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mind control From innovative GPS training gizmos and Prozone stats to futuristic indoor golf bubbles and magic orange goo, Sport investigates the latest science, technology and gadgets set to power sport into the future
We never enjoyed science at school – too many touchy-feely teachers with coffee-stained beards yawning out long words we didn’t understand. But replace the periodic table with the secret training gadgets of the teams at the top of the Premier League table, ditch the theory of diffusion for that of McLaren’s aerodynamic diffuser, and swap the design of a cantilever bridge for the construction of an American super-stadium with the biggest HD TV on earth, and we’re hooked.
As sports teams and athletes strive for perfection, science is playing an increasingly crucial role in performance enhancement. So we spent the past few weeks discovering the secrets of UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport, leading sports manufacturers and a host of pioneers and boffins as far afield as California and Australia to bring you the cutting-edge technologies that are shaping the sporting world – and its future. So get geeky, and enjoy.
Peer closely into this ball and… absolutely nothing will happen. But you will get a glimpse of the football of the future. Created by AGENT, a ‘strategic intelligence embassy’ founded by Mexico City-based gurus Michel Rojkind and Alberto Villarreal, the CTRUS concept ball is unique in two ways. First, as the ball’s inner ‘skelle-core’ and outer net-embedded shell are made
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from reinforced, flexible elastomers (basically, bouncy stuff), the see-through sphere emulates the bounce of an inflated ball without the need for air – so no more punctures. And second, the electronic components in its nucleus, which can be linked wirelessly to a control station in the stadium, change colour at critical moments, like a goal, offside or throw-in, for instant and accurate decision-making. The ball will also record kick force and speed and provide POV camera footage thanks to ‘software-stabilised imagery’, so we could one day watch what it’s like to be walloped by Wayne Rooney. And to think, footballers used to play with pigs’ bladders…
It’s scandalously simplistic to describe the specially engineered material d3o as ‘orange goo’, but that’s exactly what it is. Looking like a much cheerier version of the sinister liquid metal that the shapeshifting T-1000 was made of in Terminator 2, d3o is made with intelligent molecules that flow with you as you move, but lock rigid on impact to absorb the energy. As a result, this ‘intelligent shock absorption’ technology has replaced bulky and rigid body protectors with lighter, more flexible garments, and can now be found in everything from snowboarders’
back protectors to ballet shoes. But where does its future lie? “We want to focus on our core markets like snowsports, motorcycling and mountain biking,” Richard Palmer, chief executive of the Brighton-based d3o, told Sport. “But we’ve done a lot of work with the
UK MOD, looking at military limb protectors for combat uniforms, and we’re looking into ballistics too. We’re also working on the sporting use of electronics – like durable, rugged phones, iPods and laptops. We get an awful lot of enquiries because it’s such an inspiring material.”
CAT ERGO FLEXGUARD
SPYDER SPEED SUIT
STX LACROSSE
Every England footballer should be forced to play in these meaty boots until June. Featuring an external d30based ‘metatarsal guard’, it could be the long-awaited miracle cure for the bone-breaking curse that always cripples England’s World Cup dreams.
Used by the US and Canadian ski teams, the d3o in this speed suit offers 40 per cent less volume than traditional padding, making it safe and aerodynamic. More importantly, it’s available to consumers in 2011 – so you can have the best pyjamas ever.
Officially, this ergonomic d3o-rich set of elbow guards, gloves and shoulder pads is to be used for playing lacrosse – but we’re planning on wearing it on Thursday nights, at home, by ourselves, while watching The Last Samurai on loop.
performance. “Previously, coaches could only work on the physical parts of the archers’ game, like better stances,” Tansy Brook of NeuroSky told Sport. “But you couldn’t get an insight into their mind and, for archery and golf, that’s a major part. For example, one archer was calm, but on firing there would be a jump in her brainwaves. We identified that she was saying something in her mind – ‘Okay, I’m letting go now’ – which would affect her focus. The best archers had high levels of both ‘attention’ and ‘meditation’ states, which together create what athletes refer to as ‘getting in the zone’. Using these headsets, athletes have been able to practise ways to get into that zone.”
istockphoto.com. ben stansall/afp/getty images. al bello/getty images
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Mark Bailey
Forget Rafa Benitez’s ‘factual’ scraps of paper and Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind games – we like to think that, one day, advances in brainwave technology will allow us to witness epic X-Men-style mental battles between Fergie and his rivals, sitting in the dugout and using sheer pig-headed willpower to move the ball towards goal. We’re not there yet but, thanks to NeuroSky, an American company from San Jose, California that specialises in braincomputer interface technology, the USA archery team are already using special thought-reading headsets to measure electrical impulses in the brain and improve
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Every morning, while we’re all ‘busily’ stalking people on Facebook at work, signals recording the precise movements and actions of athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Brian O’Driscoll are being hurled into orbit, bounced around a constellation of satellites 20,000 kilometres above the earth, and beamed back down to computers manned by eager-eyed coaches. This is all down to Australian tech wizards GPSports, who have developed SPI Pro – an innovative GPS-based athleteperformance tracking system which now powers the training of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Leinster, the RFU, the All Blacks and the Wallabies. Players wear tiny 76g transmitters, tucked into a sports vest, which are fitted with a five-sample-per-second GPS device (to measure speed and distance), an accelerometer (to track impacts, accelerations and decelerations) and a gyroscope and digital compass (to track forwards, backwards and lateral movements). In short, everything they do bar burping and diddling each others’ wives. The detailed information has helped to reduce injuries, develop game and position-specific training plans, and boost squad fitness. “Our key clients now have the lowest injury rate in the league,” GPSports’ pioneering managing director Adrian Faccioni told Sport. “This is due to the ability to accurately monitor the loading for every player.” Sean O’Connor, who works for distributors STAT Sports, reveals it has led to a reduction in training. “A common misconception is that the
Eyes on the prize
players thought it was like Big Brother,” he says. “But we found players were overexerting
themselves. When a player gets tired, their running style goes out the window, making them susceptible to injury. Coaches can see this live and prevent it. It can be used to tailor training, too. If a player’s position requires them to do a lot of lateral movement or sprints in a game, coaches can train them accordingly. Our next product records 15 times a second, so we’ll soon know every blade of grass covered.”
Eyes can sometimes be used for terrible things (looking at girls’ bums, scowling and so on), but they are the crucial tool in any sport. “Nothing happens in sport until the eye tells the body what to do,” says sports guru Sir Clive Woodward. That’s why Des Blackburn, a performance analyst for Great Britain Taekwondo at the English Institute of Sport, has been researching athletes’ visual strategies, using Mobile Eye goggles. Made by Applied Science Laboratories, the goggles use a system of infrared beams and mirrors to calibrate the location of your pupil and track its movement, with the findings sent to a nearby laptop for coaches to analyse. “A red dot shows where the athlete is looking,” says Blackburn. “Some athletes are constantly checking the limbs of their opponent. Other athletes stare at a central zone, possibly using more peripheral vision. We’re researching the advantages and disadvantages of these strategies. We also video opponents to see if there is a ‘tell’, like a drop in the shoulder, before a particular kick. If we know our guy is only staring at the chest, he’s not going to pick it up. With this technology, we can change that.”
matthew peters/manchester united bia getty mages. istockphoto.com
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Cowboys Stadium, dubbed the ‘most technologically advanced sports and entertainment venue in the world’, has an 80,000 capacity for NFL matches – but the seats can be bolted closer together to boost capacity to over 100,000. It hosted the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the Manny Pacquiao v Joshua Clottey fight, and is the home of the 2011 Super Bowl. The clear, retractable ‘end zone’ doors (180ft wide by 120ft high) are the largest operable glass doors in the world. Name Cowboys Stadium Location Arlington, Texas Home team Dallas Cowboys Construction cost £785m Opened May 27 2009
The strict new rules introduced by swimming’s governing body FINA in 2010 to ban the ‘technological doping’ of hi-tech swimsuits have not quashed the pioneering research of Dr Tom Waller, head of Aqualab, the research and development arm of Speedo. “The world changes all the time, and we react to that,” Dr Waller told Sport. “Our products use input from a base of global experts in physiology (understanding how the human body functions), biomechanics (how the human body moves), fluid mechanics (for knowledge of hydrodynamics) and experts in the creation of lingerie (how to support and shape the body) as well as coaches and athletes.” The results include Speedo’s aerodynamic LZR Racer swimwear, which was derived from over 400 body scans, and the new LZR Racer Tri-Pro suits, which dry twice as fast as rival suits. The products will help to keep athletes like Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington ahead of the pack. “Before we start any project, we always lobby those individuals,” says Waller.
At 660,800 square feet, the stadium’s retractable roof is the world’s longest single-span roof structure. It weighs 14,100 tons (the equivalent of 92 Boeing 777s) and takes 12 minutes to close – the same time it took Fabio Capello to sack John Terry. The £26m video board, known as the ‘Jerry Tron’ after owner Jerry Jones, is the world’s largest HD-quality screen. Each side is 72ft high by 160ft wide – it would take 4,920 52-inch flat-panel TVs to equal the size. “It’s better than watching a 60-inch HDTV in your living room,” boasts Jones. It contains 300 luxury suites, which range from 650 to 800 square feet in size, and come with fully upholstered theatre-style seats and room for up to 30 mates.
argen-tighter Argentina may be the home of cheating, drug-warped midgets and enviously juicy beef (the bastardos), but these shirts are seriously slick. Manufacturers adidas have taken their innovative TECHFIT base layers (which compress and stabilise your muscles to boost strength, flexibility, power and endurance) and converted them into ‘real’ football shirts. That means a pimped-up performance for the international superstars of Argentina, Germany and Spain and, of course, you: these are perfect for skinning defenders as well as winning the half-time dash to the gents. www.adidas.com
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the golf bubble This spaceship-like structure may look like it was crashed into a Dutch field by some drunken little green man, but it is actually the blueprint for the world’s largest indoor golf arena, destined to be built in Holland. Here’s what the Indoor Golf Arena will offer:
quick feet As befitting a boot worn by the ultimate modern footballer in Cristiano Ronaldo, the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II is about as innovative as it can get. The carbon-fibre composite plate – Nike’s lightest and strongest chassis yet – reacts instantly to the wearer’s need for speed, while two pressure-activated studs in the forefoot adapt to provide sensational grip and instant acceleration on surfaces ranging from ultra-smooth carpet to bloody bog. Throw in the concentrated forefoot traction zones – a feature inspired by track spikes to optimise grip from the toe-off – and you’re looking at what may very well be the fastest boot in history. You still have to actually do the running yourself, however. www.nike.com
14,000 square metres of synthetic grass from Southwest Greens, designed by Nicklaus Design and complete with a wide range of chipping and putting greens, bunkers and water hazards. 20 state-of-the-art ProTee United golf simulators, which offer a choice of international courses. 28 hitting bays with high-tech swing analysis systems. A revolutionary rooftop driving range with 34 bays. A spa, a 1,000 square-metre ‘mega size’ club shop and a 4* hotel with 200 rooms.
Soon it won’t just be Sir Chris Hoy who gets the fancy bikes. The iU Urban Concept Commuter Bike is the latest wizardry from the drawing board of former Olympic champion Chris Boardman…
Onboard computer Most obviously, this manages the lights and power distribution; but the display, which is built into the upper surface of the bars, also has a satnav function and audio output that is linkable to bluetooth earbud-style headphones. Naturally.
Security Handlebar features a thumb-print recognition pad, and a digital code can be inputted to activate the onboard computer and unlock the wheels – which are locked automatically when the bike is turned off.
Frame The entire frame is constructed from highmodulus carbon fibre and high-grade toughened resin, which basically means that it’s indestructible. It also comes together as one single piece, making it the most advanced school design project in history.
Power You sitting comfortably? Innovative new micro-dot solar cells are laid over the frame, feeding a Lithium Polymer battery stored within it; energy is saved when braking, decelerating or descending, while pedal-power is also used when reserves are low. In true 21st-century style, a USB plug under the saddle allows external charging.
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Wheels Tyres rotate on low-friction bearings around the outside of a fixed rim. They are pneumatic for suspension but contain a self-sealing liquid that fills any punctures instantly.
Propulsion The bike is driven using a shaft drive concealed inside the frame to the rear rim. Gear changing is automatic, while the internal battery has a range of over 30 miles and top speed of 25mph.
Lighting Highly visible but low energyconsumption LED bulbs are moulded directly into the head of the frame and rear of the seat, and the accompanying light sensor automatically turns them on when light levels drop.
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Players’ hopes of escaping shuttle runs for a fag behind the bike sheds ended last summer, when Premier League and Guinness Premiership clubs got hold of Polar’s new Team2 heart-rate training package. The system requires players to strap to their chest or wrist transmitters that send detailed
fitness data to a base station for instant analysis. “A coach can see heart rates live, so they can make changes there and then,” says Liz Shenton from Polar. Team2 enables coaches to compare playing positions, run team reports, plan full-season calendars and use the colourcoded flag system to decide
who needs a rest and who needs a kick up the backside. “Players find it motivational and there is a lot of banter,” adds Shenton. “Coaches often use it as a ‘name and shame’ device and pin the results on the wall. A player might look like they’re exerting themselves, but this data tells the real story.”
UK athletes are trialling miniature sensors that help to optimise training performance. The Elite Sport Performance Research in Training (ESPRIT) project, backed by bodies including UK Sport and Imperial College London, has created miniature ear-based devices which provide a continuous stream of information. “The body sensors sit behind an athlete’s ear and detect everything from posture to speed, stride frequency and stride lengths,” says Dr Scott Drawer, head of research and innovation at UK Sport. “Previously, we’d need hours of analysis to get this information. Now it can be gathered in the ‘real world’ during training – this is a breakthrough for coaches, enabling them to analyse and improve performances in real time.” The project has also developed portable, trackside Vision Sensor Networks which, when set up around a tennis court, can generate instant information about a player’s speed, position and movement.
Every year, Formula 1 teams spend between £50m and £300m on researching, developing and testing their racing cars. Here’s how science shaped McLaren’s MP4-25...
The Diffuser The diffuser is an extension of the floor that channels air underneath the car. This increases downforce and glues the car to the ground to increase speed. An efficient diffuser can generate seven-tenths of a second per lap.
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The Shell The car’s outer shell is the result of 12 hours of wind tunnel testing, 365 days a year. The £25m, 400-tonne steel unit features a turbine that rotates at 600 revolutions a minute to generate airflow in order to assess the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.
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The Simulator Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button spend two days in the team’s £50m simulator ahead of each race. McLaren send a team of experts to each race, armed with a high-tech laser to map out the contours of the track and produce an accurate race simulation for training.
The F-Duct McLaren stole a march on their rivals with the F-duct vent. The driver uses his left knee to block or unblock a hole in the cockpit, which in turn stalls the airflow over the rear wing to reduce drag. It gives them a 5kph straight-line speed advantage, which equates to around four-tenths of lap time.
The Front Wing Computational fluid dynamics is a form of computer analysis that tests the effectiveness of various parts of the car, such as the front wing. It’s cheaper than a wind tunnel – which is handy, as teams test up to 25 configurations of a single part per season.