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Science Technology

Piezoelectric Tennis Rackets 143

Posted by michael from the cheap-shot dept.
morcheeba writes "EETimes has an article on a piezoelectric tennis racket made by Head Sport AG. It uses piezoelectric fibers to damp vibrations and, due to regulations, it doesn't contain a battery. Although it's been out a while, it's now gaining credibility with professionals and has made it into the quarterfinals of the French Open."
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Piezoelectric Tennis Rackets More

Piezoelectric Tennis Rackets

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  • Usually with sports gear, one tries to make a long-lasting product. Piezo fibres seem like they would wear out fast, and the handle components would need often repair. I suppose it doesn't matter when you have Nike as a sponsorer....

    Now, many metals have been developed that have a 'memory' I am surprised these haven't been used in conjunction with the common carbon-fibre thread used now.
    • But when it comes to sports gear, what's the average life of a tennis racket in a pro match anyway? I doubt one lasts an entire competition.

      And when the racket's owned by someone like John Mcenroe, it's lucky to last the set... :)
  • ....sparks fly when the score is love, love.

  • other applications (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Hanzie ( 16075 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:25AM (#3664045)
    They're using it in skis, too.

    I would like to see if it is usable in automobile suspensions. Active electronic dampening should out perform any hydraulics.

    Come to think of it, this technology could be used to make an active muffler for auto exhaust systems. It could also absorb driveline vibrations.

    Wonder if it could do anything for crankshaft vibration?

    hanzie
    • I think active vibration dampening has already been demonstrated in diesel engines and it cuts down on noise and, perhaps more importantly, reduces wear.

      How about an active automobile suspension that also has a millimeter wave radar looking forward to anticipate bumps and potholes?
      • Active suspension was very popular in formula 1 about a decade ago - it was outlawed due to cost reasons. The technology even transfered into prductions cars - the first Infiniti Q45 was blessed with it. It then went into hibernation until the most recent Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
        • active suspension basically let the cars drive themselves. of course, formula 1 racing is about as entertaining as picking your toenails, or soccer. the same people win again, and again, and again, and again. yawn.
          • the same people win again, and again, and again, and again. yawn.

            Can't this just be said for all current televised sports?
            • Perhaps the NBA. I don't know...car racing was just ruined for me when I found out that the guys that win all the time simply have faster cars than everyone else. I had always assumed the vehicles were approximately equal in performance. But nope, that's just not true. An underdog can't just come out of nowhere and win, like the New England Patriots did earlier this year.
              • There are two dimensions to car racing: The driver, and the engineers (and mechanics). Me, I think 24 Hours at LeMans is the best race out there, simply because it's so outrageously punishing on the machines. Your car has to be designed and built RIGHT in order to be competitive. Sure, you need fast driving too, but that race is won and lost on the drawing board and in pit lane. Great great stuff.

                Different strokes for different folks, of course. Guess you could just watch NASCAR. "Geez, Darrell, just put your foot on the floor and turn left! 'Tain't all that complicated!"
                • "Your car has to be designed and built RIGHT in order to be competitive. Sure, you need fast driving too, but that race is won and lost on the drawing board and in pit lane. Great great stuff." I'll agree that the technology behind racing is very interesting - Racecar Engineering Magazine used to be a favorite of mine. Interesting technology doesn't particularly make for a particularly gripping race to watch, however. Do you actually watch Le Mans live? (Is there anyone that televises Le Mans live?)
                  • SpeedVision does excellent, well-edited, coverage of endurance races.

                    As far as the best wheel-to-wheel racing action goes, British touring car races simply can not be beat. Those guys are NUTS. Very competitive, very fast, very unpredictable. Kinda like NASCAR, only interesting.
                    • SpeedVision does excellent, well-edited, coverage of endurance races. This was somewhat my point - enduro races are extraordinarily boring to watch as there happening - like soccer games they become excellent entertainment when condensed. I agree with you that Touring Car racing is awesome - British series is great(though I miss watching the Volvo wagons from a couple years ago!) For Motor Racing my ideal has always been the Mille Miglia (ended in 57) the Targa Florio (ended in 73) or the Nordschlieffe of Nurburgring(of which their are some videos here http://www.motorcycle-dk.com/en/multimedia/ ) I always though that a long course >10 miles made for a much more challenging race, and I particularly liked the theory behind the Mille Miglia. 1000 miles on Italian Public roads. Straight through. Would have been fun to stand alongside the course.
                • Me, I think 24 Hours at LeMans is the best race out there, simply because it's so outrageously punishing on the machines

                  You probably haven't seen the Dakar ralley [dakar.com] in that case. This race is really an all round skills event for the drivers, co-pilots and mechanics. The trucks with the spare parts even participate in the race.
    • That reminds me of when Formula One had active/electronic suspensions. When the car was calibrating it self it would actually jump in the air a few inches. The mechanics called it "Jumping Jacks".

      Eventually such systems were banned...:-)
  • K2 skis have had a piezoelectric ski on the market since 1996, the Merlin V complete with a little blinking red light to show that its working(just like a BE, ahh how we morn the BEOS). More here: http://www.acx.com/lab/cool_ski.html Dampening technology has advantages yes - but generally the reason high tech gadgets make it to the finals have to do with sponsorship & psychology, not necessarily technological superiority.

  • Next, the aimbot (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:34AM (#3664059) Homepage
    This thing actively controls tension in the racquet strings, so with more sensors, it could become an aimbot. Just hit the ball in roughly the right direction, and leave the precision targeting to the computers.

  • My game sucks now (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I have a version of this racquet that I modified to use a car battery (which I strap to my back while playing). And although vibration is greatly reduced I have to say that my game hasn't improved.

  • Getting a perceived advantage (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Mattygfunk ( 517948 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:37AM (#3664066) Homepage
    Firstly, this kind of thing will very quickly make its way across all racquet/bat/glove/sword/anything sports if it's proven a worthwhile advantage. Just as quickly it will cost your average club level player the extra cost to keep up.

    The Australian Football League allowed the use of gloves 7 or so years back. The AFL has been in existance over 100 years without them but that perceived advantage lead to half of the players (at least) playing the game using them. Juniors at the local clubs naturally followed suit, and the sport as a whole suffered because of fewer numbers participating due to the cost.

    I love technology, but the advantages and disadvantages of somthing like this have got to looked at carefully before this should be permitted at any level.

    • buying accessories for your activities is fun, and is one of the main reasons affluent people participate in them. if you're participating in a sport with zero cost of entry, you're probably going to be out on a field with rednecks and other white trash.
      • "if you're participating in a sport with zero cost of entry, you're probably going to be out on a field with rednecks and other white trash."

        ...and if you are on a field playing a sport that takes a million to play you are likely not getting the competition you should. How un-sportsman-like?

        It isn't the idea that you are locking out "the poorest" players - the problem is that you aren't likely to get "the best" players because the entry fee is so high.

        Who wants to play with a bunch of inbreed snobs?

        Of course you complain about spelling "a lot" as "alot" while you fail to capitalize your own sentences.
        • I agree with your sentiments completely and have maintained spelling accuracy to go along with that for the duration of my 'speel'.

          Buying accessories may be fun for 'hobbies' where you are the only one required to participate, but for sports and other team/league affiliated interests, economy and quality of actual play is much more important.

          Who cares what kind of gadget lets you cheat while playing touch football... doesn't count on my field.

        • Sports aren't about competition, they're about satisfaction and cameraderie. Only professional players care about winning at all costs, the word amateur literally means "one who plays for love of the game". Selecting and purchasing sports accessories is a major attraction to the affluent, and is the reason why non-team sports are so popular these days. Golfing, kayaking, rock climbing, and hiking/camping aren't cheap! We're not talking about two-ropes-and-a-sheet tents, this is the real deal from REI. You can use the exact same equipment used by Everest expiditions, for example. Being able to emulate one's heroes in such a manner is highly satisfying to those that can afford it. If everyone and his dog was able to participate, far less satisfaction would be had. A wholesome sense of superiority over the rest of one's countrymen is essential to good mental health, and purchasing sports accessories in order to identify with groups you admire enables this.

          None of this has much to do with tennis, which has seen its popularity fall through the floor since the 70s and 80s. Look at any country club, they don't have nearly as many tennis courts or tournaments as in days past.

          I completely agree with the inbred remark, that's why I pointed out the pitfalls of zero-cost of entry...who wants to play with a bunch of hicks? I capitalized my sentences, too, is that OK?

          • I think tennis' popularity fell because of golf's emergence as a "deal making" sport that you play with a potential client. It's a lot easier to talk while playing golf than it is tennis. Heck, after a good game of tennis, I'm not talking, I'm just trying to catch my breath :-)
      • "if you're participating in a sport with zero cost of entry, you're probably going to be out on a field with rednecks and other white trash."

        Like Soccer? Played because anybody can lay down two shirts as goals, and kick a can or rock to start playing? Making it the most popular sport in the world because of the low cost.

        But, if forced to make an estimate, most white trash and rednecks like baseball and football, both of which require a much higher level of initial investment... And, how's that explain the popularity of Nascar?

        I think the "low tech" sports like soccer seem to have more appeal to those who are more interested in the athletics of the sport. Where-as, there are people who just like "gear" and will do things just because they like to have/wear the gear... I don't think income/intellegence has a whole lot to do with it.

        • And, how's that explain the popularity of Nascar?

          Yes, there's people all over the place racing in Nascar-style cars! Not. Sure, Nascar is popular for *watching*, not *playing*. The whole discussion is about which sports people like to *play*.

          But, if forced to make an estimate, most white trash and rednecks like baseball and football, both of which require a much higher level of initial investment...

          How does football require more initial investment than soccer? Both only require a ball!

          I'll agree baseball requires a little more, but it's been around for so long that almost every kid's father has a glove and a bat lying around, so no investment is required most of the time.
    • Well, I separate the sports paradigm in two:
      1 - Human challenge
      2 - Absolute playing

      For 1) you basically can outrule all the gloves and innovation. The old golf clubs where just fine, if everyone has to use an old club, noone has an advantage. So innovation only hurts the ones that can't afford the new shit.

      For 2) you need innovation. Because the same person can do (following the golf example) a better score that with the ape-era clubs. So you can say golfers are improving their play (in reality, techonology is improving their play...). Nobody really gets any advantage here, cos mostly everyone in a proffesional league will adopt the innovations. Yet, it's better to see a 10 under par score than a 5 one.

      One last thingie, technological advances change the way games must be played. This is not necesarily good IHMO. For example, in tennis, the serving is out of balance right know, because the net altitude is fixed and the serving square is also fixed, but the rackets are so much better. Imagine us in 2235 AD serving at 325 kmh and all the game limited to trying to win 1 non-serving game.

      Technology alters games. But we must not forget that the account for a lot of the sport organization revenues, so they are always allow in a kind of managed obsolecence way.
  • This is really cool stuff, and I've got to hand it to the engineers for this one, but I always wonder where will the line be drawn for technology in sports? Personally, I'd love to see them switch back to wood...

  • How far can this be pushed? Energy going to waste! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by frovingslosh ( 582462 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:41AM (#3664073)
    This was very interesting. As to the regulation that permits self powered devices but forbids batteries, how far can that be pushed and how useful would it be to push it?

    That is to say, if the racket can make a difference based on the energy it can recover from the ball impact, what could you do if you built a self generating power system into the racket handle, much like technology used in a self winding electronic watch, but at a much larger scale? Of course, without a battery the power generated could be stored in a capacitor until used. While this approach seems far beyond the sprit of the game, one could say the same about piezoelectric technology in the first place. I'm just thinking, if it going to be used at all, why not get energy from all racket movement as well as ball impact.

    • Well, in truth it's probably quite difficult to tap deeply into the kinetic energy without affecting the maneuverability of the racket. For instance, a pendulum in the handle might throw your game a little bit.

      It's like the old gyroscope in the luggage trick. As long as you're walking straigt on everything is fine but as soon as you try to turn a corner you run into problems.

  • Nice shot (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gerardrj ( 207690 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:44AM (#3664080) Journal
    I've heard of making the raquet sing with a nice shot, but this is rediculous. :)

    I wonder though, could they make the strings sound a certain tone depending on where the ball was hit. It seems it might make a nice training tool for beginners if they could hear, as well as feel a good hit.
    • How about hardwiring the chip to play Nokia ring tone music when you hit the sweet spot. I'm thinking a tinny Bethovens 5th would be nice.

  • Bending the Rules (Score:3, Interesting)

    by serutan ( 259622 ) <snoopdoug@geekaz ... minus physicist> on Saturday June 08, 2002 @02:46AM (#3664084) Homepage
    Wow! The International Tennis Federation must've really been out to lunch on this one, or maybe these are the same guys who run the U.S. Patent Office. Their rule against batteries was obviously meant to thwart the use of devices with enough power to physically affect play. What could a digital clock in the handle do?

    They just didn't anticipate using a tennis ball's impact energy to warp the racquet to counteract the player's mistakes, which is what this racquet does.

    So okay, I guess we can look forward to gyro-torque batting gloves, pass-booster elbow wraps for quarterbacks, and hockey pucks with tooth-targeting microcameras.

  • What a Racket! (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    These racquets work wonders! The results are as amazing as monodirectional speaker cables, wherein the tapering grain of the drawn gold fibers permits electron flow deeper into the wire surface in one direction than on conventional cables, which of course yields a much purer tone to anyone but the most neanderthalic dolt.

    Just as any discerning audiophile can appreciate the much cleaner sound of the most expensive speaker cables, so too can sophisticated and highly refined tennis practitioners immediately feel the difference that the most expensive prestige racquet makes.
  • Now you can save up your power like in Mario tennis on the N64 and then slam it into Aggasi's head!
  • ...........Martina Hingis got hurt and isn't out there.
    I think I'll retch if I have to see, and hear, freakin' Monica Seles anymore. Bleh.
  • The racket uses new advanced piezoelectric matierials to power a hightech microchip in the handle. This microchip then uses the power generated from the ball striking the racket to generate radio waves, which it uses to communicate with a special "robot" device attached to the handle.

    This "robot," which has been previously imprinted with the player's memory and skills, will predict the reactions the player would want to make, and perform them with greater speed, accuracy, and strength.

    Although the player can hold the hand of the robat while it performs to make it look like they're actually doing something, if they wish they can just go sit in a lounge chair and have a lemonade until the match is over instead.

  • I know how this is mechanical -> electrical energy going on, but I can't help but think:

    Homer: Lisa made this perpetual motion machine today... and it just keeps going faster and faster.

  • At the risk of damaging my karma, I can already imagine my girlfriend asking me if I need to recharge any batteries because she ran out of batteries to recharge with her pizeoelectric wonderbra. 9 volt battery? no problem! a 5 mile jog should do the job! Dont want the cellphone to run down while talking on it? no problem! just go for a nice brisk walk!

    For guys, it'd be pizeoelectric underwear and the uhm.. jostling ( hey guys.. you know what I'm talking about ) would generate some electricy.. but I cant htink of what guys would need to hook up to it other than the PDA, uh but beer cup cooler sounds about right..
  • Wasnt there a upset a few years ago when they bicycle racing teams got too high tech. So the racing organization threw out 10+ years of winnings, and made everyone revert to more classic bikes? I'd be pissed if the french open did that later after you won a match. Those sports governing bodies are a fikle bunch.

    • You're thinking of the UCI and the world hour record, which is done on a track by a single rider who goes as far as they can in an hour. The International Cycling Union have officially reinstated the world hour record to Belgian great, Eddy Merckx, who rode 49.432 kilometres in 1972 in Mexico. They have renamed the current record (56.375 kilometres set by Chris Boardman) as the "Best Performance Over the Hour" while Merckx's record is the "UCI Hour Record".

      The distinction was deemed necessary due to the technical improvements to the bicycle and position that made Boardman's hour so fast. The so-called 'superman' position developed by Scot Graeme Obree was outlawed in 1997, bringing to an end an era where the hour record was a battle of technology as well as the rider versus the wind.

  • Why not put some piezoelectric technology in the players' tennis shoe while they're at it? Give some extra oomph into their spring :)

    Still, how much power can this piezo element gather anyhow? Enough to drive a LED on the tennis shoe (or ball ;) or to actually do something useful? Somehow i feel that the power gained from the impact when the player hits the ball with his/her piezo-racket would not be too much, and so the dampening effect would be pretty weak. Or then they have very efficient (and lightweight) mechanics in it.

    • ~llaurén
    • "how much power can this piezo element gather anyhow"

      Just one example of tennis and physics:

      http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/trobinso/physics pa ges/PhysicsOf/Tennis/spot3.html

      You might be surprise at how many lbs per in. squared go in to a good tennis swat. Definitely more than enough to power an efficient piezo device that will improve your stroke tens of percents.

  • *doublechecks the article*

    So external batteries are not allowed, but piezoelectric materials are okay, because they're "self-powered"?

    Ok, am i the only one here who is seriously worried about what they're going to come up with once tabletop fusion is economical?

  • (and I was in the Technical department), it's interesting to see that there is no comment in there as to whether the technology actually *does* anything useful! Draw your own conclusions as to whether the main benefits are technological or marketing... I can assure you that this racket is something we looked at in some depth, and who knows what rule changes may appear in the future... (although the whole process of changing rules is pretty tortuous)

    Disclaimer - I don't work there any more so these aren't official comments ;) Although I'm still writing my PhD thesis into the mechanics of tennis balls that the ITF funded...

  • But the real question is... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ... does it run Linux?
  • This idea of using piezoelectrics to dampen vibrations in sporting goods is nothing new - K2 has been making skis [technocopia.com] and more recently, snowboards [acx.com] with a similar system, both made by ACX [acx.com] back in since 1996/1997. From what I've garnered from the reviews and seeing the things in the shop, there was one credit-card seized piezo per ski, just in front of the binding, with a little red LED that was used to dissipate the energy generated from the vibrations. I've never actually skiied on a pair of these, but I'm told by a friend of mine who owned a pair of Fours (the first-generation Piezo ski) that they were wicked, and that the system really worked - especially on granular snow and ice.

    Anyone lucky enough to own a pair of these, or are /. and skiing mutually exclusive?

  • I'm puzzled by this. What is the overall efficiency of the system going to be? There will be mechanical to electric conversion losses going in, and similar losses going out. The conversion efficiency can only relate to the energy actually transferred to the piezo generator, and this itself is only presumably a small fraction of the energy stored in the frame itself, the strings, and the energy stored in the deformation of the ball - which I imagine is quite large.

    Unless I have missed something major here - always possible - the effectiveness of this system could be minimal. Reminds me of those ads that used to offer "Up to a such and such percent change in something" - where, of course, "up to" includes zero.

    The situation with things like active suspension is quite different because plenty of outside power (from the alternator) is available to drive the moving parts, the same as with power steering and ABS.

    Perhaps the real power source is a cold fusion unit in the handle, running off sweat.

  • In 1996 K2 launched a line a skis that also used Piezoelectric fibers. K2 made skis for Olin as well.

    The skis used a plate manufactured by Active Control eXperts, Inc [acx.com]. Now owned by Cymer [cymer.com]. Read more about the QuickPack actuators here [acx.com]. For info about the ski plate see here [acx.com]. The plates are used in Fightjet skins, waterskis, speakers, snowboards, shocks, etc.

    I raced with the Olins and I swear they are my favorite skis ever - soft yet stiff when needed at high speeds and high vibration periods.

  • This is how it works (Score:3, Informative)

    by ehiris ( 214677 ) on Saturday June 08, 2002 @12:36PM (#3665108) Homepage
    Both the Intelligence and conventional rackets deflect backward somewhat upon ball impact. With a conventional racket, the ball leaves the stringbed before the racket returns to its normal position. The Intelligence, with its active electronic microchip system, creates a counterforce that deflects the racket slightly forward as the ball leaves the stringbed. The net effect is a 50 percent reduction in vibration.

    Pictures and a more detailed description can be found here [popularmechanics.com]
    • In fact, the PM article points out the output from the piezo devices is going to be about 1W ( 4 * "800V" * "a few hundred microamps". It then talks about increasing the current and sending it back. As piezo devices deflect based on applied voltage, not current, this is a bit nonsensical.
      Not mention the "microelectronic circuit" which contains resistors, inductors and capacitors. And no active circuitry?
      OK cynical suggestion. The actual damping is due to the composite design of aligned fibres embedded in a matrix. But that's been known about for years and isn't patentable. So add a critical design feature that is barely functional, and make that the basis of a claim. That should give us long enough protection...till the next innovation
      Would a business do a thing like that?
      Well, I have to admit I have full details of a US patent, fully granted, that is based on similar principles and for just the same reason.
      Do, in fact, ursine mammals defecate in sylvian environments?

      All a bit like .net, really.

  • They don't make money on Pros. The pro stuff is there as an advertisement for Joe Consumer.

    This "technology" is semi-common in skis. Companies like, hmmm, HEAD.

    The folks who put on LEDs to "show the dampening" stopped cause it was just a stupid gimmick that cost too much per ski.

    Me? I think it makes no real different in skis. My ski's are attached to my feet and legs. They don't need help with the minor vibrations (eg. not the bumps). The dampening is minor. This isn't a power generator, it's supposed to just reduce the little "buzz" vibrations.

    But there are perhaps wrist/elbow injuries associated with the "buzz" of wacking those balls around.

    Gimmick still?

    Oh yeah, but people will buy it. People like my uncle (who I can still beat with my 1978 racket).

  • GAH! Almost no pro plays w/this racket. Tennis is a sport that requires extreme precision. You're not going to achieve that by switching frames every year. Manufacturers simply paint the frames of pros to match this season's latest release.

    In fact, Pete Sampras has been playing with a racket that was introduced in 1984 - which is more like a good old fashioned wood frame than not.

    Pure marketing gimmick - I'll bet money that Head won't be using the technology next year.

  • K2 (Score:1)

    by Zog ( 12506 )
    From being a bike racer, the main thing that pops up is that K2 is involved in it - they're the guys that developed piezoelectric damping mountain bike forks, which I've heard perform really well. I wouldn't be surprised at all if a lot of the same technology is involved.

    From a physics geek point of view, it sounds like they're using a spiffy inductance circuit attached to the strings to damp the strings (just figure out the harmonic frequency of the string and tune the inductor to counteract it), though I've no idea how the rest of it works.

    But very pretty indeed ;-)
  • If anyone here has used one of these racquets (notice the correct spelling :p) then please post your impressions.
  • How many rackets did both Ferrera and Costa use? I think 5 or 6! So whether or not the fibers live long ... as long as they last a few games, it's long enough!

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