Sports

More innovation from ROTOR - eliptical chainrings

By Mike Hanlon

August 20, 2005 We’ve written about ROTOR bicycle crank systems before – the ROTOR crank makes infinite sense in that it reduces the power "dead spot" at top-dead-centre (TDC), reduces stress on the knees and offers the ability to get more power to the rear wheel. (see simulation) ROTOR is now working on a new project … elliptical chainrings with variable regulations that can be customised for each rider's needs. The ROTOR Q-Ring is different from other ovalized chainrings; a new concept incorporating a patented variable regulation system (OCP) that applies some of the biomechanics of the Rotor Crank System to conventional cranks. Q-Rings give you more power during the pedal down stroke, just after the moment you develop maximum power, when you are generating 90% of your power output. Feedback from Q-Ring test pilots has been unanimous: easier and faster pedalling at high cadences, faster times in time trials (flat or rolling courses), much faster when climbing, a significant reduction in knee discomfort and a lower heart rate while achieving the same speed that they did with round chainrings on conventional cranks. Read More

Special glasses for finding lost golf balls

By Mike Hanlon

August 18, 2005 Lost golf balls are the bane of a golfer's existence we're not sure which is worse - waiting for the group in front to find their golf ball or losing one yourself. Over the years there has been countless technological endeavour directed at the problem - how to find a lost golf ball> Now there's a simple, cost-efficient and elegant solution. Visiball “Golf Ball Finder” glasses work by blocking out various coloured light waves while allowing the white light wave of the golf balls to pass. The special lenses are claimed to make the lost ball almost appear to glow, making it easy to locate and resume play quickly. Pretty simple really - we've got a set of the glasses winging their way to us at present so we'll send our kick-arse resident golfer Noel out to lose a few golf balls - stay tuned! Read More

adidas and Polar introduce the world’s first completely integrated training system

By Mike Hanlon

August 10, 2005 Polar Electro and adidas have formed a partnership to introduce the world’s first completely integrated training system. Called “Project Fusion”, it seamlessly integrates Polar heart rate and speed and distance monitoring equipment into adidas apparel and footwear. The system combines the adiStar Fusion range of apparel, the adiStar Fusion shoe, Polar’s s3 Stride Sensor, the Polar WearLink transmitter and the Polar RS800 Running Computer into one system. Special fibers bonded onto adidas tops, work in conjunction with Polar’s Wear Link technology to eliminate the need for a separate chest strap to monitor heart rate. Just snap the tiny Polar WearLink connector onto the front of the shirt and go. The data is wirelessly sent to the wrist-mounted running computer, which displays and records all information in real time. The adiStar Fusion shoe has a cavity in the midsole which can house the Polar s3 Stride Sensor. As with the heart rate monitor, data is sent wirelessly to your running computer. Information like speed and distance, chronograph functions, along with heart rate, are shown on the RS800 in real time. And when the workout is over, all data can be downloaded onto a computer so workouts can be easily managed and analysed. Read More

In-wheel cycling dynanometer tracks top Tour de France rider

By Mike Hanlon

July 31, 2005 The gadget at right is a hub - a bicycle hub that measures power output. Named the PowerTap SL, and made by CycleOps, it offers a read-out of what your bicycle's engine (aka YOU) are producing in power terms and along with collecting heart-rate and speed and all the logical parameters in the big equation, is without doubt the most comprehensive cycling computer and one of the best investments you'll ever make if you're into cycling. We came across the PowerTap in this Wired article, and followed it through to this even more fascinating article at Bicycling which looks at the readouts of the PowerTap SL inside the rear wheel of Floyd Landis' bike, during the year leading up to and throughout the 2005 Tour de France where he finished ninth. If you are or have ever been an athlete, you must read this article as it shows the understanding we are coming to have about sport and sports science, not to mention what incredible athletes elite cyclists are. Read More

Altipower personal hypoxicator

By Mike Hanlon

July 31, 2005 In 1968 the Mexico Olympic Games were held 2240 metres above sea level, and highlighted the benefits of high altitude training to sports scientists across the world – elite sportspeople immediately began moving to higher altitudes to train, wealthier countries built altitude training facilities for their athletes and scientists began exploring new ways of tricking the body. The theory is that an athlete’s sea-level aerobic capacity and performance improves with exposure to the lower oxygen levels of higher altitudes because the body’s physiological adaptive mechanisms (altitude acclimatisation) increases blood haemoglobin levels and hence the body’s oxygen transport system.

The Altipower personal hypoxicator offers all the benefits of altitude training - increased speed, power and stamina, and improved recovery - without having to relocate to altitude, or even leave your living room. The good news is that everyone can benefit from simulating a high altitude environment, and research suggests that the lower your fitness level, the greater the benefit.

Developed by Go2Altitude, the AltiPower is the first personal altitude simulator to reach market in that it is a machine which can be purchased inexpensively and used in the home – previous hypoxication machines (chambers, tents and hypoxicators) were very large and very costly. The AltiPower sells in three versions; the base model at US$350, the advanced model at US$600 and the professional model at US$1000. Read More

The Trek TTX: Lance Armstrong's Tour de France special designed using computational fluid dynamics

By Mike Hanlon

UPDATED July 23, 2005 NEW IMAGES With a resting heart-rate of 32 beats per minute and 6.99 victories in the month-long, 3500 kilometre Tour de France cycling race, Lance Armstrong almost qualifies as a Gizmo in his own right. He’s always the one to watch in the event because he has always proven the most competitive in the two stages that are the most distinctive and demanding: the climbing and time trial stages. Armstrong excels when race conditions allow superior talent to shine through. As Armstrong lined up for his final Tour de France, Trek, the company that has supplied his bikes in each of his famous victories, delivered two special machines: the Madone SSLx climbing bike and the TTX time trial machine. Both are lighter, stiffer and faster than anything the company has built before. Read More

New wearable body monitor continuously measures calorific output

By Mike Hanlon

June 3 Weight loss is a fairly logical thing – if calorific intake is less than calorific output, you lose weight. Measuring calorific intake and output is the difficulty though – if that was all automated, losing weight and understanding the process would be infinitely easier. Well now it is, thanks to the release of bodybugg. The bodybugg is a wearable body monitor that measures the calories burned by the wearer, continuously and over time. When uploaded to the bodybugg website, this data creates a "dashboard" of the wearer's progress that can be used to modify eating and exercise habits. Its ability to precisely monitor total energy expenditure, combined with the website's ability to automatically estimate calories consumed based on body mass changes, removes the need for individuals to log their caloric intake or exercise. Read More

Real-time Professional Golf Simulator for the home

By Mike Hanlon

May 11, 2005 Technological progress is being lavished on the science of golf at such a rate that it’s almost hard to keep up. In the last month we’ve featured the ingenious Top Swing Golf Robot and the even-more-ingenious iClub wireless motion capture system and now we have the ProTee Golf Simulator, a state-of-the-art golf simulation system designed for the home. This simulation goes beyond gaming: real clubs and real balls can be used and computing results can be projected onto a large screen. Another new feature is the modular build-up of the system. The basic package is very affordable and can even fit in your living room with only a sensor mat of synthetic grass and the club of your choice. No need to worry about windows: balls are optional. Read More

Wireless Motion Capture promises a better golf game for everyone

By Mike Hanlon

There must be something about the gentle art of playing golf that fires the creative synapses – in three years of Gizmag editorial, we have seen countless efforts to assist us mere mortals to play a better game of golf. We were recently very impressed with the advanced technologies of the Top Swing Golf Robot and felt almost certain that the technologies and understanding offered by Top swing could not be bettered. We were wrong. iClub’s remarkable technologies promise a detailed understanding of one’s own imperfect golf swing, a monitoring of the improvements to the swing and technique through remedial actions and ultimately, a vastly improved golf game. The iClub system includes a suite of golf instructional products proven to help a golfer dramatically improve performance. Created by scientists, engineers, and faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the system combines wireless motion sensing platforms and state- of-the-art technology to create the best instructional products in the world.

The iClub suite of products includes a Body Motion System and the iClub. The Body Motion System is a lightweight vest with embedded sensors that measures power gains and losses during a swing; and, the iClub is a tiny sensor that attaches to the end of any golf club and measures motion during a swing. Data from both devices is sent wirelessly to a personal computer where artificial intelligence converts the information to a 3-D view of the person and club in motion. Read More

Virtual Spectator Squash Technology

By Mike Hanlon

April 9, 2005 Watching live sport could take on new meanings in the future as new technologies put a virtual dashboard of information, infographics and overlays that enhance the experience in different ways for newbies and experts. This week the Bermuda Masters 2005 is not only showcasing the world's top 31 squash players, but a remarkably enhanced visual experience is being "test driven", as new technology captures on-court play and offers a compelling internet experience via SquashTrac, the latest innovation from award-winning interactive technology group Virtual Spectator. Read More

Golf robot designed to give everyone the perfect swing

By Mike Hanlon

March 5, 2005 Top Swing is an electronically controlled robot that can hold your golf club, feel your swing, and guide you how to get the perfect swing - unlike all previous golf teaching aids, the Top Swing can enable everyone to FEEL just what the perfect golf shot FEELS like, enabling even beginners to grasp the proper motion concept. With Top Swing, students can feel and execute a perfect swing while advanced golfers and professionals can work on their shot and clinically measure what's happening each and every swing. Read More

Adidas readies sportswear innovation: the tackle-proof football jumper

By Mike Hanlon

February 20, 2005 Adidas is set to unveil prototypes of a new football jumper that uses derivations of its ForMotion and ClimaCool clothing technologies to produce a tight-fitting jumper that conducts sweat away from the players body through a combination of heat and moisture-dissipating materials, and makes the surface of the jumper slippery and difficult to tackle. The jumper has been developed for Australian Rules Football's most famous and popular club Collingwood and could revolutionise Australian Rules and full contact sports where tackling is permitted. Adidas is a major sponsor and long term partner of the Collingwood Football Club and in the coming weeks the first prototypes of the on-field apparel concept will be delivered for evaluation. Read More

Aerobic Training Device Allows Skiers to train all year

By Mike Hanlon

January 16, 2005 Skier's Edgenow builds a range of non-impact lateral aerobic trainers designed to improve skiing ability, lateral strength, agility, balance, endurance and overall fitness. Suitable for everyone from the novice to the most seasoned skier, the side-to-side conditioning will help take skiing abilities to the next level. The Skier's Edge Big Mountain Series will also help skiers maintain their fitness level in the off-season by specifically improving endurance and technical skiing ability. Read More

Kilowatt SPORT hooks to your computer or game console to help you get fit

By Mike Hanlon

Las Vegas January 7, 2005 Dave Weinstein visits the CES and finds a way to get fit while playing video games. Powergrid Kilowatt SPORT is a fitness product that helps entertain and enthuse you by hooking up to a video game while you use it. Enrolling the competitive instinct to get that little bit extra from you, the harder you work, the more competitive you are in playing the game. Multi-platform compatibility allows the system to work with all the major game and computer platforms, including PS2, XBox, Gamecube, PC and Apple Mac. Read More

Adidas Formotion clothing technology

By Mike Hanlon

December 23, 2004 Adidas has released a new clothing technology dubbed "ForMotion" that improves comfort and enhances performance by combining several different fabrics with different properties in a shaped garment. ForMotion garments are designed to enhance athletes' movements in three specific types of sports: Linear sports such as running, where the focus is on forward motion; Lateral sports, such as tennis, where the focus is on upper body rotation and quickness; And the Helix movements of football/soccer, where the focus is on lower body power and movement. The ForMotion concept utilises a combination of: compression fabrics in sport-specific body locations to control & enhance muscle activity to assist the athlete maintain proper form; and sculpted cuts and three-dimensional engineering to boost athletic freedom of movement. Read More

P3ProSwing: PC based golf swing simulation

By Gizmag Team

November 20, 2004 P3ProSwing is a golf simulation and swing analyser aimed at giving amateurs easy access to detailed information on their swing characteristics using an existing PC. The system tracks nearly a dozen key swing characteristics, including club speed, swing tempo, attack angle, face angle, swing path and toe and heel heights. Each swing is displayed on the computer's monitor, allowing golfers to view see dramatic virtual views of the ball's 'flight' and a recently introduced projection screen system also enables the set up of a complete indoor virtual golf system. Read More

Exhale Gloves inject a breath of warm air on hands

By Gizmag Team

November 13, 2004 This innovative, high performance winter sports glove allows wearers to use their breath to inject a quick blast of warm air onto their hands without removing their gloves. By exhaling into the port, warm air is directed to the fingertips, instantly warming the hands. Since their introduction last year 180s Performance Gloves have been utilising the patent-pending Exhale Heating System to protect athletes participating in various outdoor activities. Read More

FRWD Sports Performance Recorder for athletes

By Gizmag Team

November 5, 2004 Wearable athlete management systems are set to become widespread with the release this week of the US$1000 FRWD Sport Performance Recorder ; a device which measures route, distance, altitude and speed using GPS technology along with heart rate. Like the GPS Sports unit we reported on recently, which has similar functionality, the FRWD promises a goldmine of information for all athletes in understanding their physiology and performance. Outdoor and alternative sports enthusiasts can relive their experiences second by second and compare their performance with their friends and rivals. A mountain biker can compare heart rate and speed variations... Read More

Genetic engineering the next big thing in sport

By Mike Hanlon

The war on the use of drugs in sport might have won a few skirmishes in Athens, but one gets the impression that the fight for fairness will soon be fighting on many new fronts - combating the use of genetic engineering in sport. If technology continues to advance at current rates, at which point will we recognise that the effective policing of athletic fairness has become impossible. A story in New Scientist magazine this week tells of the gentic engineering project which produced Marathon mice - mice capable as running twice as far as normal mice. Drugs that might have a similar effect are already being tested on humans, raising fears that athletes might soon have a new very effective ways to cheat. Read More

Adidas Launches the Intelligent Running Shoe

By Gizmag Team

Adidas has unveiled the most advanced shoe ever. Called "1", the shoe provides “intelligent cushioning” by automatically and continuously adjusting itself. It does so by sensing the cushioning level, using a sensor and a magnet. It then understands whether the cushioning level is too soft or too f... Read More

Cairos system to track soccer balls and players

By Tim Hanlon

June, 2004 One of a number of technologies set to revolutionise how sport is viewed, prepared for and played, is the German Cairos system which involves putting miniature transmitters in the soccer ball and in each shin-pad of every player and umpire on the pitch, with a view to tracking every movement on the field of battle. Trials are underway in an attempt to persuade FIFA to adopt the Cairos system in the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany. Read More

Polar Weight Management Watch

By Mike Hanlon

If the human body can be regarded as a machine, the motor would be the heart. Given the mission-critical nature of the human body, and the expense and inconvenience of down-time, the latest offering from Polar Electro is worth a look - it's a weight and health management system based around a wrist receiver, a transmitter belt and ongoing access to an interactive website.The only solution for permanently successful weight management is to take in less energy than you expend and Polar Electro's new personalised guidance system looks to be the most logical development in an industry renowned for reducing intake but doing little about output. Read More

Suunto G9 Golf Watch

By Mike Hanlon

Finish company Suunto has released a golf watch which measures and processes data collected by its wearer, such as shot distance and score, and can suggest club selection too. All shot measurements and data collected on course can be downloaded to a home computer for analysis and storage, and historical data can be uploaded to the watch when playing specific courses Read More

Findable Golfball System

By Mike Hanlon

A new type of golf ball tracking system could render the lost ball penalty a thing of the past. Radar Golf Inc. has launched the new system which uses an embedded RFID tag in the balls and a compact hand-held device which locates the golf ball. Read More

GPS Athlete Management System to revolutionise sport

By Mike Hanlon

The SPI 10 is an Australian developed fitness first that records critical perfomance data via a miniature unit worn on the arm. Using GPS and heart rate monitoring technology, the SPI 10 (pronounced "spy") logs information on time, speed, distance, position, altitude and heart rate which can then be downloaded and analysed using specially designed training software. Read More