PONE-D-25-29483Piezoelectric Row-Column Sensing System on Table Tennis Racket for Hit and Rotation MeasurementPLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

Reviewer #3: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: - Will this sensing architecture be able to distinguish between out-of-plane spin and in-plane spin and a combination of both?

- Will the hard binds affect the contact of the ball with other regions on racket where there is no bind?

- Could you explain more if the existence of binds will change the motions of ball so the measured force/spin is a distorted scenario from real scenario?

- Clearer explanation including colormap, title and legend for Fig. 6 is needed. Also please indicate the direction of force with coordinates of x and y in simulated results.

- Please include quantitative elaboration for Fig. 7 with determination of spin directions.

- Please include a comparison paragraphs between the proposed design and existing design for this motion sensing of tennis ball. Clarification on e.g., the improvements in signal transmission efficiency should be explained there.

Reviewer #2: The manuscript presents an interesting study on the development of a piezoelectric row-column sensing system integrated into a table tennis racket for hit position and rotation measurement. The authors propose a novel sensing architecture aimed at reducing the number of signal channels while maintaining high spatial resolution. The manuscript details the sensor design, experimental setup, and preliminary validation, offering potential applications in sports training and performance analysis.

While the study addresses a relevant topic and provides promising insights, several critical points require clarification and improvement before publication:

The manuscript contains multiple grammatical mistakes and awkward expressions, such as “the system is verified to monitor the rotation” and “the hitting pressure will be reduced during the transmission.” These issues affect the clarity and professionalism of the presentation.The authors are strongly encouraged to carefully revise the manuscript for language quality and scientific expression. Engaging a professional language editing service is advised to enhance readability.

Although the introduction cites several related works, the manuscript lacks a critical discussion comparing the proposed system’s performance with existing sensor-based and vision-based table tennis monitoring technologies. This limits the reader’s understanding of the actual contribution and positioning of the work within the field. The authors should add a comparative analysis—either as a dedicated paragraph or a comparison table—highlighting key aspects such as sensing resolution, system complexity, data acquisition demands, and application potential relative to state-of-the-art methods.

The concept of a row-column sensor array raises concerns about signal discrimination. Since sensors along both the row and column of an impact point are designed to produce output, it is unclear how the system ensures accurate localization of the hit without confusion from adjacent or overlapping signals, especially considering mechanical force spreading or signal cross-talk. The authors should clarify the signal processing approach used to resolve hit localization, explaining how overlapping signals are handled. Experimental evidence demonstrating the system’s ability to distinguish between closely spaced impact points would substantiate the method’s reliability.

Reviewer #3: Piezoelectric Row-Column Sensing System on Table Tennis Racket for Hit and Rotation Measurement. In this paper, a row-column sensing method is proposed to address this limitation at the sight of table tennis monitoring. I think there are still some questions that need to solve and answer before publication in PLOS ONE.

1. No comparison with prior art: e.g., 25-channel system positioning accuracy in [14] (should be quantified: ±5mm positioning error in this system vs. ±2mm in literature?); rotational measurement error in [23].

2. Unquantified power advantages: claims of “reduced hardware complexity”, but no comparative power/cost data before and after channel reduction.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

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Piezoelectric row-column sensing system on table tennis rackets for hit and rotation measurement

PONE-D-25-29483R1

Dear Dr. Kang,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Bonnie Gray

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewer #1:

Reviewer #2:

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: N/A

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #2: Authors addressed all comments, and it can be accepted for publication ,Authors addressed all comments, and it can be accepted for publication

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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