Top Performance Student Success Bright Future An inspiration to us ...

04
‘ViBraTiNg SUiT’ —
HelPS OlyMPiC
aTHleTeS
TO PrOgreSS
a pioneering ‘vibrating suit’ created by experts
at the University, could help athletes and other
sports stars to enhance their performance by
providing live information on their physical
technique, allowing them to make real-time
adjustments.
The project has been led by a cross-disciplinary team
including Professor Gregory Sporton from Birmingham
Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), senior academic
at the Faculty of Health Stephen Wanless and PhD
student Jonathan Green.
Professor Sporton said: “The suit is designed to
give wearers feedback about where their body is in
space. It does this by focusing on key points in the
body, taking relative measurements between them
to check the user’s position. This data, much more
simple to acquire and treat in real time than more
complex motion capture systems, is then used
to give the wearer feedback in real time about
their movement.”
The device has recently been tested by rising
star and Olympic hopeful Mimi Cesar, the UK’s
third-ranking rhythmic gymnast, and her coaching
staff immediately recognised the suit’s potential in
giving UK athletes a competitive advantage.
Tested by Olympic hopeful
Mimi Cesar
How do i find
out more?
www.bcu.ac.uk
ProGress 2012
News
SHOeS BaSed ON
fOOTBall COUld
Make rUNNerS
gO faSTer
running shoes built on the same principles
as the football used in the 2010 world
Cup could improve athletes’ performance
on the track, according to new research
from a team based at the University.
The researchers – led by Professor Robert
Ashford, Director of Postgraduate Research
Degrees at our Faculty of Health – studied
the performance of four running shoes. They
measured the aerodynamic drag on each by
placing them on a mannequin’s foot which
was inserted into a wind tunnel.
They concluded that the aerodynamics of a
running shoe, both in terms of upper shoe design
and the overall composition of the frontal aspects,
could affect a runner’s performance on the track.
Despite the importance of aerodynamics in certain
sports, such as the design of the World Cup football,
the research paper’s authors believe there has
been little focus on this aspect in running shoes,
despite recent advances in shoe design with a
focus on materials.
Professor Ashford said: “One could speculate
and argue that if indeed aerodynamics is found
to be important in a long distance race, and if the
athlete is biomechanically compromised in terms
of their swing pattern, total shoe design may
prove to be important in energy consumption and
ultimately the finishing time for such an individual
– whether they are a professional or amateur.”
ProGress 2012
News 05
New eNTrePreNeUrS
OPeN THeir OwN
flagSHiP STOre
are you a budding designer or
inventor? would you like the
chance to sell your ideas directly
to the public?
Recession-busting young entrepreneurs got the
chance to do just that after the University opened
its own shop in the city’s prestigious Mailbox
shopping and entertainment complex.
The 10 students and graduates came
together in May to launch our first Entrepreneur
Store, with more traders being introduced
as the month went on.
The ambitious entrepreneurs all shared
the same vision – that Birmingham, with its
reputation for design and innovation, was the
perfect home for an alternative retail venture.
The store sells a range of creative products
and accessories from the arts, lifestyle,
fashion and homeware sectors, and includes
everything from kitsch handbags to
vintage trinkets.
Biad executive dean Chris O’Neil (front left),
director of employer engagement Beverley
Nielsen (front right), staff and students at the
store’s launch.
Beverley Nielsen,
director of employer engagement
“We are delighted that The Mailbox
is fully backing the Entrepreneur
Store – and recognise that they are
helping the next generation of
designers who we expect to be
soon selling their future brands in
flagship stores across the region,
the UK and beyond.”
www.bcu.ac.uk/postgraduate www.bcu.ac.uk/postgraduate