A survey on location and motion tracking technologies, methodologies and applications in precision sports

Sports involve commonly players and equipment of high dynamics. Their location and motion data are essential for sports digitalization-related applications, such as from monitoring player skill level to even media presentation of sports. Location and motion data of players and equipment are important elements for precision sport analytics. With the popularization of the Internet of things, a variety of sports location and motion tracking technologies have advanced in terms of sensors and tracking methodologies to achieve ubiquitous coverage from outdoors to indoors, higher precision, and applicability for increasing sports scenarios. This paper presents a systematic survey on location and motion tracking technologies that have been applied in sports to drive various sports-related analytics and applications. First, several wearable sensor-based technologies are introduced with their principles, advantages and shortages in sports, and the location and motion tracking methods of each technology. Then, vison-based technology and its methodologies that detect, track, and recognize objects including human and equipment in sports are illustrated. Furthermore, sports-related data analytics and applications are presented using location and motion data of human and equipment. Data privacy and ethics are also focused based on the location and motion tracking technologies. Finally, challenges and further development of location and motion tracking in precision sports are discussed. The comprehensive survey provides a survey about state-of-the-art of location and motion sensors and methodologies, as well future trends of these technologies, which are beneficial for developing forthcoming precision sports.