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. 2023 Apr 11;23(8):3898.
doi: 10.3390/s23083898.

Measurement of Simple Reaction Time of the Cyclist in the Laboratory and Natural Environment Condition

Michał Żak  1 , Grzegorz Mikrut  2 , Grzegorz Sobota  1
Affiliations

Measurement of Simple Reaction Time of the Cyclist in the Laboratory and Natural Environment Condition

Michał Żak et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The most commonly used reaction time tests within the athlete community require appropriate testing conditions and equipment, most frequently laboratory ones, which are not suitable for testing athletes in their natural environment and do not fully represent athletes' natural capabilities and the influence of the surrounding environment. Therefore, this study's goal is to compare the simple reaction times (SRTs) of cyclists during tests in laboratory conditions and in natural cycling surroundings. The young cyclists (55 participants) took part in the study. The SRT was measured in a quiet laboratory room with the use of the special device. During riding and standing with a bike outdoors, the necessary signal was captured and transmitted by a folic tactile sensor (FTS) and an extra intermediary circuit (both invented by our team member) connected to a muscle activity measurement system (Noraxon DTS Desktop, Scottsdale, AZ, USA). The results showed that external conditions significantly affect the SRT, with it being the longest when riding and the shortest if measured in an isolated laboratory room, but without an effect of gender. Typically, men have a shorter reaction time, but our result supports other observations, where people with an active lifestyle show no sex differentiation in SRT. The proposed FTS with an intermediary circuit allowed us to measure SRT with the use of non-dedicated equipment and avoid buying a new one for a single specific use.

Keywords: folic tactile sensor; measurement condition; simple reaction time.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The MCZR/TB Response Time Meter 1.0 (ATB Info-Elektro, Ruda Śląska, Poland). Projector with the traffic lights and controls (push buttons and pedals) on the (left) and Central Unit on the (right).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Spatial position of lights and areas during measurement in natural condition. A—speeding up area, B—correction velocity area, C—area with possible initiation of visual stimuli.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Folic tactile sensor (a) placed on the brake handle of the bike (b), patent PL 222119.B1 (author’s material).
Figure 4
Figure 4
DTS EMG sensor with intermediary circuit–adopted Digital System for Determining Foot Contact with the Ground, Patent PL 222753.B1 (author’s material).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The schematic drawing of a folic tactile sensor (a) PL 222119.B1, where: 1—conductive tracks on the base layer, 2—electrodes, 3—jumper, 4—bending edge between electrodes and jumper, 5—bending edge between jumper and passive element, 6—passive element, 7—connector, 8—PCV connector housing, and ready to use sensor in current study setup (b) (author’s material).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Box–whiskers plot of mean visual simple reaction time (s) under selected conditions in girls group (small box: median, box: first (25%) and third (75%) quartile, whiskers: minimum (Min) and maximum (Maks), cross (+): significant difference).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Box–whiskers plot of mean visual simple reaction time (s) under selected conditions in boys group (small box: median, box: first (25%) and third (75%) quartile, whiskers: minimum (Min) and maximum (Maks), cross (+): significant difference).
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This research received no external funding.

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