The Physics of Rowing: Accelerometer and Video Analysis on Ergometers

In the sport of rowing, careful analysis of the rowing stroke and the forces applied throughout is vital in developing methods for more efficient machines and styles. For my senior project, I conduct research and experiments on a variety of rowing machines called Concept2 ergometers. What I research is the physical processes, optimal and inefficient, as energy applied to the system that results in the output power. I conduct experiments on several ergometers, such as the stationary, Concept2 Dynamic, and the stationary with Concept2 Sliders, using video tracking from an application called Tracker, and the accelerometer application, Phyphox. As a result of the experiments, I find slight inaccuracies with the accelerometer and Tracker with video analysis to be more useful in acceleration analysis of the rowing stroke, as well as advantages and disadvantages to the Dynamic and Slider accessory to stationary ergometers.