Arno Knobbe

Elite sports are becoming increasingly data-rich. Wearables, cameras, and other data collection technologies now capture athletes and their performance in unprecedented detail, creating new opportunities to understand how they train, perform, and respond to exertion.

Dr. Arno Knobbe, associate professor in computer science at Leiden University, studies how data science and artificial intelligence can turn this growing wealth of data into useful knowledge. Sport-specific challenges require new data science and AI techniques that can make sense of this exciting resource while leveraging existing physiological insights. Knobbe is working with athletic teams at national and international levels, in several sports, ranging from road cycling to curling.

The Leiden Power-Heart Rate model developed by his team – a model that captures a cyclist’s physiological response to exertion during a race – is used by several UCI WorldTour teams (including Visma-Lease a Bike and Tudor) to monitor riders’ fitness levels. The Leiden-developed Apex system in ice stadium Thialf uses AI to track skaters as they negotiate the corners, and thus provides detailed technique, trajectory, and speed information to skaters and their coaches. Apex has been used by Dutch commercial skating teams in preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics.