Alpine Race Training with SlalomSense
Entry By: Jay Werb
Affiliation: ICT Research LLC
http://ict-ip.com/
Summary
Introducing SlalomSense™, a new approach to ski education. SlalomSense is a wireless sensor array that tracks and records the critical movements a skier makes when skiing down a slope. Initially designed for young developing ski racers to rapidly accelerate performance on the race course, SlalomSense can be adapted for recreational skiers trying to improve their skills. By measuring critical pressure points in the boots, ski angles and tracking, it can determine how a skier can improve their stance. The information is recorded and logged so that skiers can see realtime data measuring their performance gains and developmental needs as they progress up the learning curve. SlalomSense uses a variety of wireless standards including IEEE 802.11 and CoAP to transmit and display data.
How does Alpine Race Training with SlalomSense™ use Internet Technology?
SlalomSense™ is based on Internet technologies – the protocols and technologies at the very core of the Internet – from the way we communicate with the user to the way we transfer data to the cloud. Included in this suite are the technologies supported by IPSO Smart Objects and CoAP.
Why did you choose to invent SlalomSense™? What problem do you see that it can solve?
SlalomSense™ was conceived from the need to show young athletes in training how to be competitive skiers. With SlalomSense, they can improve their technique by measuring and tracking their progress and receiving positive feedback. Once we saw that we could provide useful information to racers, we discovered that recreational skiers could benefit as well. The encouragement that we have received from other skiers, racers, and coaches has kept us moving forward, refining our ideas and working to improve our product.
What is the practical application of SlalomSense™ for the everyday user?
SlalomSense™ can improve the performance of any skier simply by applying a few sensors inside the ski boot and clipping the unit onto the boot. Recorded data will be uploaded to our database and plotted for analysis by the user. If the user wants to subscribe to our service, we will offer a personal ski coach who will analyze the data and point out where improvements can be made. The personal ski coach will provide drills and training exercises designed to help the skier improve.
Are there plans to produce SlalomSense™ for the marketplace, or is it already a product that can be purchased/obtained?
We plan to introduce SlalomSense™ to the market in late 2016. We need to go through one more season of field trials, data collection and improvements before the product will be ready for general use.
Why would you consider SlalomSense™ to be “innovative”?
SlalomSense™ is innovative in many ways. Skiing is very popular but is one of the last sports where devices are available to measure an athlete’s performance and technique. This is most likely because skiing involves a mix of so many skills simultaneously, applied in challenging terrain and at high speeds. Relevant factors are hard to measure. Not only have we developed a comprehensive suite of sensors to measure and record data from the user, but we have also developed unique analytics that can turn that data into information the user can actually comprehend.
What would winning IPSO CHALLENGE 2015 mean for you or your company?
Winning IPSO CHALLENGE 2015 would accelerate the release and adoption of our new product SlalomSense™. Our mission is to create a generation of confident youth who are safer and stronger skiers. Recognition from winning the IPSO CHALLENGE will help us market SlalomSense and increase our ability to arrange financing for further development, field trials, and marketing.
If selected as the Grand Prize winner, how do you think you will spend the $10,000 prize?
The $10,000 prize will enable us to increase the scope and rigor of the field trials we have planned for winter 2015-16, including re-spins of the hardware as needed. It will also help cover the costs of responding to opportunities that will inevitably result from winning IPSO CHALLENGE 2015.
What would you like to see in the future for the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things will require security at the edge, based on lightweight mechanisms that can be practically deployed in microcontroller class devices. Further integration of hardware support for security as well as open source standard approaches are key enablers to the proliferation of internet-connected devices.
Why should more companies utilize IP?
IP is the one universal language that promotes interoperability through standards. With support from thousands of dedicated engineers and scientists, the IETF continues to refine the capabilities of Internet Protocols and their interactions. Through this collaboration, interoperability between systems is assured.
Why did you decide to enter IPSO CHALLENGE 2015?
IPSO CHALLENGE participants from prior years give the program rave reviews. Previous winners report a great experience and phenomenal market visibility for their new product offerings as a direct result of their participation. We are delighted to be chosen as semi-finalists for IPSO CHALLENGE 2015, and look forward to meeting the judges, mentors, and other semi-finalists.