The Inescapable Data Racquet


Sports equipment manufacturer Head makes a line of tennis racquets using some very special materials and a computer chip. The "Intelligence Series," such as the i.X16, uses a technology Head calls ChipSystem. Intelligence Series racquets are strung with Intellifiber, a proprietary fiber that has piezoelectric properties. Much like the flame-starter on your gas grill, when a tennis ball hits the fibers and imparts mechanical energy, the fibers turn that energy into electrical power. A chip embedded in the racquet handle is then energized by that power, which in turn reverses the power back to the strings. The effect is a tightening of the strings within 1 millisecond of impact which not only imparts more power back to the ball, but as importantly, reduces 20 percent of the vibration (vibration is wasted and uncomfortable energy).

With a little more work, the truly intelligent racquet could also measure strike angle, velocity, and impact in much the same way that the sneaker-based force sensor system, and could do so as inexpensively. In tennis (or any sport that uses a racquet or club), it is notoriously difficult to tune one's swing to the proper angle, speed, and general motion. Taking another step forward, suppose you as the tennis buff were to correlate the data from your "smart" tennis racquet with the data emanating from your equally smart tennis shoes. New relationships could emerge that provide a better total picture of your game that could be used by you and your favorite pro. Whattoo busy for tennis lessons? For sure, there's a creative sports marketer out there somewhere who will leverage the data of thousands and make available a piece of software you can run on your WiFi-enabled laptop that gives you expert advice tailored to your playing style. Or, accessing such aggregated data, some faraway Net surfer might uncover an inverse relationship between declining energy levels exhibited during a match and the use of a smoother stroke that could then be correlated to higher win record, simply by running a few Excel macros.



    Inescapable Data. Harnessing the Power of Convergence
    Inescapable Data: Harnessing the Power of Convergence (paperback)
    ISBN: 0137026730
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 159

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