While “smart” surfing may seem like a bit of a paradox for a sport well renowned for its laid-back participants, Lazerand claims it helps him to become a better athlete.
“It’s helped me become more consistent,” he said, noting that the data allowed him to adapt his cross-training to match his surfing style. “You have to be mentally and physically prepared, and the data I get from the Sys-Evo helps me do that. I’m not a tech guy, but this is really cool.”
The culmination of five years of research, the Sys-Evo is apparently so lightweight that some surfers have asked if the firm could possibly make it a bit heavier, in order to weigh the nose of the board down more on difficult waves. Users can also input data before surfing, like tides from the online tidebooks, which not only helps surfer safety, but can also tell the user when the best tide moment will be and where.
Surfboard equipped with Syride's MEMS-enabled Sys-Evo device.
The module itself contains a nine-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and allows for data to be collected both in and out of the water. “Surfers are big liars; they always want to brag and exaggerate to friends about the height of waves and their performance, but MEMS eliminates that,” explained Lazerand, joking that he’d even tried to hack his device to change the data after several instances of poor personal performance.
Not all surfers are particularly keen to adopt the new technology, however, with Lazerand noting that many were still a little wary of the technology. “I’ve had the most success with younger kids who love video games and grew up with the availability of data collection,” he said.
Whether the trend will spread or eventually dissolve, however, remains to be seen.
Now if we add a lite, powered, programmed exoskeleton to the person, they can be guided/prompted through the proper movements to enhance performance and to avoid injury. Like an instructor teaches how to fly a plane via dual controls.
As a self-avowed data junkie, I think this is really cool technology. I remember working 25 years ago on some Virtual Reality projects where we were trying to map the body in 3D space. Some of it eventually translated into telepresence programs and gaming, but nothing like the miniature sensors can do now. Just wait until energy harvesting gets integrated into these sensors and then they can go just about anywhere.
A few years ago, there was actually a television show called "Sport Science," which was all about measuring athletic performance with sensors. It was actually a good show for engineers.
Even if surfing has the reputation for being laid back, when it comes to competition, participants will do anything to improve performance. Just look at how performance-enhancing drugs proliferated. If MEMS improves performance, they will get the attention they deserve.
It's no wonder it was a big highlight f the show. Action Sports has been a catalyst for new trends for several years now. Technology in fashion is one example. The industry has also been a great agitator. The growth of Go-Pro accelerated crowd-sharing in a fun way.
And, it's great too see technology supporting the health of athletes. This can be used to keep track of, not only winning techniques, but also any degenerative effects on the body.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
