Learning from the Masters - teaming Skill & Science

The Insight Centre for Data Analytics at DCU and the GAA recently took part in a significant development for its Replay project.  Replay is dedicated to capturing elite players playing movements via scanning and recording by high-tech motion capture and sensor technologies. In a special motion capture studio in Oxford four Irish athletes took part in the process - Limerick hurler, Gavin O' Mahony, Monaghan footballer, Caoimhe Mohan, Meath footballer, Michael Newman and Caoimhe Costelloe, a Camogie player from Limerick. Five other organisations from four other countries across Europe were also involved.

For traditional Irish Sports, Gaelic football, camogie and the warrior sport of hurling are all being digitised, with every move and skill from the puck out to the hand pass being captured by the same kind of motion-capture technology Hollywood uses in films like The Hobbit.

Clubs and players all over the world will be able to take lessons from the best as part of a huge research programme to capture the games and teach the skills, and players will also be able to play against their sporting hero.

A low cost version of the system will be tested fin 2015 in an effort to help children learn traditional sports and assist experienced players to improve skills. This technology is the same as that used in museums to replicate artefacts so they can be seen in 3D, turned around and viewed from every angle by people accessing their website.

The €2m in funding is coming from the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.