FAQ
What separates Motion Catalyst from other sensor plate systems?
While several companies offer force plates for measuring athletic performance, most of these solutions only offer vertical ground reaction force data. With Motion Catalyst you also get to measure horizontal and rotational ground reaction forces, allowing you to analyze a much greater variety of athletic movements. Furthermore, you get to combine the force data with detailed pressure data, which is essential for uncovering imbalances and understanding how the athlete is using the ground.
In the Motion Catalyst software you can perfectly synchronize all of this force and pressure data with high-speed video images, so you can analyze and understand the whole movement with both visuals and data. Motion Catalyst provides a variety of video analysis tools and organizes your recordings so you can track performance over time.
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Why do you need rotational and horizontal GRF data?
Most force plates only provide vertical force data, which is useful when analyzing vertical movements like jumps and lifts. However, having access to only vertical severely limits the types of athletic movements that you are able to assess.
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Why do you need pressure data?
A force plate provides the Center of Pressure (CoP) of each foot, but does not tell you whether that pressure is evenly distributed throughout the foot or concentrated in one particular place. In other words you are missing out on essential information on how the athlete is using the ground.
The pressure data from our combined force and pressure plate shows you exactly how the pressure is distributed for each foot with heat-mapped footprints. This data can help uncover imbalances and provide valuable insights into the athlete’s ability or inability to produce certain ground reaction forces.
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What is ground reaction force (GRF)?
force exerted by the athlete on the ground. It is defined as mass multiplied by acceleration, and is measured in newton (N). The laws of motion dictate that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.