Narrative
Narrative: Sports performance technology has progressed rapidly over the past five to ten years. This type of technology is currently being used by many universities and sports teams. In fact, the FAU Football Team has just purchased a system. To continue to expose and educate the FAU Exercise Science and Health Promotion (ESHP) majors to this latest performance technology in positional tracking of athletic performance, the Catapult system would be the system our students would definitely benefit from using in several classes, such as kinesiology. Catapult has provided over a $67,000 discount (see invoice), since we would utilize this within our academic program. The ESHP student numbers, as most know, are increasing which has definitely led to more student involvement, use of technology in the laboratories, and continuation of the demand to remain on the cutting edge of science.
This upcoming semester, ESHP will have over 100 students in three kinesiology classes (PET 4330C) and biomechanics course, in addition to other undergraduate/graduate classes where this system could be utilized. With the sports performance technology (Catapult system), our department would be able to use this technology to introduce positional tracking with inertial sensors. This ability would educate the students in how to optimize performance whether indoors or outdoors in real time with the specific sensors and data collection ability. In addition, once the ESHP major graduates, over eighteen places, e.g., FSU, UM, UCF, Jacksonville Jaguars, Orlando Magic, and several physical therapy sites, use the Catapult system (see listing attached to grant).
This system, in regards to the FAU strategic plan (pillars, platforms, goals) would be in the area of health and wellness, in which we would be teaching the ESHP majors, both graduate and undergraduate, the latest technology to prepare them for their future internships and jobs within our field. In addition, the Catapult system can provide undergraduate research and inquiry with more opportunities.
In addition, the FAU Well Program participants (average age 74 years old), a community-outreach program, could use this under supervision during the PET 4947 course, which meets three times a week. Also, assessments could possibly be offered to the community (community engagement area), once training is completed.
To reemphasize, the Catapult System would provide hands-on and research experiences for the ESHP students. The students may obtain scholarship opportunities, plus be able to prepare for graduate level research programs, while creating various research projects, not just within the department, but with other departments and the community.
If this request is funded, the Catapult System can be introduced and used yearly (all three semesters) by more than 600 FAU students [450 to 550 Exercise Science and Health Promotion majors], plus faculty and graduate students. ESHP students, graduate and undergraduate, will also have the opportunity to be trained on the system. As you know, the FAU ESHP degree is a very popular major at FAU, currently, we are the fourth largest (over 1200+ students) undergraduate degree, plus 60+ master’s students. Upgrading the department’s technology with this equipment, the students will be prepared to work and study with state-of-the-art equipment. All of the faculty efforts, in the labs, are designed to instruct the students about exercise science techniques with strong emphasis on the scientific methods of inquiry. These particular opportunities, of having the latest in technology, provide the student a marketable advantage, not only for a job, but for advanced training at the master’s and/or doctorate level. The student also becomes more aware of the process of acquiring scientific knowledge and understanding advanced technology, which will generate more interest in their classes and possibly research.
In summary, purchasing the Catapult System will allow the ESHP graduate and undergraduate students, as well as the community to gain further knowledge about health, wellness, and research. The proposed goal will improve student training efficiency on their specific techniques, benefit graduate student projects by having another updated piece of equipment, plus increase student research training on this new technology. In fact, this application would enhance the FAU Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) initiative regarding improvements to student training. Thus, this application is an excellent and timely investment in regards to FAU’s research structure.
Hardware Requirements
1. The single unit vests (S5) will comply with FAU OIT standards and the receiver provided with the Catapult system.
$82,500 (cost) -$67,500 (discount) = $15,000
2. Other equipment $5,175 less (discount)= $4,875, shipping extra ($125)
3. Computer (16GB, Windows 7/above, 1 GB graphics card) will need to be purchased to meet FAU OIT standards to work with system, $2500.
