Piezoelectric Tennis Rackets

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."

Comments

Next, the aimbot

[Animats]

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.

Nice shot

[gerardrj]

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.

Re:Oh dear..Here we go again...

[Microlith]

Bowie: You're an idiot.

This is a site covering news for nerds. A bit of tech such as this is interesting, to those who care to look.

SLASHDOT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT OPENSOURCE, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP.

as someone who worked for the ITF...

[rich951]

(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...

Re:Getting a perceived advantage

[DNS-and-BIND]

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?