Laser aiming monitoring system for archery

In the sport of archery where accuracy and stability are crucial in obtaining the best possible result, modern technology has the ability to provide much needed analytical data regarding aiming patterns that affect the flight path of the arrow. The developed system utilizes image processing to monitor the movement of a laser point on a secondary target, from a laser pointer mounted on the frame of the bow, to determine the stability of an archer during aiming. The images are captured using a high speed FireWire camera and then processed to yield useful information. The status of the clicker is used to approximate the moment of release. A wireless transmitter circuit coupled to the clicker is used to transmit its status to the computer via a Data Acquisition (DAQ) device. Two different Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) were developed using LabVIEW, LaserMAQS (Laser Movement Acquisition System) version 1.0 and 2.0. The developed GUI´s were customized specifically to ease interpretation by both coach and archer. Testing has proven that the developed system has a relatively high reliability and accuracy. Continual testing has also verified that practical deployment of the system to aid archers in training is highly possible. Nonetheless several improvements in terms of hardware and software are possible to increase the efficiency of the system, and these have been proposed.