Research | Evolving Consumer

Tweets Keep the Sharks Away

Shark attacks are rather rare, but when they do occur they can be deadly. Now researchers in Australia have developed a system that could use social media to not only warn when a shark attack is imminent but actually monitor the movement of sharks near beaches.

It could be the next best thing to having the sharks sign up on Twitter to announce their presence. Since that would be difficult – as sharks don’t have mobile phones or the thumbs to type out tweets – the researchers have attached transmitters to more than 320 sharks, including great whites. When the sharks get close to the beaches the sensors trigger an alert, which is picked up on a computer.

From this a short message on Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s (SLSWA) Twitter feed is posted giving details on the approximate location of the shark, as well as its size and breed. This might just make it safe to go back into the water.

[Via Sky News: Australia: Sharks Use Twitter To Warn Swimmers]

Weekend Reading List (01.11.2014): CES Recaps – Fit Right, Big Fit, App It

CES: Fit Right

From Yahoo Tech: At CES, There Are Fitness Trackers For Everyone (And Their Dogs, Too)
You’ve seen fitness bands that track your steps, count your calories, and clock your mileage. But at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), fitness and health monitors have taken over more floor space than ever, with well over a hundred companies presenting new devices claiming to improve your well-being, and that of your kids – even your dog. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (01.11.2014): CES Recaps – Fit Right, Big Fit, App It

CES Preview: It’s On

InvenSense will showcase its new “AlwaysOn” solutions at the upcoming 2014 CES, where sensors can track motion, audio, visual and even environmental conditions including pressure, temperature and humidity. This could enable a “human like” context of awareness, intuition and natural interaction. Wearable sensors could track touch, while audio devices could “hear.”

The company will showcase its new MPU-6515 product, the world’s first MotionTracking SoC optimized for Google’s Android KitKat 4.4. Android 4.4 defines several new sensor functions including Significant Motion Interrupt, Pedometer, Step Event and Event Batching.

We’ll be sure to check out the AlwaysOn technology in Las Vegas at CES.

InvenSense Official Website

Healthy America

This month the United Health Foundation and America’s Health Rankings released their annual report of America’s healthiest states rankings. The healthiest state in 2013 was Hawaii, which edged out long time leader Vermont.

There was some good news for 2013. According to the report Americans made considerable progress in their overall health in 2013. This was also the first year since 1998 that America’s obesity stats did not get worse. However, there is only so much good news in this. America’s obesity rate was about the same as last year, at 27.6 percent of the adult population — marking the first time since 1998 that America did not get worse in this key metric. It didn’t fall, but at least it didn’t go up.

Other key findings noted that among the adult population smoking rates dropped from 21.2 percent to 19.6 percent, and rates of physical inactivity dropped from 26.2 percent to 22.9 percent.

America’s Health Rankings Official Website

Snowboarding in Decline

Last month we reported that the participation in alpine skiing actually dropped 19 percent last winter and overall snow sports participation was down by three percent, according to a new report from SnowSport Industries America (SIA). Now comes news that snowboarding is in a major decline as well.

A quote from the Boston Globe might sum it up best: “For every 25 pair of skis we sell, there’s maybe one snowboard. It used to be 50-50,” said Mike Murphy, Sanchez’s boss at Sportworks in Duxbury.

That’s not good news, and we hope this winter will bring more people to the slopes.

[Via The Boston Globe: Snowboarding appears to be in serious decline]

On the Plate

While batters in baseball may head up to the plate to swing away, the Swing Catalyst Balance Plate is designed to help with your golf game. It provides instructors a better understanding of the golf swing, ranging from weight-shift patterns and balance to details of foot pressure distribution – none of which can be determined by the best trained eye or even high-speed cameras.

The Balance Plate has further been perfectly synchronized with video images and integrates data from the most popular launch monitors and ball flight-tracking devices, such as TrackMan, FlightScope, Foresight GC2 and Full Swing Golf – allowing instructors to study the correlations between everything that happens during a golf swing and the actual result of the shot.

To improve your game and your swing, perhaps it is time to step up to the plate

Swing Catalyst Official Website

Less People Hitting the Powder?

Less people are taking part in winter sports. According to a recent national report from the SnowSports Industries America (SIA), participation in alpine skiing actually dropped 19 percent last winter and overall snow sports participation was down by three percent. While some states, such as Utah, are seeing growth the national picture far different.

This report further suggests that the lessons for skiers has been flat, while season pass and even multi-day ticket sales have been down. This isn’t good news for the snow sport industry at all, but could be attributed to the recent mild winters.

[Via The Salt Lake Tribune: Ski, snowboard participation dropping nationally]

Risks of Surfing

While shark attacks are rare, and drowning is actually the greater risk for surfers, there is another dark side to surfing. What exactly are the health risks for the shapers – those who create the boards? Surfer Today poised that question earlier this month, and noted that many of today’s higher tech materials – notably polymers – could put the surfboard shapers at health risks.

That’s certainly not to increase the good vibrations anytime soon, but as with our modern materials it is crucial that safety protocols are followed.

[From Surfer Today: The health risks of surfboard shaping materials]

Weekend Reading List (11.16.2013):

Social Olympics

From Sport Techie: Reviewing the New Olympic Athletes’ Hub App for Sochi 2014
On November 3, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) launched a new Olympic Athletes’ Hub app in order to connect fans with Olympic athletes like never before. With a searchable directory of all athletes and their various social network feeds, fans can find their favorite stars on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Another unique feature within the app is the ability for verified athletes to text each other or the IOC from within the framework of the app. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (11.16.2013):

Kinetic Op-Ed: 3D Scanning Speed and Accuracy Prevail to Scan Bike and Rider for the Windiest Conditions

The Company:

The company is a major manufacturer of high-tech bicycles with a worldwide distributorship and many professional endorsements. Their mission is to promote bike riding through innovative products and exceptional care for their dealers and customers.

The Challenge:

In their ongoing quest to improve the efficiency and aerodynamics of their bikes, company engineers have been testing them in a wind tunnel since 2000. The goal is to improve design to reduce drag, so the same amount of power will create more speed and better air flow. The wind tunnel testing works well for mechanical assemblies like the bikes and components. However, in order to obtain truly realistic results, the interaction between the bike and the rider must also be factored into any wind resistance testing plan. Continue reading Kinetic Op-Ed: 3D Scanning Speed and Accuracy Prevail to Scan Bike and Rider for the Windiest Conditions

Do Helmet Laws Discourage Cycling

Last month the Spanish cabinet approved amendments to the existing Law on Traffic, Circulation, Motor Vehicles and Road Safety, and then passed the proposed bill to the Spanish Parliament for approval. Under the heading “Improving Road Safety’ is an amendment that could make bicycle helmets mandatory for all cyclists under the age of 18 on all roads (urban and rural).

This may sound like a good idea, but the European Cyclists’ Federation noted that mandatory helmet laws could actually discourage people from cycling. The above poster – in Spanish – noted “20 children are run over per year. Would you feel safer if your child wore a helmet? The danger for children are cars, not riding bicycles.”

The ECF also added:
“Research in the field of cycling in Australia (a country with a MHL) has led to the conclusion that “the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets but to discourage cycling” (Robinson 1996). By portraying cycling as a dangerous activity, MHLs dissuade people from cycling.”

This is something to consider. While recommended use of helmets could warn people why a helmet is necessary, making these mandatory could have the effect of keeping people off bikes.

[Via ECF: Mandatory Helmets: An Attack on Spanish Cycling]

Weekend Reading List (11.09.2013): Lance Comes Clean, Student Board, Race Circuit

Lance Comes Clean

From Cycling News: Lance Armstrong exclusive interview: Part 1
A year on from USADA’s Reasoned Decision, Lance Armstrong swivels in his desk chair as he talks at length about the last 12 months and many aspects of his career starting from when he turned professional back in 1992. The now disgraced Texan has agreed to sit down with Cyclingnews Editor Daniel Benson for a face-to-face interview in his new temporary home in a sleepy suburban district of Austin. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (11.09.2013): Lance Comes Clean, Student Board, Race Circuit

New York’s Finest Use the Bike Lanes

New York’s finest – as in the NYPD – are apparently putting the city’s robust bike lane infrastructure to good use. However, the police aren’t riding on the bike lanes. They are using the bike lanes for parking. We previously witnessed this first hand for a few years, but the problem has grown so big that someone has launched a Thumblr blog that tracks it.

The website Cops in the Bike Lanes, noted: Rules of the City of New York, § 4-08 (e)(9): “It is against the law to park, stand or stop within or otherwise obstruct bike lanes.”

To serve and protect indeed!

Cops in the Bike Lanes Official Website