Enhancing relay exchange efficiency through smart relay baton and multisensor wearable technology
Cahyo Yuwono, Adi S, Pangondian Hotliber Purba, Himmatul Ulya, Vina Oktaviani, Khoırıl Anam et al. · Pedagogy of Physical Culture and Sports · 2026
Background: and Study
Aim: . Relay sprint performance depends heavily on efficient baton exchange and precise coordination between incoming and outgoing runners. Conventional relay training typically relies on coach observation and technical feedback, whereas sensor-based technologies can provide
Objective: information on movement timing and synchronization. Despite the use of these different approaches, their relative effectiveness in improving relay exchange efficiency remains of practical interest. This study evaluated the effects of a Smart Relay Baton integrated with multisensor wearable technology on relay exchange performance compared with conventional relay training.
Materials and methods: . This pragmatic assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial involved 96 sprint relay athletes from regional athletics training centers in Central Java, Indonesia. Athletes were randomly allocated to an intervention group using the Smart Relay Baton system (n = 48) or a control group receiving conventional relay training (n = 48). The intervention lasted eight weeks. The system integrated accelerometer-based motion tracking, multisensor wearable monitoring, and MQTT-based IoT synchronization to provide real-time coordination analytics. Primary outcomes included transition time, synchronization delay, and Relay Exchange Efficiency Score (REES). Secondary outcomes included entry speed, acceleration, heart-rate response, and rating of perceived exertion.
Results: . The intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in transition time (−0.18 s), synchronization delay (−0.12 s), and REES (+4.8 points) than the control group (all p < .05). Synchronization delay was the strongest predictor of REES (r = −0.58, p < .01), exceeding the contributions of entry speed and physiological variables, suggesting that temporal coordination represents the primary mechanism underlying relay exchange efficiency.
Conclusions: . The proposed Smart Relay Baton system integrates wearable sensing and real-time analytics to support coordination-oriented motor learning rather than performance monitoring alone. This approach provides a promising evidence-based framework for relay coaching and future wearable-assisted sprint training interventions.