Surf Stats

kenon

I'm doing a final year engineering project at the moment and its directly related to...you guessed it...surfing. Basically its a little gizmo that you'd chuck on your surfboard and it will relay information like speed, height, inclination, location...that kind of stuff...to a laptop.

I'll admit right now that I'm not much of a surfer and know very little about surfing (didn't really need to be into it that much to do it as a project as its the technology that interested me!).

Does anyone know of any devices out there that does this? I've had a look around and found some prototypes but I couldn't find any commercial products on it. I've also heard that some surfers don't like putting anything on/in their boards or have any gadgets on their bodies while surfing. So as a surfer, would you be bothered by having a small gizmo on your board?

fade2che

Sounds interesting, I think a long study of movements in the water would be interesting in general.
What is the primary motivation or problem you are trying to solve?
What is the main advantage to the surfer?

The only product that I can think of is the GoPro cam that you attach to the front of the board with a wide angle lens giving the surfer footage for reviewing technique or more likely just for fun. The problem with that device is that its seems a bit obtrusive and has a tendency to fall off the board.

If the product is a gps tracker type device (I'm not 100% sure what your device is) then im not sure it lends itself to surfing as reviewing a gps track with speed etc may not be as much benefit in surfing as it would in other sports (running, cycling).

In answer to the main question I know of know other device specific to surfing, however many small gps usb size tracker devices exist.
Hope this helps and good luck with the project

loctite

I have actually seen a device like this already......
I came across it in a newspaper supplement. I think it was the Irish Independent, and the supplement was a redbull sports magazine.

The device tracked the movements of the surfer along the along the face of the wave, tracked speed etc and was being used for analysis by pro coaches. I think it was GPS based.

If you have access to a University library, I remember the week the supplement was published..... It was between the 3rd Oct 09 and 8th Oct 09.
Hope it helps.

kenon

fade2che wrote: »

Sounds interesting, I think a long study of movements in the water would be interesting in general.
What is the primary motivation or problem you are trying to solve?
What is the main advantage to the surfer?

The primary motivation is to see what kind of useful information you can get from sensors mounted on a surfboard.

The idea is that the device would send real-time data back to the shore, stuff like: speed, inclination, height etc etc. It will also be noticing how many waves you're getting and the quality of the surf etc. (Thats the theory anyway )

The surfer would get information and could possibly use it to improve performance. I would've presumed it would be fairly interesting to see how fast you traveled, or how high you got or even the route you took through the water.

fade2che wrote: »

The only product that I can think of is the GoPro cam that you attach to the front of the board with a wide angle lens giving the surfer footage for reviewing technique or more likely just for fun. The problem with that device is that its seems a bit obtrusive and has a tendency to fall off the board.

Yeah I only heard about surfboard mounted cameras the other day, its something I'll be looking at as well.

fade2che wrote: »

If the product is a gps tracker type device (I'm not 100% sure what your device is) then im not sure it lends itself to surfing as reviewing a gps track with speed etc may not be as much benefit in surfing as it would in other sports (running, cycling).

Yeh, it will use a GPS for getting certain information.

fade2che wrote: »

In answer to the main question I know of know other device specific to surfing, however many small gps usb size tracker devices exist.
Hope this helps and good luck with the project

Yep, does help! Thanks for the info!

loctite wrote: »

I have actually seen a device like this already......
I came across it in a newspaper supplement. I think it was the Irish Independent, and the supplement was a redbull sports magazine.

The device tracked the movements of the surfer along the along the face of the wave, tracked speed etc and was being used for analysis by pro coaches. I think it was GPS based.

If you have access to a University library, I remember the week the supplement was published..... It was between the 3rd Oct 09 and 8th Oct 09.
Hope it helps.

Great stuff. I'll look that up!

fade2che

Sounds promising anyways.
Best of luck.

kenon

loctite wrote: »

I have actually seen a device like this already......
I came across it in a newspaper supplement. I think it was the Irish Independent, and the supplement was a redbull sports magazine.

The device tracked the movements of the surfer along the along the face of the wave, tracked speed etc and was being used for analysis by pro coaches. I think it was GPS based.

If you have access to a University library, I remember the week the supplement was published..... It was between the 3rd Oct 09 and 8th Oct 09.
Hope it helps.

Cheers for this. I found the article you were talking about, its here if anyone wants a read. Basically its an article about some talented surfers who are taken to Indonesia for advanced training and performance analysis. They have blood taken and some speed info taken (paddle speed and wave-ride speed) along with video analysis.

bigsurf.ie

Hi Kenon,

The short answer is YES, a GPS unit. My internet is not working at the moment, so apologies for the long winded approach to showing you one...
Go to www.bigsurf.ie, click "shop", click "Electronic Gadgets", then click "GPS"...internet since fixed...click here: http://www.bigsurf.ie/showcat.php?catid=124.

The Navi GT-31 will record speed, height, and your track. Its very accurate, to 0.1knot at least, and the tracks when viewed on your computer are helpful. Windsurfers and kitesurfers use them at the speed competitions, while both surfers and windsurfers use them for coaching. In particular, surfers use them to analyse their track on the wave face, so you can for example see where your bottom turns are weak, etc... Overlay your tracks on Google earth and you can see the way you surf!

The GoPro cameras record video only. You can mount an FCS plug in the nose of your board for the camera. No need for the GPS unit. You can wear them in a waterproof armband case...after a while you don't know they are there.

I can help or demo one for you if you'd like. Drop an email to me at: shop@bigsurf.ie. Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Pearse

kenon

Thanks Pearse.

A GPS is just part of my project but I'm fairly impressed by what companies can get out of it. Speed and height in particular. Well I was aware about speed but I'm surprised about its accuracy!

Am I right in saying that all info is stored onto the memory cards and then uploaded to a computer afterwards?

Would you say that these products are generally bought mostly by coaches?

bigsurf.ie

Hi Kenon,

Yes, all data stored on 2GB SD cards and then uploaded onto computer. Then you can overlay the data on Google Maps, etc....

For surfing yes, generally bought by coaches at the top level, i.e. top competition. Not used exclusively, but used for when anlysing surfers path. Windsurfers, kitesurfers & kayakers buy them for everyday use. Powerboaters also.

Here to help if I can.

Regards,
Pearse

spaceHopper

http://www.xsens.com/en/general/mti

http://www.xsens.com/en/general/mvn