BoardSport Technologies Enterprise -- SmartBoard
Why This Project Is Important
The SmartBoard project is crucial to the snowboard community for two distinct reasons. Firstly, the SmartBoard revolutionizes the sport of snowboarding by increasing rider safety. Additionally, the SmartBoard will make the sport to be quantifiable using metrics obtained throughout a riding session. In a brief overview, the SmartBoard will provide locating features to locate snowboarders in cases of emergency. While the SmartBoard won't directly prevent or reduce the chance of injury, it will help emergency teams have quicker response times when searching for an individual. Furthermore, data acquisition sensors will be used to obtain various metrics (velocity, acceleration, number of spins, etc) of the rider. This provides a more quantifiable way to measure a snowboarder's abilities. The ability to quantify metrics of snowboarding is what is needed to take the sport to the next level. Using obtain metrics, riders will be able to get real-time feedback of what they need to improve on, gives judges in a competition setting a systematic and consistent way to rank the competitors, and can even be used for on-screen graphics through video broadcasting companies.
Project Description
While snowboarding in the back-country, avalanches become a potential danger to a snowboard rider. If caught in an avalanche, the rider will be buried and could be lost for hours (leading to the likely possibility of death). Therefore, the SmartBoard will have two different ways to track the individual if they get lost during their riding experience: GPS and REECO location. By implementing two methods of location, it provides a high degree of precision and accuracy as to where the individual will be located. Additionally, the SmartBoard will have various sensors built into the board that will be able to track metrics such as velocity, acceleration, number of spins, number of flips, etc. The data obtained will then immediately be wirelessly transmitted to a SmartWatch that the team will be building. This SmartWatch will be outputting the data in real-time so that the rider can view the throughout their riding session.
This project is being designed and carried about by BoardSport Technologies.
Meet the Researchers
Jacob Prochnow
Hi! My name is Jacob Prochnow and I am a member of the SmartBoard project team through the BoardSport Technologies Enterprise. I am a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science engineering. This is my fourth year within the enterprise and this project is in it's first semester of development. This project is important to me because it combines three things I love: snowboarding, engineering, and graduating (yes this is our senior design project so this is used towards graduation :p). Although my majors are ME and MSE, I have also taken on the software side of the project, in order to get the electronics involved to properly work. In addition to actively being involved on the E-Board of the BST Enterprise, I am also on the men's varsity tennis team here at Michigan Tech.
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What Your Donation Can Help Us Do:
- Any funds that will be collected will be used for two distinct categories: 1.) Mechanical Properties Testing of the SmartBoard and 2.) Purchases of High Accuracy Sensors.
- The first category involves ensuring the SmartBoard team that the chosen design will be structural stable for snowboarding riding applications. The team has completed finite element analyzes on the chosen design and has determined that the snowboard will be an adequate strength and fatigue life for riding applications. However, being able to complete lab testing will provide additional measures to ensure the team that the design is functional for riding applications.
- The second category involves buying high quality sensors that provide superior accuracy and precision. However, it is well known that the higher quality a product is, the cost of the product increases. Therefore, to increase the quality of the SmartBoard, high quality sensors are needed.
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3D Printed BST Logo SmartBoard
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