TUM student Oliver Hausdörfer wins Sick Solution Hackathon
NEWS, Community |
The smart basketball hoop presented by the industry partner NTT Data at the Sick Solution Hackathon immediately caught the attention of the team led by Oliver Hausdörfer. Using an ultrasonic sensor, it detected when a team scored a basket. Additionally, a digital persona, a type of avatar, was in use. This was enough material for the Mind Hackers team to develop a use case. The idea was to use sensors to detect the position of the players and the ball, analyze the player's movement through artificial intelligence, and automatically generate improvement suggestions for shooting technique. Ultimately, the international team led by Hausdörfer - consisting of an American, two Canadians, a Swede, and two Germans - named their approach 'SickGym – Your perfect shot'.
2,000 euros prize money for the victory in the 'Technological Excellence' category
To create a comprehensive system, the team employed four different sensors. A laser scanner was used to detect the ball's movement, while the camera tracked the player and their motions. Neural networks identified the body's joints, allowing the basketball player's movement structure to be represented. "Laser scanners have a high sampling frequency, making them particularly suitable for capturing the ball," explained Hausdörfer, while camera images, using computer vision technology, were effective in capturing human movement. Finally, an avatar was utilized to digitally replicate the athlete's movements and offer improvement suggestions. As a result of their achievement against 22 other international teams, MindHackers will receive a prize of 2,000 euros.
Oliver Hausdörfer is already winning his fifth hackathon
Oliver Hausdörfer now clinched his fifth hackathon victory with the Sick Solutions Hackathon. The 26-year-old is currently in the final stages of his master's thesis at the TUM Chair of Applied Mechanics lead by Prof. Daniel Rixen. "Studying mechanical engineering at TU Dresden and subsequently mechatronics and robotics at TUM has laid a very solid foundation," Hausdörfer asserts. He appreciates hackathons for their international nature, allowing the opportunity to build extensive networks and learn to work effectively within a team. After completing his master's, Hausdörfer intends to pursue his doctorate at TUM.
For more information on the Sick Solutions Hackathon: https://hackathon.sick.com/