Accuracy and Inter-Unit Reliability of Ultra-Wide-Band Tracking System in Indoor Exercise

TLDR

The study aimed to evaluate the positional accuracy and inter‑unit reliability of an ultra‑wide‑band tracking system. Four trained male participants completed five basketball‑court courses while GIS mapping software computed 0.5‑second x‑ and y‑coordinate distances relative to fixed reference lines to assess accuracy. Results showed mean absolute errors of 5.2 cm (x) and 5.8 cm (y) with ICCs of 0.65 (x) and 0.85 (y), indicating that UWB tracking is accurate, reliable, and consistent across courses and devices for practical sport analysis.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of positional data and the inter-unit reliability of an ultra-wide-band (UWB) tracking system. Four well-trained males performed five courses designed for the analysis of x- and y-coordinate accuracy analysis, specifically related to the positional distance variation between the UWB data and the fixed reference lines of a basketball court. This was achieved using geographic information system (GIS) mapping software that calculated, for each interval and participant, the distance from the main axis of displacement and from the opposite side of the court each 0.5 s (x and y coordinate). The accuracy of the results was satisfactory, with a mean absolute error of all estimations for the x-position of 5.2 ± 3.1 cm and for the y-position of 5.8 ± 2.3 cm. Regarding inter-unit reliability, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) value was high for the x-coordinate (0.65) and very high for the y-coordinate (0.85). The main findings of the study were: (i) The accuracy of UWB tracking systems can be considered suitable for practical applications in sport analyses; (ii) position estimations are very precise and acceptable for tactical analyses; (iii) the error of the position estimations does not change significantly across different courses; and (iv) the use of different devices does not significantly affect the measurement error.