Today marks the beginning of the action sport of curling in the 2010 Olympic Games. 
OK, we’re joking about the action, but the truth is that the sport has also gotten some high tech aids this year. The Edmonton Sun ran a feature this week that notes how the Canadians are using various advances such sensors, along with high-speed cameras to help.
Clearly even a sport using nothing more than a “rock,” brooms and ice can go high tech in the new millennium.
Riding a thin board down a track made of ice, and doing it headfirst would be enough to scare the life out of you (And we say this with absolutely no disrespect to Georgian luge racer Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was tragically killed last week at the end of a training run. Our condolences go out to his family and his 
teammates).
Maybe that is why this sport is called the “skeleton,” which was permanently added to the Olympic Games in 2002. The sport evolved from a form of tobogganing called cresta sledding, and dates to the 1880s. The difference today is that riders only use their bodies to guide the sled, instead of using skates to help steer. The U.S. Olympic skeleton team prepared with help from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York where engineering professor Timothy Wei and his team built a special custom-made simulator to help understand wind resistance. But they should know against a highly trained athlete, resistance even of the wind variety if futile.
We wish all the skeleton and luge riders safe runs!
Even if you never make the podium – or even see the games in person – you can feel the Olympic spirit with the Samsung Omnia II touchscreen smartphone. Available to our friends to the north from Bell Canada, this handset was designated the Official Mobile Device of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The i8000 Omnia II is a Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional powered handset, and it further lets users get in on the action with Samsung’s Wireless Olympic Works (WOW) communications platform, which provides real-time information on the games.
Other features of the OMNIA II:
If you’re lucky enough to be at the Olympic Games in Vancouver do you really want to check out TV? Actually, maybe you do, at least if its Panasonic’s Full HD 3D Theatre, which will show off the company’s new HDTVs. So if you’re in Vancouver, but can’t see the opening ceremonies or other events, head over to one of the two Panasonic theatres at 
David Lam Park, which will be showcasing the Opening Ceremony, as well as highlights of the 2010 Winter Games including the video of Sarah Brightman performing Panasonic’s song, “Shall be Done.”
The Panasonic sets will be released later this year, and available in 50-inch, 54-inch, 58-inch and a massive 65-inch screen sizes. These reproduced images alternately at 60 frames per second for each eye for a total of 120 frames per second. To experience this users do need the viewer to wear high-precision 3D eyewear with shutters driven in synchronization with the video, but viewers are treated to separate 1920×1080 full-HD images. So even if you can’t make it to Vancouver, you’ll be able to feel like you’re in London for the next Summer Olympics in 2012.
The Olympics Games that will kick off this week could just go down in history as the most high tech ever. 
And while there will be no shortage of space age materials with the clothing, as well as nifty new improvements to the skates, sleds and skis, the real tech boon is in how the games are being delivered to the masses.
Our friends at Cnet.com are reporting that there will be more than 5,000 kilometers of cables, more than 40,000 Ethernet ports, more than 6,000 PCs, more than 3,000 TVs, more than 7,000 two-way radios and more than 7,000 radios used by the organizers to deliver the games. Consider that with the very first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 it took days for results to reach America, and now access to results will be instantaneous. One major change this year is that unlike in past years, all video, data and voice will traverse one IP network set up Atos Origin, Bell Canada and Avaya. To manage all this, the Olympic organizers now even have a full-time CIO on board. Let the games begin, and may the network not go down!
SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation, the company that draws the virtual yellow line on the football field in TV broadcasts of games, just made it to the green with a multi-year deal with the Golf Channel to enhance broadcasts of its PGA Tour and LPGA tour coverage. This mean when a pro-golfer lines up his shot, the SMART Virtual Putting Line will draw a line to show the optimum putting line. It will use AimPoint’s positioning data system to measure the slope and grain of the putting surface to rate the difficulty. The optimum putting line will show where the ball must travel to make a successful putt.
See the action this week on the Golf Channel’s broadcast of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. You can decide whether the addition enhances the broadcast when the Golf Channel puts it on the line with SportsMedia Technology.
PowerBars have come a long way from their original chewy formula. The company has developed a dual source energy blend, C2MAX, made from sugar, glucose syrup from wheat, and invert sugar to boost energy and carbs during a workout. PowerBar Gel Blasts energy chews with a flavor choice of raspberry and strawberry banana use C2MAX to provide just such energy in an easy-to-eat form for workouts.
The quantities may be a little difficult to digest. PowerBar recommends that during activities lasting more than one hour, exercisers should take on -to-three pieces every 10 minutes, followed by water or sports drink. You can alternatively down a packet of 30 chews, the equivalent of one and a half PowerBar Gels, 60 minutes before exercise.
Chocolates are said to be good for your health, but why not give gifts that are good for the heart and get your sweetie moving. That’s a gift for the heart! KineticShift has a few recommendations to get you on the right track this Valentine’s Day.
Oregon Scientific: SmartHeart SE102 Heart Rate Monitor
This water resistant monitor tracks heart rate, calories burned, average heart rate, and vibrates to send alerts. The SmartHeart features a touch-sensitive lens so you can toggle through settings with a tap.
(Oregon Scientific HeartSmart heart rate monitor; $49.99)
Urbanears: Tanto Headphones
Listen to music with style during workouts or jaunts to the store with Urbanears Tanto headphones. The retro-style headphones has a fabric cord to add strength and has 36 mm handmade drivers. The remote/microphone lets the headphones double for a headset with a cell phone.
(Urbanears; $39.99)
Speck: PixelSkin Case
Protect your sweetie’s phone during workouts with Speck’s PixelSkin. The no-slip grip is due to its textured silicon construction. The phone-specific case provides access to all the phone’s ports and controls. For Valentine’s Day, Speck is offering 25 percent off red, pink, and purple phones.
(Speck PixelSkin; $34.95)
Nike: Lightweight Running Gloves
They say cold hands, warm heart. That doesn’t mean your love’s digits should freeze off by the end of winter. Lightweight Running Gloves from Nike uses a Dri-FIT material made from high-performance, microfiber polyester fabric to wick sweat from hands to relieve runners and those just smitten of sweaty palms.
(Nike Lightweight Running Gloves; $15.00)
Under Armour: Metal
Keep him warm on the slopes or any other outdoor activity in the extreme cold. Metal has diamond-faced ColdGear construction to remove moisture while holding in warmth. The top has ventilation zones for heat release and temperature regulation. It also features flatlock seams to increase mobility without causing irritation.
(Under Armour Metal; $79.99)
As an avid cyclist in New York City, this reporter knows that biking in the Big Apple is as much about fashion as actually training. But seeing one too many Team Astana jerseys (which I expect will be retired to never see the light of day again), not to mention a decade or more of “world champions” doing a slow lap in Central Park, it is refreshing to see Retro’s newest line. Based on the Horton Collection – the personal treasure trove of cycling related artifacts from Brett Horton, the foremost authority on bicycle racing history – these jerseys are truly “retro” cool. Instead of just mere “team” jerseys for the wannabe rider, these are inspired by hand-selected vintage posters from Brett’s massive collection of vintage cycling memorabilia.
And if old school cycling isn’t quite your thing, but you still want to evoke something unique, Retro also offers numerous eclectic jerseys such as “Bauhaus exhibit” for the lover of 1920’s German modernism, and a Peking Opera poster for the chick who desires to be a dragon lady on two wheels.
With the Vancouver 2010 Olympics about a week away, our interest is peaked. KineticShift will report on some of the news, but we’re looking at athletes’ gear and clothing as well as the technology used to judge results. For results and other news, we look to a few news outlets. Top on our list is a site created by the Associated Press to cover the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Go to http://wintergames.ap.org to check out all the events surrounding the Games. AP, which has covered the Olympics since the Games were revived in 1896, will post coverage from its sports writers, related stories from other writers, and produce a daily Webcast, “Beyond the Medal” hosted by snowboarder and reality TV personality Jesse Csincsak.
Sometimes technology advancements take you back to your natural state. In the case of Vibram Five Fingers, that’s barefoot. Vibram believes the 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons, and ligaments in the foot are a marvel of evolution, and best left in their natural state. Of course living in Manhattan, or many other places, don’t make running or even walking barefoot welcoming. Perhaps the last realm of barefoot action is the beach, or possibly a grassy field. But we opt for the protection of shoes everywhere else.
Vibram Five Fingers “shoes” have five distinct toes on each foot, and the soul emulates a bare foot with an arch. The company claims going barefoot, or wearing its shoes, strengthens muscles in the feet and lower legs; improves range of motion in ankles, feet, and toes; enhances balance and agility by stimulating neural function; and improves posture and alignment by not creating heel lift. Vibram Five Fingers has a range of models that lend themselves to running, water sports, hiking, traveling, yoga, and other disciplines of fitness. There’s a few therapeutic shoes on the market that make claims like this, and we plan to follow the space and take a closer look.
As the Olympics gear up athletes are at the ready. Eyewear and helmet manufacturer Rudy Project outfitted many competitors in Turin in 2006, and will outfit many more in Vancouver 2010. While goggles and helmets will be in order for certain sports, the Noyz Fluo will cover many eyes. The Fluo version of the Noyz sunglasses have a technicolored-look, though the Noyz model is available in many bold colors. The lenses have ImpactX sun technology, which allows for a lighter lens, adds impact resistance, and doesn’t stress crack or craze. For sight, the lenses have favorable optical properties with a lower light refraction index, internal stress, and chromatic dispersion than comparable polycarbonate lenses. This brings a lower surface reflection and higher definition and sharper images.
The Rudy Project was just named the exclusive eyewear and helmet supplier for the USRowing, a three-year partnership including support of the U.S. National Team in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In Turin, Rudy Project gear was on athletes who won 45 medals (18 gold, 13 silver, and 14 bronze). This winter Olympics athletes from Germany, Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Italy plan to wear eyewear from this Rudy Project.
Polartec’s Women’s El Cap Temple 1/4 Zip top from The North Face is made from sustainable resources. Part of the fleece manufacturer’s eco-engineering line, it contains a minimum of 50 percent recycled content, and both companies continue to push to raise the bar on post-consumer materials. Why opt for a garment with such a high content of reused materials? Each shirt saves 6.6 lbs in C02 emissions, and 0.17 gallons of gas.
The earth conscious gear has its benefits. The pique knit is soft on the skin. It carries an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 30. The El Cap Temple wicks moisture in a number of ways. It draws sweat and moisture away from skin while setting up a dry zone next to the skin. Moisture wicked to the surface is spread across the outer layer of the garment, and continues to make the top breathable. Wicking is crucial in a long sleeve garment, especially since it’s likely to act as a base layer for outside workouts.
The North Face’s Women’s El Cap Temple 1/4 Zip shirt is appropriate for a base layer in outdoor workouts over the winter. It’s also a great transitional top in those days nice enough to go out for a run, but not quite nice enough for short sleeves. The dual-layer fabric provides a degree of wind blocking, an important factor in transitional weather.