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Hsieh Hsuan and Wu Ping-Hung, senior students at the Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering (CSIE) in NCU, under the supervision of Professor Chou Li-Der, developed the “Figure Skating Action Analysis System,” which was the very first software for automated analysis of figure skating jumps in Taiwan. The system also won the silver prize for smart machinery in the 2022 National Intercollegiate Contest for Smart Innovation and Cross-domain Integration. This automated motion analysis software can greatly assist figure skaters in reviewing and adjusting their jump performances. Hsieh Hsuan is a rare case in Taiwan, a talented student with knowledge of information engineering and figure skating. In 2014, she represented Taiwan to compete at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy organized by the International Skating Union (ISU) and won the bronze medal. After she enrolled in the CSIE at NCU, she perfectly integrated her enthusiasm for and professional knowledge of figure skating with programming skills, developing this action analysis system and providing amateur and professional figure skaters with a better learning tool. By inputting videos of figure skating jumps, the “Figure Skating Action Analysis System” can generate images of a limb skeleton. The system applies the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to recognizing and analyzing types of skating jumps, rotations in the air, fails, the takeoff foot, and the takeoff edge. In addition, based on the analytical results, the system further generates audio descriptions for the jumps and motions. Hsieh Hsuan and Wu Ping-Hung have spent one year watching numerous videos of international figure skating contests, retrieving up to 400 precious video clips of skating jumps, and proceeding with the automated motion analysis. The system supports analysis of all types of figure skating jumps, including the Axel, Loop, Flip, Salchow, Toe Loop, and Lutz jumps. With this motion analysis system that provides more precise data on skating moves and jumps, figure skaters can review their movements, improve their skating skills, and give brilliant performances to the audience.
