Tar Heel Scholars Open Science After Swimming | UNC-Chapel Hill

A new partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences and USA Swimming is using technology to give US swimmers a chance at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The genesis of the project comes from a chance meeting of two swimming enthusiasts, Richard McLaughlin, professor in the department of mathematics, and Claudio Battaglini, professor of physiology in the department of exercise and sports science.

McLaughlin directs the Joint Fluids Lab in applied and computational mathematics, and his years of experience in fluid dynamics complement Battaglini’s background in exercise science. Battaglini is also a world-renowned coach and is currently the track and field coach for the US Junior National Team. They added Jim Mahaney, senior research associate for computer science and director of the Applied Engineering Lab, to the team for his research engineering expertise.

To learn the mechanics of swimming, the team started by hand. To create a hands-on prototype, Mahaney and Steven Tio, a computer science and mathematics double major, visited the UNC swimming and diving team. They measured each swimmer’s left arm, then used that information to create a 3D model arm that was the same size as the Carolina swimmer’s arm. They split the model into three parts, allowing for easy replacement of the fingers or thumb when testing different hand positions.

Based on this model, they used a resin press to create a solid hand with a smooth surface that is waterproof. They immersed the model’s hand in a rotating tank where water flows at the speed of an Olympic swimmer. Mahaney created a system so that the forces that saw fit the conditions of the dam.

To visualize and measure fluid flow around the arm, the team used particle image velocimetry. This method infuses the fluid with tracer particles and captures their movement in pairs of digital images tracked by a camera system. The results will help determine the best hand positions for fast swimming.

The swimmers will then train to master these new techniques. But to train them, swimming coaches will need to know exactly where each athlete is standing while swimming. The team is developing lightweight gloves that will set these conditions in real time.

Harper Callahan, a computer science major, developed a system that uses flex sensors in each finger joint to determine how they look. Another work by information scientist and librarian Lilly Nekervis took Callahan’s original design and incorporated it into a flexible wooden arm to ensure the accuracy of the sensors. After testing, the sensors will be integrated into the glove for use by swimmers.

USA Swimming is also interested in improving the performance of open water swimming. The US has not won a men’s or women’s marathon swimming medal since the sport was introduced for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Joint Fluids Lab’s 120-meter wave tank is simulated beach conditions in a controlled environment, allowing research into the effects of waves, currents and even wind on swimmers.

With mere milliseconds making the difference between a gold or silver medal, the goal is to give US Olympic swimmers a competitive edge backed by hard science. Battaglini says current swimming development is based on stopwatches without evidence to support them. This research aims not only to unlock the science of swimming, but also to act as a center for opening new fields of research in tracking human movement, both in and out of the pool.

Read more about this project on swimming engines for speed.