The Euphoria (top) and the Zelix (bottom) - the first two boards from the Shape Shack
If the shape of a snowboard wasn’t important to performance boards would probably look like flat – well boards! But shape is important, Colorado-based Venture Snowboards isn’t just going back to the drawing board, it is introducing its new experimental division, the Shape Shack, with the goal of coming up with odd yet funcation board designs that other companies haven’t thought of yet. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the Weekend Reading List. We moved the list to Saturday to give our loyal readers something new for the weekend, and as a way to catch up on stories that they might have missed. This week we being with Sh*t Barefoot Runners Say (video above).
Head injuries have become a serious concern in numerous sports, and Bauer Hockey is taking the issue head on so speak by revisiting the way helmets take hits. While most helmets are designed to address linear impacts a bigger risk says a Bauer study is the rotational forces that can contribute to head injuries.
Bauer’s RE-AKT helmet is the first hockey-specific helmet designed to manage the multiple type of hits that players take including rotational-force impacts, which have been scientifically proven to cause significant head injuries. To address this issue the Bauer RE-AKT takes on the problem with the SUSPEND-TECH liner, a unique patent-pending rotational impact protection system to protect the head from excessive rotational acceleration when the helmet is impacted. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the Thursday reading list. The trade shows continue, we’ve already seen new products come out of the Consumer Electronics Show and SHOT Show and it seems that this week’s Outdoor Retailer Show is outgrowing its home in Salt Lake City reports KSL.com, which noted (video above):
The Salt Palace Convention Center has expanded twice to host the show. The outdoor industry, and all the products associated with it, just keeps growing, and more and more companies want to be a part of this show every year. It’s kind of a nice problem to have, companies say.
A runner demonstrates Valencell's V-LINC ear-bud sensor technology. The medallion with connected ear buds wirelessly streams biometric data to a mobile device, such as an iPhone.
The Consumer Electronics Show is a hotbed of new and upcoming tech products, but there are also plenty of companies showcasing new technologies that may one day end up in a product at a future CES. One such company is Valencell, which is demonstrating its V-LINC health and fitness ear-bud sensor tech. Due to the nature of the ear, V-LINC’s technology “continuously measures more real-time biometric data, with higher accuracy, in virtually any environment, than any other health and fitness sensor technology on the market,” Valencell said.
“Studies show that 70 percent of regular exercisers wear audio headsets while exercising, and Valencell aspires to connect with that audience to make health and fitness more accessible through our earbud sensor technology,” said Valencell CEO and co-founder Steven LeBoeuf. “Companies will discover how they can turn audio headsets into health and fitness devices on multiple mobile platforms by integrating V-LINC.”
At CES, Valencell is demoing how the technology would work with various mobile platforms, including iOS and Android. Demonstrators wear an ear bud prototype that measures biometric data such as continuous heart rate; calories burned; cardiovascular fitness; metabolic rate; and distance and speed while using a treadmill, stationary bike, and in other activities. The data is then streamed to one of the platforms.
Valencell says V-LINC is compatible with regular headset manufacturing processes, so a headphone maker can easily license and implement the technology into its product.
One trend we saw very much this year was how technology is being used to reduce injuries. We’ve seen new improvements in helmets and sensors for football, baseball and hockey. We’ve seen helmets being used in skiing and snowboarding, as well as cycling of course. Read the rest of this entry »
While fitness video games could be a fad down here on earth, the Microsoft for Kinect for Xbox 360 could boldly go where only a few have gone before – namely outer space. The video game system could help astronauts stay a little fitter, thanks to the body tracking camera system built into the game controller’s sensor.
This could help astronauts better calculate their weight in zero gravity, something very important as those in sapce can lose up to 15 percent of their body mass because the muscles tend to develop atrophy due to lack of use. The crews already spend up to two hours a day exercising, but until recently there has been no way to measure weight post-workout.
A long walk will get you where you need to go, and at the same time allow you to burn a few calories. But the rest of the process is just wasted energy that could be harnessed for something else. At least that’s the idea of the electrowetting process, where a liquid that is normally hydrophobic will be forced to move by applying an electric current.
This is now a concept being used in a pair of shoes but in reverse. By walking with special shoes that contain the special substance you could force the mixture over several electrodes and create a current while walking. This energy in turn could be stored on a battery for future use. Currently a team of engineers at the University of Wisconsin are looking into how to actually bring this from concept to an actual product – but in the future you could juice up your mobile phone simply by walking. Think of this as a way of walking and talking!
In this image, the left shows image reconstruction using conventional CT imaging, and the right shows a scan using Veo. (Purdue University)
Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have partnered with GE Healthcare to develop a new computed tomography (CT) scanning reconstruction technology they are calling Veo. The proprietary technology, according to the consortium, “enables physicians to diagnose patients with high-clarity images at previously unattainable low radiation dose levels.”
Invented in the 1970s, CT is an advanced version of spiral X-ray technology. While the technology has enhanced the ability of physicians to diagnosis diseases, patients are exposed to radiation during scanning. The Veo technology will help physicians get clearer images while exposing patients to less radiation.
“Conventional CT scanning takes thousands of views from different angles to ‘see’ organs and then creates a 3-D image of the person,” said Charles Bouman, Purdue’s Michael J. and Katherine R. Birck Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of biomedical engineering. “Veo takes radiographic images digitally that use less X-ray. A reduction in X-rays means the radiation dosage is reduced. Then, our computer algorithm uses model-based reconstruction more effectively so we can form a high-quality image with less radiation.
“Basically, Veo cleans up the noise or graininess and creates a sharper image,” Bouman added.
Even if all the sports and health mobile applications aren’t getting people in shape, it is making for a very healthy market. According to a new report from ABI Research the sports and health mobile application market will grow to over $400 million in 2016, way up from the $120 million the sector reported in 2010.
According to ABI much of that growth will be spurred by the ability of mobile handsets to offer connectivity to wearable devices that can provide greater functionality, accuracy and appeal to sports and fitness applications. The new apps can in essence replace, or at least replicate what standalone products such as heart rate monitors and calorie counters are currently providing. Read the rest of this entry »
There is better health through technology, but what about better health through fashion? That’s the idea of Celliant, which prides itself on being the “Intel Inside of responsive textiles.” The company has actually been around for a decade, but has recently teamed up with major sportswear and fitness apparel companies including Reebok, Adidas and Saucony to create what is called “responsive fabric.”
According to a recent Fast Co.Exisit story this fabric may sound like something from science fiction, but it is actually very real, utilizing “a synthetic polymer that interacts with the body’s electromagnetic emission to induce increased oxygenation and blood flow.” The company claims that when worn as clothing Celliant can recycle energy back into the body by increasing blood flow and blood oxygen levels, and this means better athletic performance, potentially better strength and healing. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to a weekly digest of web links I think are worth checking out. These items include articles, images, and video. Please comment on what you find interesting. If you have something to share, please submit links of interest to mike@kineticshift.com.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin: Exercise Increases Mitochondria in Brain Cells
Avid cyclist Dr. Gabe Mirkin provides well-researched and useful information on the positive effects of exercise. This week he covers the benefit of exercise on the brain.
One trend we saw very much this year was how technology is being used to reduce injuries. We’ve seen new improvements in helmets and sensors for football, baseball and hockey. We’ve seen helmets being used in skiing and snowboarding, as well as cycling of course. 
While fitness video games could be a fad down here on earth, the Microsoft for Kinect for Xbox 360 could boldly go where only a few have gone before – namely outer space. The video game system could help astronauts stay a little fitter, thanks to the body tracking camera system built into the game controller’s sensor.
A long walk will get you where you need to go, and at the same time allow you to burn a few calories. But the rest of the process is just wasted energy that could be harnessed for something else. At least that’s the idea of the electrowetting process, where a liquid that is normally hydrophobic will be forced to move by applying an electric current.
Even if all the sports and health mobile applications aren’t getting people in shape, it is making for a very healthy market. According to a new report from ABI Research the sports and health mobile application market will grow to over $400 million in 2016, way up from the $120 million the sector reported in 2010.
There is better health through technology, but what about better health through fashion? That’s the idea of Celliant, which prides itself on being the “Intel Inside of responsive textiles.” The company has actually been around for a decade, but has recently teamed up with major sportswear and fitness apparel companies including Reebok, Adidas and Saucony to create what is called “responsive fabric.”
