Just four sensors placed on the lower back of a shearer may hold the key to injury prevention and prolonging a shearer's career, new data has revealed.
In fact, wearable shearer technology is now advancing so fast, shearers may soon have the technology to manage their fatigue levels equivalent to an athlete.
Researcher Mark Robertson of Melbourne University's faculty of engineering said through a business innovation grant, shearers were fitted with motion sensors to detect and predict muscle fatigue.
And now in the newest phase of the project, the system has been refined to just four easy to wear sensors instead of 33.
"Originally there was a lot of data. We picked out important features in the data and then threw the rest away, enabling us to still get a lot of information, but from a much simpler set up," Mr Robinson said.
"Because of that we could reduce the number of sensors that were needed."
According to Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) program manager, research and extension Emily King said the technology advancements couldn't come soon enough as the availability of shearers and wool handlers enters a critical stage.
"From AWI's perspective we need to keep shearers in the industry for longer, so we want to understand how injuries are happening and why," Ms King said.
Mr Robinson said although they can't conclusively say what is causing most shearing injuries just yet, data is revealing muscles in the lower back on both sides are playing a major role.
And it is not necessarily from the often blamed 'catch and drag' movement.
"We are seeing features from the actual shearing part of the task being important, which doesn't necessarily mean the catch and drag is easy or not important, but that is where we are getting the useful information from the sensors," he said.
"The lower back is a niche spot where we still get a lot of information, but it doesn't become impractical trying to set up a bunch of sensors every time they need to shear a sheep."
Now, the sensors are being integrated into compression type clothing such as a pair of shorts and a shirt, but aren't able to by placed on more typical attire such as a shearing singlet.
An app that compliments the sensor technology is also being developed where shearers will be able to see real time fatigue levels as they are happening in the shed.
At present the app is able to track how many sheep each shearer is shearing each run, as well as showing if the shearer is fatigued, or in any pain and if that is altering throughout the day.
"Other data collected would be what sort of shed they are shearing in, or other factors such as different breeds of sheep or how heavy the sheep is that they are shearing that particular day," Mr Robinson said.
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Moving forward Mr Robinson said if everything goes according to plan, eventually they will be able to get a deep insight into exactly what is causing back injuries in shearing.
"We know that they happen over long periods of time with repetitive stresses," he said.
"Being able to see that whole process in action would allow us to maybe start to predict things such as what type of shearers are more susceptible or when these type of injuries might start to pop up."
Ms King said AWI are excited about potentially being able to see what a shearer is experiencing and what to expect in a normal day shearing.
"That early warning or alert system, and that continuous improvement will be invaluable," she said.
"Shearers are basically athletes and this will it give them wearable technology to manage their fatigue levels like an athlete.
"It also gives AWI the perfect opportunity to be able to validate and test our training methods and also our research and development and shed design."
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