3. Simulation tools

Simulation tools can be divided into two categories.

The first concerns ergometers, devices on which the athlete performs his or her movements as if he or she were actually practicing the sport. The second is a more theoretical simulation. This field of research concerns the optimization and simulation of dynamic movements of anthropomorphic systems, developed on dedicated platforms such as humans, humanoid robots, and virtual human characters also known as avatars. This involves programming the movement of an avatar capable of reproducing and simulating the athlete's gesture. These two approaches are very useful for studying the influence of equipment, posture, gestural technique or a coach's instructions on the gesture produced.