So watching Ski Sunday this afternoon, and they reported that the guy who won at Kitzbuehel, Cluche, has a microchip device fitted just behind the bindings of his skis, which controls a Kinetic Energy Recovery System, similar to what has been run in F1 cars.

Why? What does it do?

Only thing I can come up with is that it operates upon some sort of stabilisation in the corners & recharges on the straights?

Heard this too when he was in mid run, very intreaging for this to now be in skiing…

I haven't seen it but clearly anyone who thinks it would resemble anything like a kinnetic recovery system in a car is on crack.
Haven't they put electronic elements inside skis before to dynamically alter their stiffness? I'd imagine it's that with maybe a piezo electric element to charge up the electronics.

Best-known for its use in Formula 1, KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is heading for the slopes as Head incorporate it as a performance-enhancer into their skis next season.

So how does it work? Piezoelectric fibres positioned behind the binding transform mechanical impulses into electrical energy, which is stored in a microchip. The chip releases this stored energy to the ski right when it’s needed, controlled by a special sensor which is pre-programmed according to the particular flex patterns of the ski model.

Influenced by the length of the ski, weight of the skier and speed of travel, a ski is in maximum flex towards the end of the turn. In the area where the ski flexes the most, the microchip sensor is activated, releasing the energy to the piezoelectric fibres. This in turn stiffens the tail, leading to a rebound that gives maximum acceleration at the end of the turn, accelerating the racer from one turn to the next.

Underhill

K2 have messed with this before, using chips to burn off energy that causes vibration.

ski sunday are well known for talking pish

Scchhhnake oil!

Surely

Piezoelectric fibres positioned behind the binding transform mechanical impulses into electrical energy, which is stored in a microchip

Stored in a microchip??!!! Well the PR department are definitely on crack then 🙂

You think with the winter olympics coming up that companies are not throwing everything at the slopes?

With a view to selling it afterwards whether it works or not?

You may have a point

Head have had "intelligence" chips in their recreational skis for some time. They had a demo ski for a while in shops that you whack on the floor while a customer had hold of two electrodes. Guess what? customer get tiny electric shock. I think the Head thing is to try to stiffen the ski when it gets a certain flex or frequency. The old K2 chip was all about dissipating energy, IIRC it used to convert the eletrical energy into light with a flashing LED (or similar) on the top of the ski.

But …. "Like KERS", what? it recovers energy and puts it back in to ski? my eye.

Ski-ing, like MTB'ing is full of marketing BS and new season new ideas.

If it really worked in anything like the way they're suggesting it would either be banned, or be used by all the XC skiers (as they're flexing their skis all the time and would get far more advantage the the downhillers).

Mentioned here but without any explanation as to what it's about.
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/alpine-skiing/news/newsid=25582.html

Stiffening the ski makes sense. Does seem to border on the morally challengeable though.

Ski Sunday does seem a bit desperate to make it seem like a sport which is full of exciting new tech as well of course…

We were modifying ski's during my research project at uni, only where the KERS system gains fractions of a second, we were looking at 2-3 seconds over an olympic run!

Needless to say, the big manufacturer we were working with was interested in the research, but wouldn't impliment it as it would be like swim suits, great for a few years, then banned. Annoying really, as the modifications to get that kind of pace would have sold aftermarket for $50, hardly megabucks!

Thought that was the whole point of bending the rules in sport, to win even if it gets banned the next season in a blaze of publicity? some examples here

I guess they'll probably sit on it untill someone else comes up with something 2-3 seconds faster, no point being that much quicker as people will have to push harder to develop their ski's and ultimately you end up with rubbish ski's held up by a crutch and everyone else is 2-3seconds quicker when the patent expires.

Would also put ski wax's and waxers out of business.

as a snowboarder, it is my duty to make the following speculation:

"KERS" is actually a shortening of the oft used (by non-skiers) collective term for Skiers.

(runs and hides) 😆

LOL
That course they were skiiing on was crazy though. Did the guy with the 'KERS' win?

I heard the commentator mention the F1 thing too.

thisisnotaspoon – Member

We were modifying ski's during my research project at uni, only where the KERS system gains fractions of a second, we were looking at 2-3 seconds over an olympic run!

I'm intrigued. What were you actually doing to the skis? Was it varying the stiffness as discussed above

The F1 cars use re-generative braking and then use the stored energy to propel the car forwards. Slightly different with skis…

We were looking at the surface fo the ski/snowboard

" class="bbcode-link">http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/PressReleases/SpeedierSkisOnCourseWorldCupGlory.htm

Basicly we did away with the waxing of the ski and replaced it with a continuous sytem using a much lighter lubricant. Gave a similar coeficient of friction on dry slopes as snow

ski sunday are well known for talking pish

Really ? I wouldn't knock it mate as we aren't exactly overrun with snowsports programmes and I think Mr Bell might just know a little bit more than you 🙄

LOL @ El creedo – that was my thought too

The F1 cars use re-generative braking and then use the stored energy to propel the car forwards. Slightly different with skis…

Still KERS tho. The commentators aren't going to say 'a bit like they use in some tram and train systems' are they? F1 is the most glam application so far, so they will refer to it.

Ski-ing, like MTB'ing is full of marketing BS and new season new ideas.