Relative Stability & Visualisation of Juggling Siteswap Sequences via Dynamical Modelling and Probabilistic Ranking Methodologies

James M. Cozens, Hugh Hunt, Colin Wright
2022 · Undergraduate dissertation.

Online simulator
Link to a playlist of polar plot animations

Abstract

In collaboration with world-renowned jugglers and mathematicians, this article investigates the dynamics, control theory, and mathematics underlying the computer modeling of a specific class of juggling patterns known as siteswaps. It examines the relative difficulty of juggling various siteswaps, proposing a framework for classification based on simulations using inferred performer-specific probabilistic parameters. In addition, the article develops and features novel visualisation utilities, such as polar state diagram representations.

Manuscript

Accompanying Media

Online Siteswap Animator and Visualiser, available here

Example Polar Plots, as featured in the article

Interactive plot showing the minimum distance between any given two objects in an n ball cascade