From the laboratory to the slopes: The Salzburg COMET competence center Digital Motion is currently developing and testing innovative sensors that could make skiing even smarter in the future. Ski equipment could advise you to take a break if you experience fatigue.

Sport should be fun – only then will it become an integral part of the lifestyle. As part of the COMET competence center Digital Motion, headed by Salzburg Research, industrial companies develop smart running and skiing equipment together with research institutes. In the first year, a series of laboratory studies took place, including on the ski treadmill of the ski middle school Windischgarsten. The participants did their turns on the treadmill for 30 to 45 minutes. Various sensor configurations have been tested. Both body-worn sensors and stationary environmental sensors were used. Numerous biomechanical and psychophysiological parameters were recorded: exhalation gases, muscle activity, muscle oxygen saturation, data from rotation rate and acceleration sensors as well as heart rate variability and breathing patterns. The goal is to find out how qualitative and, until now, often only subjectively assessable signs of fatigue such as heavy legs or material fatigue can be measured. For some applications, we can use sensor systems that are already working from previous research projects by Salzburg Research, for other sensors such as piezoelectric foils, research is still very experimental. The findings from the laboratory are now continuously tested on the slopes under real conditions. In the future, both professional and amateur athletes will benefit from ideally adapted ski equipment.