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Updated: Mar 15, 2026
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An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
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A High-Frequency Wearable IMU-Based System for Countermovement Jump Assessment
Antonio Pousibet-Garrido1,2, Cristina Benavente2,3, Juan A Moreno-Pérez1
1PRIMELab, Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, Centre for Information and Communications Technologies (CITIC-UGR), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 14, 2026
Summary
A new wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) system offers a portable solution for assessing countermovement jumps (CMJ) in sports. This technology provides a viable alternative to costly force platforms for field-based neuromuscular performance monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Biomechanics
- Wearable Technology
Background:
- Countermovement jump (CMJ) assessment is crucial for monitoring athletic neuromuscular performance.
- Traditional force platforms are expensive and lack portability, limiting field-based CMJ evaluations.
- A need exists for accessible, portable CMJ assessment tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a custom wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) system for assessing the countermovement jump (CMJ).
- To provide a cost-effective and portable alternative to laboratory-based force platforms for CMJ analysis.
- To evaluate the system's accuracy and reliability in field settings.
Main Methods:
- Development of a custom system using a single IMU on the lower back, sampled at 1 kHz with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication.
- Implementation of a novel algorithm utilizing the derivative of vertical acceleration to detect jump take-off and landing.
- Validation against a criterion force platform using 119 CMJ trials from 19 participants.
Main Results:
- The IMU system achieved a high detection rate of 97.43% for take-off and landing instants using an optimal 0.2 g acceleration threshold.
- Flight time measurements showed a small systematic underestimation (bias = -0.0117 s) compared to the force platform.
- Moderate limits of agreement were observed, indicating acceptable variability for practical applications.
Conclusions:
- The developed wearable IMU system demonstrates suitability for practical, field-based CMJ monitoring in sports.
- The system offers a portable and potentially more accessible method for assessing neuromuscular performance.
- Users should consider the observed variability compared to force platforms, especially for critical individual performance decisions.
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