Liverpool Basketball test motion camera technology

The Biomechanics Research Group at Liverpool John Moores University is leading a shift in how human movement is studied, moving beyond traditional lab-based analysis toward real-world, sport-specific environments.

In a recent pilot study, the group partnered Liverpool Basketball Club and head coach Michael Wilson to trial Theia3D’s markerless motion capture system during live basketball gameplay. 

Using only courtside video cameras and tripods, the researchers captured high-fidelity 3D kinematics during dynamic player movements such as layups, contested shots, jump landings, and rapid changes of direction, all without markers, motion suits, or environmental constraints.

The data enables the team to ask new questions about how athletes move, make decisions, and experience load under game-like demands. 

'The data could offer coaches the ability to benchmark technical skills in athletes missed by the naked eye' - Dr Rich Foster

“These are the kinds of performance factors that are difficult to replicate in a lab but are critical to understand in the context of real sport,” says principal investigator Rich Foster of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

“By capturing athlete movement in real-world contexts, we’re able to ask new questions about how performance and injury risk unfold during actual gameplay. This pilot study is a small but important step in bridging the gap between biomechanics research and the demands of competitive sport.”

In future, Theia3D data could offer coaches the ability to benchmark technical skills objectively, by identifying subtle movement patterns, inefficiencies, or asymmetries that might be missed by the naked eye.

The pilot also allowed us to test and refine multi-athlete tracking workflows — an important step as we explore new ways to study team-based movement in reactive, unpredictable settings. These workflows are now contributing to player monitoring systems at the elite level.

Added Dr Foster: “We’re grateful to Liverpool Basketball Club for their support in making this study possible, and to our collaborators at Theia, whose technology continues to expand the possibilities for applied biomechanics research.

“This work is part of our broader ambition to bridge the gap between biomechanics and real-world sport, where performance and injury risk unfold in complex, reactive, and unpredictable ways.”