Sports

Many professional athletes employ motion capture technology to help identify problems with their techniques so they can be corrected. However, such technology generally takes the athlete out of the usual performing environment and only lets them review their technique after the fact. Now researchers at Birmingham City University have developed a wearable device, dubbed the “Vibrating Suit,” that provides feedback to the wearer about where their body is in space in real time. Aside from assisting athletes perfect their technique, the technology could also be used to help prevent injuries in those that perform strenuous activities as part of their job.  Read More

If you want your product to stand out while also looking classy, warm and organic, there’s one sure-fire way of doing in – make it out of wood. In recent years, we’ve seen things like wooden headphones, MP3 players, and bicycles. Now, sports helmets can be added to that list.  Read More

Several years ago, Utah-based Kahuna Creations innovated a sport it calls "land paddling." With the simple addition of a balled paddle, longboard skaters have been able to paddle their way around asphalt and concrete, bringing the burgeoning sport of stand-up paddleboarding onto dry land. Kahuna is now updating its land paddling line with a purpose-built longboard modeled after one of its surfboards. The new Bombora Longboard uses a big, surf-style design to make for what is reportedly a smooth, intuitive ride.  Read More

The argument that new technology somehow tarnishes sport as a purely human endeavor has created controversy in swimming circles and the like. We average golfers, on the other hand, need all the help we can get. Garmin's latest effort in getting you to the green takes the functionality of its handheld golf GPS units and puts it on your wrist - the S3 touchscreen GPS golf watch.  Read More

Like a lot of other factors involved in mountain biking, setting the air pressure of the tires is a matter of compromise. Keep them too soft, and you can’t go as fast as you’d like on smooth stretches of the trail – keep them too hard, and they’ll just bounce off of roots and rocks instead of gripping them. As it stands, most bikers go for a “Jack of all trades, master of none” setting, that allows for some traction and some speed. The folks at ADAPTRAC, however, apparently think that such a compromise shouldn’t have to be made. Their new system allows riders to inflate or deflate their tires as conditions dictate, while they’re riding.  Read More

You could easily go to a rock gym to try climbing or throw on a pair of boots and hike a local trail, but you'd need to invest a little more time and planning to try caving. You could commit to joining a caving club or pay for a guided tour, but options for just going out and giving it a go are quite limited. CaveSim is a unique innovation that lets prospective cavers get a taste for the sport by providing a virtual indoor cave environment. The device includes electronic sensors for video-game-like scoring features, allowing for tracking your personal score and competing against others.  Read More

Pushing wood down grassy gradients can be quite a challenge for standard wheeled boards. There are of course oversized or chunky options available to help smooth over some of the bumps and dips, but hybrid scooter maker Rockboard will shortly be releasing a new all-terrain skateboard called the Descender, that features tank-like treads instead of wheels. While it's clear that you're not going to get the butt-clenching thrill or the hairline-raising speeds offered by adult off-roaders like Scarper's powerboard or the DTV Shredder, with some considered course planning you could still be in for quite a ride.  Read More

West Indian Sir Garfield Sobers is widely regarded as one of the best cricketers of all time. His career sadly came to an end before the shorter forms of the sport (Twenty20 and one-day) arrived, because Sobers could conjure up a storm with a bat like few others. Even with the recent advent of 50 over and now 20 over a side cricket, the feat of hitting every ball of a six ball over for six has only been done four times, two of those in the shortened form of the game more conducive to fast scoring. Sobers was the first to achieve it in the longer form of the game (a feat only equaled once) and the ball he hit over the fence six consecutive times in 1968 is to go to auction.  Read More

Apparently, OluKai Maliko is Hawaiian for funky, hoof-like shoes. The term also carries a hint of innovation. Not only do these shoes split your toes, they give you extra grip. Forget sticky rubber and aggressive traction patterns, the Maliko brings a sole that's lined with suction cups.  Read More