Science makes a splash
As the Z Manu World Champs gear up for their massive Grand Final in March, competitors won’t just be relying on the naked eye for their scores, they’ll be judged by cutting-edge application of sports science, led by AUT.
The project began with Professor Patria Hume, a world-renowned expert in human performance and sports biomechanics at AUT. By applying her extensive research in injury mechanics and performance analysis to a new context, Professor Hume was able to identify how to scientifically measure the perfect “Manu.”
Her expertise formed the foundation of ManuTech, a digital scoring system that now captures splash height and uses underwater hydrophones to measure the distinct "pop" sound on impact.
This application of high-performance science caught the attention of Scott Rice, founder of Quantum Events. Needing a way to fairly judge thousands of jumpers, Rice partnered with AUT to bring the system into a live competition setting.
“We knew the Z Manu World Champs was going to be wildly popular,” says Rice. “We needed a judging system that could accurately and fairly score each jump at speed to determine who would progress to the Grand Final and ultimately our World Champions. ManuTech has delivered that solution.”
The technology has already proven itself in the qualification rounds, earning the event the Technology Innovation of the Year at the recent New Zealand Event Awards.
Now, backed by the AUT Innovation Fund’s Tīmatanga Initiate Grant, the project is evolving further. Associate Professor Sira Yongchareon (Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences) is leading the next phase: transforming ManuTech into an intelligent mobile app using AI for automated measurement.
“Projects like ManuTech demonstrate how AI and human-centred research at AUT can move beyond theory and perform in real-world environments,” says Yongchareon.
With AUT cemented as the official Development Partner, the upcoming March finals won’t just showcase the best jumpers in Aotearoa, they will showcase a powerful partnership between community culture and university innovation.