A hero indeed, Bobjengr. One thing I've always wondered is how the stump can take the pressure of a pounding run. Perhaps the prosthetic limbs absorb some of the impact.
I agree Rob. I would love to know the iterations the blade runner went through during the design phase of his prosthetic limbs. I think his optimism becomes legendary and demonstrates the great marriage between engineering design and the ability of those designs to make better the lives of those with disabilities. This guy probably does not think he is a hero but I certainly do.
Naperlou, I also wondered at this. Professional race teams take a lower technology approach to making the drivers' seats. Those are at least as conformal as the kayak fitout kits, but they do it using foam molds of the drivers' posteriors.
@Stephen: Definite possibility for the next step, but definitely starting to edge into really expensive territory. Then again, when you're talking about major competitions like the Olympics, I suppose cost isn't really the driving issue. Thanks for pointing out.
At first, I thought the subject article was going to address customizing the kayak craft itself to the athlete/rower. The seat customization is impressive alone, but you have to wonder how long before someone in the field starts taking a basic kayak "shell" (perhaps omitting the cutout for the athlete/rower, providing some extra polyethylene/fiberglass at the item's ends, adjusting other features and fixtures etc.) in anticipation of a final stage of manufacture in which the unit is "individualized," "fitted-out" or "trued/customized" to the specific weight, height, center of gravity, even gender of the eventual user of the craft. Using the same scanning and graphing techniques as noted in the piece, this idea would seem to be a logical next step.
Yes the Gymnastics Vault table was redesigned for the 2000 Olympics because a lot of accidents and deaths. It has more surface area and springs that help the athletes get more lift. You saw that the Girl's American gymnast McKayla Maroney used the spring better than the Chinese Olympic champion and had a higher lift on her events.
Good question, Ann. I would think the same technology could play a role for custom fit ski boots, types of bicycle equipment (seats come to mind), even perhaps for the luge in the winter Olympics. Once you start contemplating the technology, the possibilities seem to stack up.
It's great to see technology applied to the Olympic sports. This is a great example. I also like the Blade Runner. I would imagine his artificial legs went through a lot if iterations before the came up with the legs that performed so well in the Olympics.
What a great app for 3D scanning and software tech. Considering how snug the fit of a kayak should be, this custom approach to building them makes a lot of sense. I wonder what other sports apps could benefit from similarly-designed customized equipment?
It's cool to get an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at some of the things these accomplished athletes do in order to excel in their sport. (We've also seen advancements in swimwear.) It makes the Games, at least for me, that much more fun to watch.
I wonder if there is a story here that involves gymnastics, too - maybe a materials angle? I heard an interview with one of the gymnasts who said the floor in London is not as "springy" as the floors they trained on in the US.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
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 versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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.
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