Abstract
The integration of digital technology in sports has revolutionized performance analysis, training, and gameplay. However, pickleball, a rapidly growing sport, lacks advanced tools for tracking swing data and impact location. My capstone project, Paddle Integrated Kemper Logic (PIKL), addresses this gap by developing a smart pickleball paddle that integrates Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and piezoelectric force sensors to collect and visualize swing data. This technology enables players and coaches to make data-driven decisions to enhance technique and performance. Beyond its technical innovation, it is important to examine PIKL’s user advantages and potential adoption process. The goal is for the users to be able to seamlessly adopt it into their training regimen and easily access their information through their smart devices. It is ideally used outside of tournaments as pickleball associations do not have any rules for these types of devices yet. However, the introduction of sports technology raises concerns about fairness, accessibility, and the balance between natural talent and technological assistance. Players, coaches, governing bodies, and fans all influence the acceptance and regulation of IMUs in sports, making it necessary to analyze these perspectives to understand the broader impact of this technology.
To explore these dynamics, in my sociotechnical research, I utilized the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) framework to analyze how different stakeholders interpret and influence the adoption of IMU-based sports tools. Interpretative flexibility reveals how each group perceives the technology’s value, multidirectionality highlights how no single group dictates its integration, and stabilization and closure help explain how debates over fairness and effectiveness shape its acceptance. To this end, I analyzed governing body regulations (FIFA, ITF, and World Rugby) alongside metadata from product reviews and fan discussions. I found that IMU-based technologies are generally well-regarded and increasingly stabilized in terms of regulation and functionality. However, interpretative flexibility remains, as sports differ in how they integrate and permit these tools, reflecting varying values around fairness, access, and tradition. Based on these findings, future sports technologies like PIKL should be made with transparent standards, stakeholder input, and sensitivity to sport-specific concerns. Balancing innovation with inclusivity and integrity will be key to long-term adoption across competitive and recreational levels.
