Development of a Low-Cost Automatic Sprint Time Measurement System Using a Single-Board Computer

Abstract

This study developed and tested an inexpensive and accurate system for automating sprint time measurement using a low-cost single-board computer equipped with a microphone and a phototube sensor. The system comprises a program written in Python running on a Raspberry Pi computer. A microphone detects the starter pistol firing and a phototube sensor (Rasp-Pi system) measures the times across the finish line. The Rasp-Pi system's potential error was determined against a commercial unit and the program was corrected. It was then used to measure the 50m running times of 20 subjects. These results showed that the average difference (n =20) between the commercial and Rasp-Pi systems was less than 1/100th of a second. In validation, Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1)) were both > 0.999, which is exceptionally high. Finally, a Bland-Altman plot confirmed a high degree of agreement between the two systems, thereby validating the Rasp-Pi system's efficacy.