NTT East Saitama Minami developed a rowing movement analysis tool that makes full use of high-precision RTK positioning technology. NTT East’s rowing club has installed it on their boats, and is analyzing the data and using it in actual competitions.
Rowing competitions, a type of boat race, involve using oars to move forward with leg power and competing for position on a straight course on the water.
This tool was developed by Takeda Satoshi of the Saitama Minami Branch. In fact, Takeda created the tool using his personal skills, and when he tried it out with the rowing club, he found that it worked effectively, leading to its use in actual competitions.
This tool allows for highly accurate measurements down to the centimeter. It can also visualize the fine movements of a boat, which were previously difficult to obtain data on. By grasping and analyzing minute changes in speed that cannot be tracked by eye or video, it can lead to improvements in practice and the creation of new game strategies.
Takeda explains, “Sports tech for aquatic sports is very difficult because electronic devices are used around water. The tool we developed this time can analyze movements just by installing an antenna and a receiver on the boat. This is a breakthrough.”
Rowing team captain Miyaura Masayuki says, “Until now, athletes have adjusted their senses based on the pace and time they row per minute, and the appearance of their movements on video. With the rowing motion analysis tool, we can adjust in just a few hours what took weeks of practice. By understanding detailed data, we can change the training method to improve our actual times, and we can also be more precise in what we focus on during training.”

ローイング動作を解析し可視化（Analyzing and visualizing rowing movements）

Miyaura says of his hopes for the future, “If athletes can measure their times just by bringing a device and view the data on their smartphones, we will see more use of the tool and a deeper understanding of rowing.”
The tool can also be applied to other aquatic sports. For example, it can be used in dragon boat racing, where about 20 people race in one boat.
“I also think that centimeter-level measurements will be useful in sports where precise course selection is required, like cycling. I think it could also be used in sports where distance is the competition, like golf,” says Takeda.
Ishikawa Naohide, section manager of the Service Center, Saitama General Affairs Department, Saitama Minami Branch, said, “NTT East is not working on the tool as a strategic initiative, but we think it is something worth releasing to the world. Nothing has been decided at the moment, but we would like to consider rolling it out as a new service”.

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