首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Gadgets with a Sporting Chance Consumer electronics: New sports equipment, from tennis rackets to running shoes, uses proces
Gadgets with a Sporting Chance Consumer electronics: New sports equipment, from tennis rackets to running shoes, uses proces
admin
2013-04-25
90
问题
Gadgets with a Sporting Chance
Consumer electronics: New sports equipment, from tennis rackets to running shoes, uses processing power to enhance performance. Is that fair? Why should aspiring athletes stand on the sidelines when a spot of electronic assistance can put them in the middle of the game? That is the question many sports-equipment makers are asking as they sense an opportunity to boost their sales with high-tech products. You could call it the revenge of the nerds: a new wave of microchip-equipped sporting goods promises to enhance the performance of novices and non-sporting types alike--and could even make difficult sports easier.
Take cross-country skiing. Victor Petrenko, an engineer at Dartmouth College’s Ice Research Lab in New Hampshire, has invented some smart ski-brakes that, he believes, will increase the popularity of cross-country skiing by making the sport less challenging for beginners. The brakes, currently being tested by a ski manufacturer in the Alps, offer the necessary friction for a bigger "kick-off force" and make the skis less likely to slide backwards in their trucks. To make this happen, an electric current from the bottom of the skis pulses through the ice, melting a thin layer of snow that instantly refreezes and acts as a sort of glue.
This is not the only form of smart ski to hit the slopes. Atomic, a leading ski-maker based in Austria, plans to introduce a system later this year that runs a diagnostic safety check to ensure that the ski binding is properly closed, with the result being shown on a tiny built-in liquid-crystal display. Meanwhile, tennis equipment manufacturers are hoping that innovation will bring new zip to their business as well. They certainly need to do something: according to Sport ScanInfo, a market-research firm based in Florida, sales of tennis rackets in America fell 12.5% during the first half of 2004 compared with the first half of 2003.
With the ball clearly in their court, researchers at Head, a maker of sporting equipment, have devised a product that should appeal to players suffering from tennis elbow. A chip inside the racket controls piezo-electric fibres, which convert mechanical energy from the ball’s impact into electrical potential energy. This energy is then used to generate a counter-force in the piezo-electric fibres that causes a dampening effect. All of this, the firm says, translates into less stress on the elbow. Head claims that residual vibrations in the racket are dampened twice as fast as in conventional rackets, reducing the shock experienced by the player’s arm by more than 50%.
No doubt purists will object that this is simply not cricket. Rule-makers in many sports are now being forced to consider the implications of equipment that promises to augment athletes’ performance with electronic muscle. The International Tennis Federation, that body is responsible for setting the rules of the game, has specified in its most recent guidelines that "no energy source that in any way changes or affects the playing characteristics of a racket may be built into or attached to a racket".
Yet despite such wording, the guideline does not actually eliminate the use of Head’s smart rackets, because there is no external energy source---the damping effect relies solely on energy from the ball’s impact. Though high-tech equipment may cause controversy on the court, tennis clubs have to adhere to the guidelines set for the sport, explains Stuart Miller, the ITF’s technical manager. And if the rules allow self-generated forces to modify a racket’s response, so be it.
A Different sports have encountered different technologies, though the future will undoubtedly bring more overlap. B In golf, gadgets that pinpoint the location of the green using the Global Positioning System (GPS), C The rule-making body of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which oversees the game in all countries except America and its dependencies, currently prohibits the use of distance-measuring devices. D As a result, golfers cannot rely on GPS aids in a tournament. While technological innovation in golf equipment should continue, the player’s skill should remain the predominant factor, says David Rickman, who is in charge of the club’s rules and equipment standards.
The trend towards high-tech assistance is not limited to sports with a reputation for expensive gear, however. Even runing, that most basic of sports, provides scope for electronic enhancement. The Adidas running shoe, which is due to be launched in December, incorporates a batterypowered sensor that takes about 1,000 readings a second. A microprocessor then directs a tiny embedded electric motor to adjust the characteristics of the sneaker, enableing it to change the degree of cushioning depending on the surface conditions and the wearer’s running style and foot position. The race for the smartest use of microchips in sporting equipment, it seems, has begun.
The word devise in paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to
选项
A、contrive.
B、give.
C、toss.
D、throw.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/BeyO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
SECTION2Questions11-20Question11WhatdoesEEAstandfor?【17】
Atthestartofthetutorial,thetutoremphasisestheimportanceof【25】
SECTION2Questions11-20Questions11-15Completethetablebelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.HydropowerRenewable—constantsource(31)fromnatural
Completetheform.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.PERSONALDETAILSFORMName:Mary【T6】______Address:Flat2【T
Thelibrariansaysthattrainingalwaysincludes
Completethesentencesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.EffectsofweatheronmoodStelladefines’effect
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.The"ReturningStudentsAdvisor"ConsultationWhatdidthemandowhenheencounteredfor
Completethesentencesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.Theprogramoperatesincooperationwiththe______.
(The)federalsystem(of)governmentinCanada(is)similarto(it)oftheUnitedStates.
随机试题
13岁女性,两年前起病,于生气后突然大叫一声,随之倒地呼之不应,牙关紧闭,双眼上视,头颈后仰,四肢抽搐,无二便失禁,无舌咬伤。发作停止后对整个过程不能回忆,未给予特殊处置,照常上学。2个月后于夜间入睡后又出现抽搐,有小便失禁。抽搐停止后,突然起床冲出门外,
患者李某,男性,52岁,患有高血压病史10余年,因心前区疼痛就诊,自诉胸痛难忍,自行含服硝酸甘油症状不能缓解,考虑诊断为()
在评估外周血管病患者时,下列哪项表明左下肢动脉完全闭塞
下面说法不正确的是()。
园名意为和煦普照之日光,喻父母之恩德的是()。
传统的西方法律思想史研究存在“吃偏食”的现象,即研究的范围、题材的主次、对象的脉络等受制于英语学术谱系,这种单一的考察重心限制了研究者的视角。而实际上,在非英语学术谱系中存在大量有价值的材料。这要求研究者把目光投向先前不够重视的领域,比如“一带一路”建设参
1938年,国民政府军事委员会政治部第三厅成立,主管宣传,厅长是()。
如果有3个进程共享同一互斥段,而且每次最多允许两个进程进入该互斥段,则信号量的应设置为(33)。
下列对变量的引用中,错误的是()。
We’reinthemidstofaglobalinterconnectionthatisexpectedtohaveconsequencesatleastasprofound.Whatwouldhappenif
最新回复
(
0
)