Heathrow Airport Inspired by Formula One

Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is looking to leverage Formula One (F1) technology to help cut carbon emissions at Heathrow Airport. F1 currently uses “modeling software to analyze live racing data and visualize a range of potential scenarios -- allowing pit crews to make strategic decisions in the blink of an eye -- all in an effort to get their cars back out onto the racetrack milliseconds ahead of their competitors.” NATS hopes to leverage similar software to reduce CO2 emissions that result from wasted time circling over the airport and taxiing on the ground.

The technology currently streamlines complex race data to a simple circle. Similarly the technology will simplify multifaceted airport data into a rectangle. While currently in a proof of concept phase, if successful this technology could potentially reduce CO2 emissions significantly for the 3rd busiest airport in the world. The benefits do not stop with the environment. More efficiant logistics means less wasted fuel (money saver for the airlines) and less time wasted taxiing (happier passengers).

The below video further explains this fascinating best practice sharing between two seemingly unrelated businesses. Ref. cnn.com, wikipedia.org

London Launches Website For Visitors With Access Requirements

The city of London has launched a new site to assist those with access requirements. The site Inclusivelondon.com gives users the ability to filter and search for various accessible features. These features include facilities for the blind, accessible car parking, baby changing facilities, sign language for deaf people, customer bathroom facilities and more. Additionally the site provides listings of healthcare facilities, police stations and banks.

Inclusivelondon.com is really impressive. It includes maps, pictures and even links to websites while being easy to use and having a clean, simple layout. A site like this is bound to be a very helpful reference for the millions of tourists navigating the city. Well done London. Ref. inclusivelondon.com, london.gov.uk Pic Ref. inclusivelondon.com

ACC Highlights At Your Fingertips

The ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) announced they will be utilizing “Thought Equity Motion's T3 Library Manager to create an advanced digital workflow that provides sports broadcasters and other media with timely, online access to ACC sports content.” According to Yahoo Finance, “This service will replace traditional satellite and physical workflows historically used to distribute interviews and other video content. The platform's online portal allows sports producers and media to easily search for and download broadcast-quality packages of ACC content that will better meet broadcast deadlines. The ACC and its twelve member institutions will utilize the T3 Library Manager to upload highlights and interviews starting with the upcoming football season and continuing throughout the 2011-12 athletic season.” Additionally within the ACC Vault's, “Video Media Guide & Link Database, complete games have been tagged with rich play-by-play data, enabling search and syndication at the level of teams, players, highlights and individual moments (i.e., great blocks, great finishes, and dunks).”

Essentially, this technology puts thousands of hours of archived video footage at the fingertips of broadcasters and fans. Currently, the ACC Vault gives fans the chance to access many full length tournament and regular season men’s basketball games from as far back as 1983. The videos have been structured to allow fans to jump into a specific moment or play and share it via social media like Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Check out this link: http://bit.ly/nuVPxW. It is a direct link to an alley-oop by Michael Jordan in a 1984 UNC vs Duke game. Different major minutes of games are actually highlighted with a comment when you mouse over the bottom of the video. In this same game you can jump from Jordan’s alley-oop in the 59th minutes to Duke’s Mark Alarie “crashing a powerful dunk from underneath” in the 15th minute. Imagine during a game a broadcaster is discussing an awesome alley-oop by Harrison Barnes and wants to compare it to Jordan's…a quick search in the vault, side-by-side screenshots, and fans at home can compare for themselves. Ref. thoughtequity.com, valut.theacc.com, yahoo.com Pic Ref. thoughtequity.com

First Pro Baseball Player Tested Positive for HGH

Mike Jacobs, minor leaguer with the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A club and former Mets first basemen, is the first professional baseball player to test positive for human growth hormone (HGH). Jacobs’ positive blood test will saddle him with a 50 game suspension starting immediately. Though Jacobs is the first player actually caught, the MLB began testing minor leaguers’ blood back in early 2010. Today, professional sports leagues in addition to the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA all ban HGH. Though banned, without the approval of the Players Association, major league players cannot be blood tested for the hormone.

Currently the most reliable and efficient test for HGH is a blood test. This works by taking multiple samples of blood during different times of the day to measure a person’s level of HGH production. From these samples, an analysis chart is created. This chart shows the maximum and minimum levels of HGH produced in the body. Athletes who dope may have an elevated level. However there are some major limitations to this type of testing. First, the test will only detect if the athletes were doping within 24-48 hours of the test. Additionally, these blood tests can be expensive and are invasive to the athlete.

Due to these problems, research is underway to develop accurate HGH detecting urine tests. According to hgh.org, “A recent and promising HGH urine test is being developed at the George Mason University, which uses nanotechnology that binds and amplifies HGH in urine. This technology will allow detection of urinary levels of HGH up to a two-week range.” Unfortunately detection in urine is very difficult because the level of HGH in urine is small, just 1% of the level in blood. Therefore many believe a reliable urine test may just be a hope for the distant future.

Until the urine test is ready or the Players Association allows for random surprise blood tests (including testing in the off season), Jacobs may remain the only busted athlete despite likely not being the only doping athlete. Ref. hgh.org, nydailynews.com

How It's Made: Golf Balls

This past weekend Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship. In honor of this accomplishment, here is a Discover Channel video of how golf balls are made.



Ref. youtube.com

Changes for the NCAA Rule Book

The Division I board of directors announced this week a major change for the NCAA. The board agreed to raise the historical Academic Progress Rate (APR) cutline from 900 to 930. The APR is an NCAA metric that “indicate(s) the success of collegiate athletic teams in moving student athletes towards graduation.” It is calculated based on athletes being academically eligible and for staying with the institution. Adjustments are made when an athlete transfers schools or leaves to pursue a professional athletic career.

This change is one of potentially many changes to come out of a two-day retreat of over 50 university presidents. The retreat was organized by Mark Emmert, NCAA president. Also in attendance were a number of conference commissioners, athletic directors, and select others. In addition to the APR adjustment, the presidential group plans to reevaluate the 434 page NCAA rule book. Currently there are strict guidelines regarding social media and leveraging other forms of technology to communicate between coaches and prospects.

The current rules on social media and recruiting for Divisions I and II include no “comments about possible recruits on an institution’s social media page or a page belonging to someone affiliated with the institution” including photos of recruits. Additionally, communicating via text messaging, Instant Messaging, chat room and message boards (including recruits’ Facebook walls) are not allowed. The rule for Twitter is a little looser, allowing coaches to Tweet as long as they do not reach out to a specific individual. Division III has some slight variations including allowing coaches and schools to advertise their programs on social media pages. However as with Divisions I and II, no individual contact can be made with potential recruits.

Other rules and guidelines will be reconsidered as well, and it is likely that some big changes are on the way. It is expected that regardless of what changes, the penalties for noncompliance (especially as related to severe violations) will be stricter and better enforced. Emmert says he hopes to have the rule book updated by next April. Ref. espn.com, espn.com, ncaa.org, wikipedia.org

I’ve Got Mail…From Jurgen Klinsmann

Today I received an email from the new Men’s US Soccer coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. Before you become too impressed, understand that this was not a personal email (or at least I don’t think it was considering he addressed me as “Dear U.S. Soccer Fan –“. Either way, he has found his way into my inbox, and I enjoy hearing from him.

My buddy Jurgen tells me that the US has come a long way in this sport. He also says that everyone (especially me, the fan) will have their voices heard. Unfortunately he did not include his cell so I could share my thoughts on who should be in the starting XI. However all kidding aside, I am impressed with the new head coach for exploring this interesting channel to find me. True, I am a soccer fan, but I am not on any US Soccer fan registry, at least that I am aware of.

Jurgen Klinsmann figured out that US soccer fans like to shop for US soccer gear. My email address was lifted from a list of people who have purchased products at ussoccerstore.com. I must say, BRAVO Klinsmann and BRAVO ussoccerstore.com! While I do not know who initiated this partnership, it exemplifies a win-win situation. First, to Klinsmann, great stroke of genius reaching fans by leveraging a soccer store distribution list. And to ussoccerstore.com, also well done. Most stores exclusively push sales/new products/etc in their customer inbox. What happens…their customers unsubscribe. What was the point of having access to these customers’ valuable emails if you abuse them to the point of customers blocking you? This email from Klinsmann (as with all emails from this site) did include the “To unsubscribe click here:” link at the bottom of the email. However now that ussoccerstore.com has proven they offer value to me beyond useless promotions, guess what? I will not be clicking that unsubscribe link any time soon. Picture Ref: iffhs.de

1st Amputee To Compete at World Championships

The world championships will, for the first time, have an amputee competing. Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee, will represent South Africa in the 400 meters. This is a monumental achievement for any athlete, however even more so for this multiple gold-medal winning Paralympian. To be permitted to participate in able-bodied events with his Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs, Pistorius had to plead his case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Previously the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned him from participating due to having a supposed unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes.

Pistorius’ controversy began back in November of 2007 after German professor Gert-Peter Brüggemann studied his prosthetic limbs and claimed they offer an unfair advantage. The study concluded that Pistorius’ limbs required 25% less energy and 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body when compared to human legs. Based on this information, the IAAF decided that the prosthetics could not be used in IAAF ruled competitions. The IAAF’s policy on technology in sports (as amended in 2007) bans, "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device.”

In May 2008 CAS decided to overrule the IAAF’s ban of Pistorius’ blades. While this decision made him eligible to compete in the 2008 Beijing Games, he did not qualify. CAS claims that the original study did not take into account both the advantages and the countering disadvantages of the prosthetic limbs, such as slower starts. Furthermore, they feel when positives and negatives are weighed in terms of the entirety of the race, no overall advantage is actually given to Pistorius. While a precedent has been set, CAS was careful to say that their ruling is specific to Pistorius and could change as technology advances in the future. Either way, many view this as a step in the right direction toward breaking down barriers for different types of athletes to compete together on one stage. Ref. espn.com, wikipedia.org Pic Ref. wikipedia.org

The Chirp About Cricket Ball Technology

The most talked about cricket technology today is ball tracking technology and the Decision Review System (DRS). Though introduced in late 2009, this past Monday (1 Aug) the ICC (International Cricket Council) unanimously agreed to recommend all Tests and one-day internationals be played with DRS.

The purpose of this technology is to allow each team the opportunity to request up to two unsuccessful review calls per inning during a match. Batting teams may use the review to challenge an ‘out’ call while fielding teams may debate ‘not out’ calls. According to DSR rules, only bad calls can be reversed, and if it is too close to call, the original call on the field stands. There are further regulations to these basic rules, which can be viewed here.

Unlike a review in baseball (left or right of the foul pole) or in football (multiple camera angels to catch the point of tackle) getting a clear picture of high speed play in cricket requires more complex technology. Below is a description of the technology from A Cricketing View blog:

Ball Tracking technology involves the use of multiple synchronized, high frame-rate video cameras to capture the path of the cricket ball from the point of delivery to the point of impact on bat or pad. These synchronized videos are then transferred to a calibrated 3D Virtual World of the cricket pitch. The cricket ball is located in the 3D space of the virtual world in each frame of video. The path of the cricket ball is reconstructed by putting together all these available frames. The basic data that are produced by this procedure is a position for the cricket ball at regular intervals of time (the frame rate). These data are then used to calculate what forces act of the cricket ball at any point in time, based on which the position of the ball at the next point in time can be calculated. This is a basic outline of how the ball track and the prediction of where the ball was heading if the pad was absent are produced.

This technology is not without controversy. The top vendor of ball tracking tech is up for debate, as is the product reliability. Also, similarly to the goal-line debate in soccer, purists argue ball tracking and DRS undermine the authority of the on-field umpires. Personally my knowledge of cricket does not extend much past eye-wear. However I wanted to cover this topic because the technology is interesting and complex and (as with most sports) peppered with controversy. Ref. cricketingview.blogspot.com, espnstar.com, wikipedia.org Pic ref: espnstar.com

Unlocking Knee Healing With a Bandage

A bandage developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart, has the ability to measure progress of motion on an injured knee. The bandage contains sensors that continuously measure and record the range of motion and send updates to doctors and patients. Additionally other information such as degree of movement is also tracked over time. Records of this information can help doctors see the healing progress and determine what, if any, adjustments need to be made. Visually seeing the gradual but definite improvement over time can give patients a mental boost while they are going through the slow healing process.

Fortunately these sensors do not disrupt the healing progression. Unfortunately they currently are only available for knee injuries. The future goal is to apply sensors to other bandages for shoulder or hip injuries, but such complexity of movement in all three axes creates a bit of a challenge. One possible solution that is being considered is to pair this bandage technology with 3D sensor systems. Once perfected, this could have huge implications for the sports world. Not only would this data improve the morale of the patient, it could also clue managers and fantasy sports aficionados to when an athlete will be coming off the DL. Ref. gizmag.com, sportstechreview.com Pic. sportstechreview.com