Inspiring Sports Technology
Sports Business
IET Sports Technology Timeline – 1050 to 1914
Monday, July 16th, 2012
Upcoming IET MyVoice webcasts
Tuesday, 17 July 2012 – commencing at 11am BST
An interactive discussion on how engineers are getting London fit for the Olympics. Featuring IET President Dr Mike Short, UK Power Networks’ Brian Stratton and Philips Lighting UK’s Mike Simpson.
Participate live
No matter which corner of the globe you are in, you will be able to interact directly with our panel during the event, putting your questions or comments forward to them via Twitter (#ietmyvoice) or an online chat room, and getting real-time responses.
Submit questions in advance
If you’re not available to participate live on the day, you can submit questions in advance via email, and a video of the entire event will be available as soon as it finishes.
Series of sport infographics from PlanetK2
Monday, July 16th, 2012
Cool series of sports infographics from Planet K2, have a look!
Designed by Accept & Proceed for Planet K2
Designed by Accept & Proceed for Planet K2
Designed by Accept & Proceed for Planet K2
Barack Obama talks enthusiastically about sport in a 25min interview
Sunday, March 11th, 2012
One of the most powerful men in the world gives us 25 minutes of his time to talk about sport. Great insight into his life and thoughts about sport.
http://www.grantland.com/blog/
More vidoes if you click the link above!
Article by Bryan Roberts
Rob Blenkinsopp’s first visit to ISPO Munich 2012
Friday, March 2nd, 2012
At ISPO 2012 Munich, for me, the reality of the sports product industry was brought sharply into focus. Set over 16 exhibition halls just under 2000 sports brands were out to promote their new products and technologies across a number of different sporting areas.
With an R&D background, the more fashion/style brands passed me by somewhat, these guys, some the biggest names in their respective sport, were no doubt paying top dollar for their stands and were there with the sole aim to secure big contracts for their new product lines. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to see their products, see the direction they were going, but when you’ve seen the latest coat/jacket/snowboard/gym equipment for one or two companies, you’ve probably seen them all.
The best bit of ISPO for me, were the smaller stands, around the perimeter of the halls, where the (usually) smaller up and coming companies were based. What I enjoyed most about these stands was the fact the people you were talking to, due to the size of the company, would be the owner or high level manager of the company. This is where you could really talk about their products; ask questions and make contacts more easily than on the bigger stands, where if you weren’t going to be making a substantial order for their products, they understandably weren’t as inclined to give you as much time.
The ISPO ‘Brand New’ 2012 area of the show exemplified this so well. This is a competition focussing on innovative products, run each year for start up brands. The finalists of the competition get a booth at the show and the exposure this creates. It was products from this area that a couple of my highlights come:
Dual Snowboards
In my opinion a new snow sports product that could really catch on: a split snowboard design which essentially gives you a small snowboard on each foot. This split design seemingly gives you freedom of movement and manoeuvrability and the videos of tricks are impressive. However, whether this is a product restricted to snow parks or as a training aid for snowboarders isn’t clear, but if it can translate to the slopes for recreational skiers/boarders then with the right marketing this product could be big.
Koroyd
A really interesting and exciting technology that has potential applications in numerous sporting products. Koroyd is a tubular core created from a patented manufacturing process which thermally welds tubular shapes together. The 100% consistent thermal weld removes the inconsistencies associated with adhesive bonding of traditional honeycomb structures, additionally the tubular shape of the core means it behaves consistently no matter which way the core is orientated. It is claimed that Koroyd is also a better energy absorber than EPS and foams as well as being breathable and fully recyclable. It has been used in snowboards impressively reducing core weight by 70% whilst retaining strength and flex.
The potential applications of this technology are numerous, especially in the personal protective equipment market where weight can be reduced whilst improving performance related to energy absorption.
If you have aspirations to work in the sporting goods industry, are interested in innovation or just want to get a feel for the industry, then I would highly recommend going to ISPO without a doubt. For me it was an eye opener and has reinvigorated my love for what I do and given me motivation for what I want to do in the future.
ISPO 2012 Highlights – Ashley Gray tells us about his first time visit
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
So ISPO 2012 done! It was a first time for me. Certainly an event to check out just for the sheer scale of the Munich venue and the surprising amount of brands that seem to exist and be able to spend big on some very flashy stands but have still yet to break through into the UK. Primarily a rendezvous for sales and distributers, the more technical amongst us are left to look a bit closer beyond the enthusiastic fluorescent extreme vibe and numerous renditions of artificial fur but there were a few golden nuggets to be had.
In the meantime it was also interesting to get out on the other side and see how products are actually being presented to buyers and consumers at such an event. Ultimately something that all researchers need to keep an eye on to ensure what they are working on is in demand!
Stand outs for me… The SmarTube by Blue Desert, simply on personal experience having had a couple of refillable bladder systems that have deteriorated after the struggle to keep clean, the ability to switch in your old but more fresh bottles of water or any drink is very appealing and convenient. Blue Desert also have a range of other neat bottle attachments to keep hydration handy!
As an ex swimmer, Powerbreather also caught my eye. Snorkels have now become more common place on the poolside to allow swimmers to focus on their technique without the complication of breathing. Where this product takes the lead is its balanced design around the head which should make the feeling of use more natural. They also claim the valve allows only fresh air to be inhaled along with no water! To strengthen the product even more it would be great to see smaller diameter tubes to minimize drag resistance and make it a little less cumbersome.
Finally, those that know me well, know that magnets make me a little bit excited! So there maybe some bias in this final product but if you use a helmet for your sport you can see exactly why it comes in useful. With the Fidlock there’s no more fiddling trying to buckle up, the magnets automatically orientate the buckle and then hold it securely with a one-way mechanism. To open the buckle just slide it out-Simple!
Article by Ash Gray
