AI-PIONEER: Building a National AI Platform for Butterfly Performance Diagnostics with the National Olympic Council

Researchers at Nazarbayev University are developing an innovative AI-based prescriptive system to deliver optimized, normalized evaluations of individual swimmers' butterfly technique, benchmarked against elite performance standards.

Named AI-PIONEER (AI-based Prescriptive System for Individuals’ Optimized and Normalized Evaluation from Elite-Referenced Butterfly Swimming), the project uses inertial measurement units (IMUs) to capture kinematic data during butterfly strokes. Advanced algorithms then generate temporally coherent sequences representing ideal elite-referenced cycles, providing prescriptive feedback to help amateur and developing swimmers improve coordination, propulsion timing, body undulation, and overall efficiency.

The concept was introduced at the OCA Seminar on Artificial Intelligence Technology and E-Sports in Kuwait City (February 2025), hosted by the Olympic Council of Asia, and further presented at the International Conference on AI and Robotics (AIR 2025) in Astana (May 2025), which received submissions from 18 countries.

The team has now acquired and calibrated IMU equipment. Data collection with athletes is active, focusing on butterfly strokes to build datasets for training predictive models that simulate optimal elite sequences and highlight deviations for targeted improvements.

This work positions Nazarbayev University at the forefront of AI-driven sports biomechanics, with potential applications in competitive training, talent development, and technique rehabilitation in swimming. Initial results from data analysis are anticipated soon.