Soccer Ball Spatial Kinematics and Dynamics Simulation for Efficient Sports Analysis

Abstract

The intelligent sports analysis requires exactly modeling the kinematics and dynamics of a soccer ball in a three-dimensional (3D) space.  To address this problem, a 3D dynamic model of the soccer ball is developed to simulate the motion and capture the kinematics and dynamics performance. The model consists of three sub-models governed by the classic mechanics and formulated as time-dependent ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The simulations involve visualizing the ball traveling trajectory, which contains the instantaneous force information; and plotting the time-varying displacement and force curves. The model is validated by comparison of the results from this simulation and another theoretical calculation. A case study is presented to simulate the projectile motion of a soccer ball in a virtual environment. The spatial kinematics and dynamics results are obtained and analyzed. The results show the max projectile height and range, and kick force increase with the increase of the initial velocity. This research is significant to simulate the soccer ball motion for promoting the planning, evaluation, and optimization of trajectory.