleration sensors embedded in the garment. We present a sensing garment architecture and the evaluation of garments of different sizes in a study with 21 children. A vision-based reference system was used to evaluate sensor positions and measurement accuracy for 54 back bending postures and related head positions. Then, we asked eight physiotherapists to rate the children's back postures in this study. Ratings of experts correlated significantly with the back bending measurements obtained from the garment. The garment enables an objective assessment of back postures and could form the basis of a system that provides coaching feedback to improve postural control in children.