The influence of special physical fitness of athletes on the level of technique of playing beach volleyball

Background and Study Aim. Aim is to determine the influence of the components of special physical training on the effectiveness of certain elements of the game technique during the competitive activities of beach volleyball athletes. Material and methods. The study involved athletes (n = 20, age - 17-21 years, experience - 8-9 years), who are engaged in beach volleyball (Kherson, Ukraine). Experts (n = 5, work experience - over 20 years) from among the leading volleyball specialists were involved. Training sessions were conducted according to the author’s structure and content of special physical training (preparatory period of the annual cycle). The author's program was to increase the volume of athletic work by 10% (selective classes and integrated work) and 17% (complex classes). The classes used a developed special training device. The device is designed to practice practical game skills. The load at the first stage was 70-80% of the maximum. The load in the second stage was 80-90% of the maximum. Results. Significant (p <0.05) development of explosive power, speed and agility was revealed. There is a significant (p <0,05) increase: in the number of jump serve and spike; improving the quality/number of serve and attack; improving the quality of passing and the number of blocks. Conclusions. The proposed structure and content of special physical training and exercises on a special simulator have significantly increased the level of development of physical qualities. The athlete training program helped to improve the effectiveness of certain technical actions during competitive activities.

STRUCTURE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR A UNIVERSAL TRAINING DEVICE FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT COMPLEXES

The problems of personnel training for the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles have been updated. The differences between the skills and abilities of personnel for manned and unmanned aircraft are highlighted. The widespread types of flight simulators are considered, their features are given. The basic schemes of application of linear and nonlinear mathematical models of formation (formalization) of knowledge, abilities and skills of the personnel taking into account absence / presence of updating of the information in the course of training are substantiated.The basic modes of operation of USL, the universal simulator for training are specified. Emphasis is placed on the fact that USL is a partial case of an automated training management system (ACS), and a block diagram of training with it is given. The tasks that can be solved on a universal simulator and the requirements for software and hardware, automated workplace, digital sound, general software, peripherals, data exchange, digital video, user interface and webbased automated instructions are discussed in detail. The functions and structure of the universal simulator for training unmanned aircraft complex are presented.

Perception by Palpation: Development and Testing of a Haptic Ferrogranular Jamming Surface

Tactile hands-only training is particularly important for medical palpation. Generally, equipment for palpation training is expensive, static, or provides too few study cases to practice on. We have therefore developed a novel haptic surface concept for palpation training, using ferrogranular jamming. The concept’s design consists of a tactile field spanning 260 x 160 mm, and uses ferromagnetic granules to alter shape, position, and hardness of palpable irregularities. Granules are enclosed in a compliant vacuum-sealed chamber connected to a pneumatic system. A variety of geometric shapes (output) can be obtained by manipulating and arranging granules with permanent magnets. The tactile hardness of the palpable output can be controlled by adjusting the chamber’s vacuum level. A psychophysical experiment (N = 28) investigated how people interact with the palpable surface and evaluated the proposed concept. Untrained participants characterized irregularities with different position, form, and hardness through palpation, and their performance was evaluated. A baseline (no irregularity) was compared to three irregularity conditions: two circular shapes with different hardness (Hard Lump and Soft Lump), and an Annulus shape. 100% of participants correctly identified an irregularity in the three irregularity conditions, whereas 78.6% correctly identified baseline. Overall agreement between participants was high (κ= 0.723). The Intersection over Union (IoU) for participants sketched outline over the actual shape was IoU Mdn = 79.3% for Soft Lump, IoU Mdn = 68.8% for Annulus, and IoU Mdn = 76.7% for Hard Lump. The distance from actual to drawn center was Mdn = 6.4 mm (Soft Lump), Mdn = 5.3 mm (Annulus), and Mdn = 7.4 mm (Hard Lump), which are small distances compared to the size of the field. The participants subjectively evaluated Soft Lump to be significantly softer than Hard Lump and Annulus. Moreover, 71% of participants thought they improved their palpation skills throughout the experiment. Together, these results show that the concept can render irregularities with different position, form, and hardness, and that users are able to locate and characterize these through palpation. Participants experienced an improvement in palpation skills throughout the experiment, which indicates the concepts feasibility as a palpation training device.