TAIPEI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Motion sensing ping-pong paddles, pressure-sensitive baseballs and insoles measuring plantar pressure are cutting-edge fusion between high-tech and sports gears showcased at the 2019 Future Tech exposition.

The four-day expo, which opened in Taipei Thursday, for the first time included a large section of smart sports technologies, mostly using the latest motion-sensing technologies to enhance athletes' performance.

Dr. Sheu Yong-hoh, a professor with the Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering of Formosa University, brought table tennis paddles to the expo. The surface and handle of the paddles are equipped with highly sensitive motion sensing units.

"The paddles can collect data about an athlete's performance in terms of explosiveness, endurance and steadiness. Through our computer system, we will provide the coaches with a more accurate assessment of an athlete," Sheu said, adding that the coaches no longer need to entirely depend on their personal experience to design training schemes.

The pressure-sensitive baseball was developed by Shih Huang-chia, an associate professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Yuan Ze University.

The baseball, with wireless pressure-sensing units inside, can measure the pressure of each of a baseball player's fingers on the ball. The data can be used to develop a connection between the trajectory of the ball after it is thrown using computer software, according to Shih.

"It will be a useful reference for coaches to customize training projects," he said, adding that the research team has worked with a number of baseball coaches to develop a database and is testing the commercial production of the baseballs.

Shih and his colleague are also working on pressure-sensitive baseball bats and a virtual reality training program.

Besides smart sports gear, the Future Tech expo also demonstrated Taiwan's latest researches on farming technologies, disaster relief, biotechnologies and artificial intelligence. The organizer expected a total of 100,000 visitors. Enditem

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