Dynamic Tracking of a 2.4GHz Waist Mounted Beacon for Indoor Basketball Player Positioning

Wireless player tracking is being considered for use within indoor team sports for coaching assistance. Few research studies exist into wireless RF signal tracking of players in indoor team sports, in particular the game of basketball. Utilising the RF signal trilateration positioning technique with three anchor nodes per quarter court, players wearing RF beacons could be tracked and their positional data recorded in real time. This study builds on a previous study conducted under static conditions by Kirkup et al. (2013). Identifying the player with the ball is also important in recording and assessing team strategies. Accelerometer sensors located on the body have been widely used to monitor the movements of the body and can potentially be used to recognize when a player is bouncing the basketball (dribbling). This paper reports the findings of using the received signal strength positioning technique with one anchor node to estimate the position of a moving basketball player towards the node and the use of a wearable triaxial accelerometer sensor to identify the person bouncing the ball. Both slow and fast game pace conditions are tested. Player position accuracy can be achieved to within 0.5m for distances less than 9m. A study of the power law variation in signal strength over distance gives an exponent n of 2.23 under moderate paced conditions with a Pearson squared correlation coefficients of r2 = 0.42. This means that 42% of the variation can be explained by the approximation. Under moving conditions, changes in the transmit antenna orientation will result in an increase of random variation in position prediction which is included in this result. The acceleration signature from a wrist sensor of the hand-ball contact process while dribbling distinctively shows ball dribbling possession. A single moving player scenario is discussed and measured results with and without the basketball demonstrate the accuracy and feasibility of the positioning and ball possession techniques. The techniques will provide valuable information for further study into multiple player and multiple beacon wireless indoor positioning.